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The Mount Washington Cog Railway is located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It was completed in 1869 and became the the first mountain climbing cog railway in the world.

The Mount Washington Cog Railway starts from the Marshfield Base Station and carries passengers three and a quarter miles up the mountain with an average grade of 25%, with the maximum of 37.41%!

My visit to Mount Washington Cog Railway

I was lucky to visit in October, 2008 to to take part in some of the last days of steam on the Mount Washington Cog Railway. As part of a photography group, we were given permission to hike up the mountain, starting from Marshfield Station. We climbed nearly halfway up,  allowing us to capture dramatic images of trains coming up the mountain. From our vantage point we could see Jacob’s Ladder and trains disappearing out of sight over the top of the mountain.

This was not the original plan for the day’s activities, but looking back, I’m happy it turned out that way. There are actually two ways to be carried up the mountain. Besides the Mount Washington Cog Railway, there is also a toll road. The road, completed eight years before the Mount Washington Cog Railway, goes up by a different route.  Because riding on the Mount Washington Cog Railway only allows a minimum amount of time at the summit, our choice was to drive so we could remain at the summit longer. We planned to carpool up the mountain and set up our cameras near the end of the line.

The road is only open when it is deemed safe by the operators. Heavy snow in the higher elevations over the preceding several days forced a closure, so we went to Plan B, which was to hike up.

Climbing along the Mount Washington Cog Railway

After gaining permission, we set out. It should be pointed out that there is no actual “trail” along the Mount Washington Cog Railway. There are several marked trails going to the summit, but none of these are near the cog line. DO NOT try hiking alongside the track without getting permission from Mount Washington Cog Railway. You will be trespassing and asked to leave.

Although the terrain was steep, our footing was fairly easy since there had been some recent excavation that had not grown over in most areas. 

Mount Washington Cog Railway trains usually go up and down in pairs to save time at the passing track switches. The first locomotive pushes its single wooden car, followed a few minutes later by another. As we climbed, there were always trains in view, either below or above our position, so we stopped frequently to get shots of the smoky action.

We climbed nearly to the snow line, which was just above Waumbek Tank. The steam locomotives stop here for water on the way up. The lower switch to the passing track is just below Waumbek tank. The switch was rebuilt in 2003 and operates by solar power.

It was here that we caught our first glimpse of the first diesel employed on the Mount Washington Cog Railway. It had been built earlier in the season by the railway’s own shops. The noisy diesel painted in “John Deere green” resembled something out of a farm field. The other photographers made some rather unflattering comments about this machine each time it passed us that day. We speculated about how the arrival of diesels would forever change the Mount Washington Cog Railway experience.

Since that day in October 2008, the railway has largely replaced all of its steam locomotives with diesels. As of this writing, Mount Washington Cog Railway was advertising one steam trip per day at 8:30 AM.

Change is never easy, but converting to diesel makes practical sense, just as it did for commercial railroads. The owners of Mount Washington Cog Railway point out their customers are there to ride to the top of Mount Washington, and the majority don’t give much thought about the locomotive.

I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to see the sight of many steam locomotives going up and down the Mount Washington Cog Railway at the same time - something that is no longer possible. More importantly, I’m happy to share these images with you on our DVD Steam in the Mountains Volume1. I’m sure you’ll agree that steam power on Mount Washington is a beautiful sight. 

Thanks, Steve Mitchell, Yard Goat Images

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