Cog Railroad

Today we took the Cog Railroad to the top of Mount Washington.  The Cog Train pushes the coach of people up the mountain using a cog (toothed gear).  There is a cog rail in the center of the tracks that allows the trains to go up steeper grades. The coaches have their own braking system and come down the mountain by themselves (that was a little scary, but the engine is in front just in case the the brakes fail).  Most of the engines are diesel, but we were lucky enough to get a coal powered steam engine.  This is the same technology that was used on the first train that went up the mountain in 1869.  The track is pretty steep.  The average grade is over 25% and it has a maximum grade of 37%. The railway is approximately 3 miles long and ascends Mt. Washington's western slope beginning at an elevation of approximately 2,700 feet and ending just short of the mountain's summit peak of 6,288 feet.  When we arrived at the top it was cold.  The temperature was 28 degrees, but the wind was blowing at 53 mph, making it feel like 10 degrees.  However, that is much warmer than their record of 49 degrees below zero and there other record of 231 mph wind speed. We really were lucky in that it was a perfectly clear day. Our guide said that visibility was close to 200 miles.  You could even see the glow off of the Atlantic Ocean.