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MOUNT WASHINGTON
COG RAILWAY
World’s First Mountain Cog Railway
The world's first mountain Cog Railway
The
Mount Washington Cog Railway which carries visitors to the Mt Washington
Observatory in New Hampshire opens for its 142nd year. Cog railways
or rack railways, a staple in the Swiss Alps (see Mt
Rigi Bahn) actually
began in the United States. New Hampshire native Sylvester Marsh who
had made his fortune in the Chicago meat packing business loved the
highest mountain in the northeast United States, but after becoming
lost on the top in 1852, decided there must be a better way of getting
up and back down again. His idea was joking called a “railway
to the moon”. The steep grade couldn’t provide traction
on smooth iron rails so a system of gear cogs were added to the rails.
On
July 3, 1869, the vertical boiler steam engine called 'Old Peppersass'
became the first cog-driven train to climb to the 6,288-foot summit
of Mount Washington. The engine from 1898 even got its own liquor bottle
from the Old Boston Canadian Whisky company. For the first forty years
of Cog's operation, wood-fired boilers powered the train to the 6,288-foot
summit. Around 1910, coal was introduced. In 2009, Biodeisel engines
were introduced to the mountain. The Mt Washington
Cog Railway is offering departure times to the summit a half an hour
earlier this season, with trains leaving at 8:30 a.m., or 9:30 a.m.
most of the season. This change allows passengers about an hour of
time to check out the summit, as well as free admission to the Mount
Washington Observatory Museum.
TTrain Ride and Observatory Tours operate on select date July to October.
Starting in June a steam engine runs everyday starting at 8:30 a.m. Three-hour
round trip tickets are $62 for
adults (age 13-64), $57 for seniors (65 and up), $39 for children (age 4-12)
and children age three and under ride free on an adult’s lap (limited
to one child per adult). It’s a good idea for passengers to arrive a
half hour before the train’s departure.
Special deals are
available for the last trains of the day through most of summer and
fall. A family of two adults and two children save $43 by purchasing
a family pass and adults can save $9 per ticket. Tickets for train
rides on the Cog Railway can be purchased at the website. It is recommended
tickets be purchased in advance as the historic railway journeys to
the top can get quite popular in the height of the vacation season.
The Mount Washington Cog Railway is on Base Road, 6 miles off Route
302 at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.
For more information including details for specials" contact The Cog at
1-800-922-8825 or in New Hampshire at 603-278-5404 .
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