Ask an engineer
Just for a little fun, lets wonder................
How they are going to get a well drilling rig in position at Skyline ?
What if there is no source of potable water within their 99 ' right of way
AMC flew up a modular drilling rig to all the huts with a helicopter. Given that the right of way is on prominent ridge line, finding a viable volume source of underground water is not a guarantee. They can pump it up from the base but that's not cheap.
How are they going to get cement trucks up there to pour footings ?
They could set up an onsite plant at the base and haul it up on the cog and then pump from the car. This a major logistics issue
What will they use as a fuel source for heat, and how will they re-fuel ?
Plenty of options, I expect they will build to a pretty high energy standard so they can "greenwash' the place. Probably biodiesel that they already produce at their own plant that they all ready use to run the cogs. I expect they will just build a tanker car. The nice thing with biodiesel is its easier to deal with environmentally, far less toxic than standard fuel oil.
If they are going to be full service, and provide meals, that means staff in place from roughly 5 AM to 10 PM, not to mention the overnight staff, the housekeeping staff, and the regular daily needs of " mail and bank run". Never mind food deliveries, liquor stock and repair personnel.
I would expect they would run off hour operations to support the facility
Laundry. On site or off??? Offsite means schlepping it down and back up the mountain. Onsite means they better have PLENTY of water and PLENTY of power.
Schlepping it offsite off hours, I expect they will work out a deal with Mt Washington hotel. They have all the power they want by tapping into the cable
One of the things that switching to the diesel electric cogs is they can run many more of them. I expect that at some point they will put in a second track and possibly use the hotel as a justification. Realistically without a second track, trying to keep the cog generating revenue with tourists while construction is in progress will be quite a challenge.
Kinda fun to toss those things around in one's head.
Unfun things like----- how to evac the place, how to safely and efficiently transport an emergent medical problem.. well, save those for " later".
That's where I think permitting is going be a nightmare. There is no unincorporated area fire department nor ambulance service in the area. There are private ambulance services that support the area but the run to the nearby hospital is quite long. Unless they use a helicopter, transporting a patient via the cog will be difficult as there are no passing lanes on the cog so any emergency is going to have to wait until all the tourist cars clear out between the hotel and the base or the summit. New construction at the summit is predominantly concrete for a reason, even with the auto road a fire department at best may get there in time to hose down the ashes. There is already a rough service road where the cable went in but due to the grade its never going to be something a fire vehicle can use. I expect an insurer will require non flammable construction with full sprinklers and a large water storage tank preferably fed by gravity. The concept of running the Cog through the building is also pretty bizarre unless they stop running the coal fired units. Since there is no emergency vehicle access I expect the number of occupied floors will be limited as there is no option to bring in ladder truck.
It all comes down to money. I do believe there is well heeled clientele that will eat this right up. I expect that the cog are going to have to chip in a lot more than the standard owner equity to borrow money for the balance of the project due to the risks.
