Father's Day Up Mount Washington

ALL ABOARD!

As if Family Reunions aren’t  hair-raising enough the next day, we headed out for the Cog Railway in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire on Mount Washington.  (Check out the Cog at http://www.thecog.com/.)  It was Father’s Day and Katherina had wanted to ride this rail for many, many years.   The website touts, “The beauty of the mountains and the thrill of ascending the Northeast's highest peak are just as enchanting today as they were in 1869, when Sylvester Marsh opened the world's first mountain-climbing railroad on New Hampshire's Mount Washington.

Nearly 150 years later, the Mount Washington Cog Railway continues to provide a sense of adventure and history as it carries passengers up a 3-mile-long trestle and the steepest railroad tracks in North America to the 6,288-foot summit of Mount Washington. There, visitors can take in the spectacular panoramic view, spanning the mountains and valleys of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, north into Canada, and east to the Atlantic Ocean.

Passengers may choose to ride The Cog in a car powered by a historic steam locomotive or the more modern and eco-friendly biodiesel engines.”  When I look at this railroad, I am always amazed that it actually works.  I am in awe of Sylvester Marsh.  The website explains how adversity inspired this amazing invention.  “His dream began in 1852 when, after becoming lost near the summit of Mount Washington.  Sylvester Marsh knew that there had to be a better way for people to reach the highest mountain peak in the Northeast. Upon his return home, he immediately started working on a plan to build the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway.

Marsh, a native of Campton, New Hampshire, had made his fortune in Chicago's meat-packing industry and was considered by his contemporaries to be a creative and innovative thinker. However, upon first presenting his idea to members of the New Hampshire Legislature, they laughed at Sylvester Marsh and said that he ‘might as well build a railway to the Moon.’

Undaunted, Marsh began the task of building his mountain climbing railway, along with inventors Herrick and Walter Aiken, a father-and-son team from Franklin, New Hampshire. The task was not an easy one, as equipment and materials had to be hauled by oxen for 25 miles to Bretton Woods, and then another six miles through thick forest to the base of Mount Washington. But on July 3, 1869, 'Old Peppersass' became the first cog-driven train to climb 6,288-foot Mount Washington.”  Talk about perseverance… holy smokes (pun totally intended).  Now, building a railway to the top of a gigantic mountain would not be a dream of mine, but Katherina and Mia were so glad that Sylvester Marsh believed in his dreams and made them come true.  Three hours after takeoff they returned-  exhilarated, enthusiastic and maybe, a little chilly.