Mount Washington Cog Railway

Mount Washington Cog Railway
Track with rack
Overview
LocaleCoos County, New Hampshire, U.S.
Websitethecog.com
History
CommencedMay 1866 (1866-05)
OpenedAugust 1868 (1868-08)
CompletedJuly 1869; 155 years ago (1869-07)
Technical
Line length3 miles (4.8 km)[1]
Rack systemMarsh rack system
Track gauge4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm)
Operating speedAscend: 2.8 mph (4.5 km/h)
Descend: 4.6 mph (7.4 km/h)
Highest elevation6,288 ft (1,917 m) (approx.)
Company
FounderSylvester Marsh
Key people
Wayne Presby, President[2]
Route map

Mount Washington summit
Skyline siding (removed)
Waumbek station and passing loop
Marshfield station
Boston & Maine Railroad
to Fabyan (removed)(Carroll)
Locomotive depot

The Mount Washington Cog Railway, also known as the Cog, is the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway (rack-and-pinion railway). The railway climbs Mount Washington in New Hampshire, United States. It uses a Marsh rack system and both steam and biodiesel-powered locomotives to carry tourists to the top of the mountain. Its track is built to a 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) gauge, which is technically a narrow gauge, as it is 12 inch (13 mm) less than a 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.

It is the second-steepest rack railway in the world, after the Pilatus Railway in Switzerland,[3] with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37%. The railway is approximately 3 miles (5 km) long and ascends Mount Washington's western slope, beginning at an elevation of approximately 2,700 feet (820 m) above sea level and ending just short of the mountain's summit peak of 6,288 feet (1,917 m). The train ascends the mountain at 2.8 miles per hour (4.5 km/h) and descends at 4.6 mph (7.4 km/h). Steam locomotives take approximately 65 minutes to ascend and 40 minutes to descend, while the biodiesel engines can go up in as little as 36 minutes.

Most of the Mount Washington Cog Railway is in Thompson and Meserve's Purchase, with the part of the railway nearest to Mount Washington's summit being in Sargent's Purchase.

  1. ^ "History of the Mount Washington Cog Railway". The Heart of New England. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  2. ^ "Stewardship, not ownership". thecog.com. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "#220 Pilatusbahn (1882)". American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Archived from the original on December 26, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2013.