Retired Nomads - Part 2 : Mount Washington Cog Railway - Bretton Woods, NH

Mount Washington Cog Railway - Bretton Woods, NH - August 20

Today was a day for Cogs and Bogs.

We started our day at the Mount Washington Cog Railway. The world’s first mountain-climbing cog railway, “the Cog” has been carrying passengers to the 6,288-foot summit of Mount Washington (the Northeast’s highest peak) since 1869. It is the steepest track in America.

The Cog Railway has several trains in its fleet. The oldest are old-fashioned coal-fired steam locomotives. Since 2008, the Cog has added biodiesel locomotives, which offer a smoother, cleaner, and faster trip to the summit. The steam locomotives use a ton of coal, and 1,000 gallons of water to get to the top, and the journey takes an hour (the diesel only about 45 minutes). They only use the steam train once or twice a day and the other runs are with the biodiesels. We took the biodiesel. Three trains go up at the same time and then they go back down to pick up more people and an hour later we go back down on a different train.

at the base

biodiesel locomotive starting up the mountain

steam train most of the way up the mountain

visitor's center

Jacob’s Ladder is the section of track that makes the Cog the second steepest rack railway in the world after the Pilatus railway in Switzerland, which clocks in at 48%. People got up and stood in the isle to feel the grade. Everyone was leaning way forward to stay level.

Despite the fact that Mount Washington isn’t a tall mountain compared to Everest and others, New England’s tallest peak is where the fastest human-observed wind speed in history was recorded at 231mph on April 12, 1934. The hottest temperature recorded at the Summit was 72*. We must have come close to that today (mid to high 60’s and no clouds or wind). The coldest temperature was -36 degrees Fahrenheit.

inside the train

track

view from the front of the train

views from the window

Halfway House

Jacob's Ladder

weather observatory

trains at the top

observation deck at the top

With average January temperatures of 5 degrees Fahrenheit, 45 mile per hour winds and 200 feet of visibility due to fog and blowing snow, it has the reputation of the Worst Weather in the World. (100* windchills have been recorded)

So, we were “robbed” of crappy weather (though I prepared for it) and we had beautiful views in all directions seeing New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York in the distance.

It takes about an hour to climb to the top and we had 1 hour to spend at the top and then about an hour going back down. Our hour went fast at the top and we did grab a quick hot dog at their snack bar up there after we had seen everything we wanted to.

We stood in the long line to have our photo taken at the Summit (you climb up quite a few rocks to get to the actual highest point where the sign is) and checked out the old hotel at the top (the rest was burned down and this is what is left). We took photos in all directions. Just fabulous views today! It could have been a white out, so we were very lucky.

Tip Top House - old hotel

outside of the Tip Top House

line for the sign

views in all directions

observation deck

The seats in the train angled down on the way up. We were seated towards the back on the side of the train with 2 seats. The other side has room for 3 people and it really had the better views. On the way back down the seats are turned and they are angled back (my feet no longer touched the floor) and our seat number was now towards the front. The trains do not turn around, but they back down the mountain. The views were better on the way down. For choosing seats with the best view chose the side with room for 3 across, not that our view was bad, but the canyon is on the other side.

waiting to go back down the mountain

the cog on the train

inside the train

views on the way down

memorial to someone who died taking a sled on the track down in the snow

water tank for the diesel engines

back at the base

We visited the museum at the base and then drove home.

the sleds they used on the track in the winter for fun - a few died doing it

views from the viewing area

Of course, we were looking for ice cream which turned out to be a quest. Udderly Delicious was not open. It had a sign saying that it would be open at 1:30 and it was now about 2:30. So, we went to the Gelato place next to the Burger place where we ate yesterday, and they had a sign saying they open at 3:00. There was only one place left to try and it was not only open, but very busy and very good ice cream.

now here's a cute moose

Smith Millennium Bridge

We did a bit of grocery shopping and then went and changed into some hiking clothes and we headed for Quincy Bog for some birding and looking for critters. It was a pretty area and a nice hike on boardwalks with some regular trails in between. The only critter we saw was a Beaver that was eating some of the water plants. We did see a few birds. It was a fairly long walk around the pond with some pretty views and interesting plants, flowers and trees around the pond.