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Cog Scenic Railway

Cog Scenic Railway
Mt. Washington

     On October 20th, 2001 we visited the Cog Scenic Railway, located on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. Out of all the train trips I have taken, this has got to be the most interesting. We were initially greeted with a very unusual looking and unconventional steam locomotive, suited only for the 3 mile run to the summit of Mt. Washington, 10,000 feet in the air. The average grade for this run is an unbelievable 25%, with the steepest portion being Jacob's Ladder at 37.41%. The average speed of the ascent is 2 to 3mph while the descent is much faster, at 5mph. When we left base camp station, at the foot of the mountain, the weather was cloudy and about 45° F, no wind, no precipitation. On the way up the mountain, we entered the clouds at around the 5000' mark. Once at the summit, the wind was howling at 50mph, it was snowing out, the visibility was a mere 20 feet and the temperature dropped to 4°F BELOW zero. The wind chill, however, made it feel MUCH colder. It was like we were transported to another world, yet the world we had left behind a short hour ago was just 3 miles away and 10,000 feet below. For all of you who have not yet experience the Cog Scenic Railway, it is a must!

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Our locomotive. The boiler is positioned at a very noticeable slant of 25°. It just so happens that the average grade throughout the run up to the peak of Mt. Washington is 25° as well, thus the boiler sits nice and level on the way up and down.

A closeup of the very interesting valve gear and running gear on the locomotive.

The first stage of the ascent. Notice the rack in the center of the track. The locomotive has 2 cog wheels which grip this rack, allowing for a tremendous amount of traction to be developed. This is the sole reason this locomotive is able to climb such an unbelievably steep grade.

Our train ascending the grade.

This shot was taken from base camp as our train ascended the hill utilizing the telephoto lens on the camera. At this point, we are already a few minutes out of the base camp station.

Upon reaching the summit, we were greeted with 50mph winds, 20 foot visibility and -4°F temperatures. To top it off, it was snowing. As you can see here, the weather wasn't very conducive for taking photographs.

A shot of the passenger car at the summit. Everyone was running into the visitors center as fast as possible to hind from the elements.

The proverbial "end of the line" at the summit of Mt. Washington.

The descent stage of our trip. At this point, we are roughly 5000' up and have just broken through the cloud layer hovering over the peak.

Back at base camp station, this is another train preparing the make the trip up the mountain.

 

 

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