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Ride a COG RAILWAY Up the MountainFor a different kind of a train ride, a cog railway is the way to go! Basically, there’s a big cog rail in the middle of a railroad track. The specially built locomotive has a cog on it and goes up the mountain tooth by tooth. They are used to get up steep mountains where regular trains can’t make the grade. Like Mount Washington, NH and Pikes Peak, CO in the U.S. and others around the world. The New Hampshire railway still uses a coal-fired steam locomotive to huff and puff it’s way up Mount Washington.
The Pikes Peak railway has entered the modern age and runs on diesel.
The Mount Washington Cog Railway was invented because a guy got lost up near the top of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. When he got himself unlost and back down to civilization, he started working on an idea. In 1869 the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway was opened.
It is also the second steepest mountain climbing train in the world. One over in Switzerland has it beat for steepness.
Ride the Mount Washington Cog Railway year round in Bretton Woods,
The Pikes Peak Cog Railway came into being after Mr. Simmons (of mattress fame) rode a mule to the top of Pikes Peak. He was checking out his new invention--an insulator for telegraph wires. It was a long rough ride and he was SORE!!! When he got back down the peak, he took his aching body to a nearby mineral springs. He must have been staying at The Cliff House, because there's a suite named after him. Anyway, while soaking away in the waters, someone mentioned the idea of a railroad to the top of the peak. Did Mr. Simmons holler out “Eureka!” ????
He may have, for he latched onto the idea and organized the Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway. It began running in 1890.
The Pikes Peak cog railway is the highest cog railway in the world. Because it’s so high, you’re only allowed 30- 40 minutes at the top. And while Pikes Peak isn’t any Everest, symptoms of high altitude sickness can set in after this amount of time.
Photo courtesy Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The Pikes Peak Cog Railway is 8.9 miles long. The round trip lasts 3 hours and 10 minutes. It runs year-round and a trip when the snow is 8 feet high beside the tracks is pretty cool! Sometimes they will have coupons. Click here for availability of Cog Railway coupons. Directions: Take exit #141 (US 24) off I-25, go west (toward mountains) on US 24 four miles to Manitou Ave. (Manitou Springs) exit. Go west on Manitou Ave. one and one-half miles to Ruxton Ave. Turn left and go to top of Ruxton Ave., three-quarters of a mile. Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway is at 515 Ruxton Ave in Manitou Springs, CO Phone: (719) 685-5401 And here’s a tip!! When you're at the top of Pikes Peak, there’s a long blast on the horn 10 minutes before the train leaves. You HAVE to return on the same train. And…the train leaves ON TIME! It's a
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The Mt. Washington Cog Railway is the only railroad in the world that its entire run is built on a trestle.
