Mount Washington Cog Railway running on weekends, holiday periods this winter

[sierra]

I have always love studying the mountains I spend time in. The Cog has always fascinated me and one of my favorite books is " Railway to the Moon" By Kidder. If you find the Cog interesting, its a great resource. One of the coolest things about the Cog was the use of the "Devils Shingles", basically like that wooden board with wheels mechanics use to slide under cars, but it went on the tracks. The workers used them to descend the tracks at speeds most would find hard to believe (60mph). For those that do not know, the nickname railway to the moon, came from the initial request for a permit to build the Cog. Sylvester Marsh approached the state legislature and requested a permit to build the Cog. The board laughed at the idea and its absurdity and stated, you can have a permit to "Build a railway to the Moon!!!!".

 

[Mike P.]

Several workers died on the Slide boards also.

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Thank you all for these wonderful links!

While I still oppose the hotel idea, these links helped me realize the owner's investment has been more than just biodiesel trains.

I hope that the State and local businesses (Obs, Cog, and AutoRoad) can find a path forward that works for all of them.

 

[Jazzbo]

Perhaps the hotel would have been more palatable had Cog forged some sort of partnership with AMC.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Perhaps the hotel would have been more palatable had Cog forged some sort of partnership with AMC.

There was significant backlash against the AMC for wanting to put a hut in a heavily forested area, I don't imagine there would be much appetite for something above the trees in close proximity to existing facilities.

 

[peakbagger]

The anti cog hotel group tended to be composed of the same folks who opposed the AMC Crystal Cascade proposal (hut in Crawford Notch on state land). AMC didn't want to embrace the Cog hotel but they had to be careful as they obviously have the high huts and also are a member of the Mt Washington Commission. Many of the organized opponents were guides and their clients but there also are many locals who want to protect the whites yet harbor outright distrust of AMC for various reasons that they would have to expand on.