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.
