The Mountain Climbing Steam Train (The Story of the Cog Railway)

Cog railways have been constructed in mountainous areas or mining operations. Cog railways, also called rack railways, were built to climb mountains using a unique toothed rack rail. The Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire was the first use of this technology in the United States. There are also currently about 50 rack railways throughout the world. The Mount Washington Railway Company or, more familiarly, the Cog Railway, or simply “the Cog,” was chartered by the New Hampshire State Legislature in 1858. Thankfully these railroads are now historical landmarks.
Chapters:
00:40 Where was the first rack railway?
04:38 When The Mount Washington railway opened to the public
07:23 Why Jacob’s Ladder is the steepest rail component,
09:52 Creation of a second cog train in the united states Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway.
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IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.
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Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[@NewHampshireNick]

Proud to be an engineer for the Mt. Washington Cog. Couldn’t ask for a better office.

[@rockinrainbow25]

I just recently went there for vacation! I rode on the steam engine Waumbek ^^

[@NewHampshireNick]

@@rockinrainbow25 awesome! Waumbek and Ammonoosuc are the last two remaining that aren’t retired to display or parts. Love the smell of coal in the morning ;)

[@Benson_aka_devils_advocate_88]

Looking at those boilers on _Flat_ ground is a mind game, especially when you know how dangerous a tilted boiler can be!

[@Goppenstein]

i suggest you look up the Hg 3/4 type of locomotive i fire. the only ones that can go down a coq section forwards.

[@kennethsonier1766]

The cog railway on Mount Washington is absolutely one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. Me and my girlfriend hiked up and we're too tired to hike back down so we took the railway down, the second time we took it both ways just a beauty of the experience 👍☮️🇺🇲

[@dappergenesis822]

Its pretty awesome and crazy feeling on riding it. Also its crazy someone just sent me a picture of me riding it a couple hours ago before this video was posted.

[@HM2SGT]

Shame they wouldn't let you use one of the devil's shingles to descend. Can you imagine that? I've been on something similar, and Alpine Slide, but that was in a concrete halfpipe. Thinking about doing it on that exposed trestle just gives me the willies.

[@dannyjones3840]

@@HM2SGT so you've been to "Traction Park" too lol. That Alpine Slide took off many a yard of skin off people daring enough to not use the brake.

[@HM2SGT]

@@dannyjones3840 it doesn't like my attempt to reply for some reason, but yeah, fond memories as a kid at Alpine Ridge in Gilford New Hampshire. Of course now as a 50 something adult and burned out, washed up, broke down medic firefighter the thought of that whole arrangement gives me hives!

[@fizwis1303]

The one on pikes peak is so much better

[@sheevpalpatine3351]

I’ve rode it it’s insanely cool and the view up top is nuts. The steepest part is Jacob’s ladder which makes one end of the coach 14 feet higher than the other.

[@dappergenesis822]

NO WAY. Your just posted a video on this. Like 3 hours ago my Dad just sent a picture of me and my family riding the mount washington one

[@mhmmelicious]

ive been there twice and my grandpa used to own a hotel near it, everytime i went to new hampshire and would come here since i was around 1, im 15 now and last time i went there was two years ago, the hotel was sold and we havent been there yet, I wish to visit this place agian.

[@crimineyjenkins1]

I remember the Manitou Incline and I rode it once as a kid in the 1980's. I also remember when it was washed away from a horrible rain storm. It's a heck of a hike if you decide to have a go at it. Just keep an eye on the rail ties and use them to help you get to the top.

[@greendeane1]

Been up Mt. Washington twice. My mother was 13 and living in New Hampshire when the hurricane struck, she said all the trees on on side of mountains were blown down. And in 1970 I drove to the top of Pike's peak.

[@yifftoy]

This is in my state and if you visit New Hampshire I highly recommend

[@aunulimansfield3277]

I live in Colorado and have rode it's cog railway many many times, wonderful railway

[@cleverusername9369]

Ride on one of these to ascend to the summit of Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs, very cool and unique experience. The view from up there is truly incredible.

[@stuff___idontknow2610]

I've been to the pikes peak cog railway multiple times and it's always a treat👍🏼

[@lejo4]

Growing up in Colorado I got to experience the pikes peak cog railway both before and after the renovations. Pikes peak, it's railway, and it's races would make a great video. Besides then I could brag you mad my idea a video again.

[@crimineyjenkins1]

I grew up in Colorado Springs as well. I can go on and on about Colorado history and then some. I lived off of Union between Palmer Park and Uintah. I can see the Second Adventist church from my old house.

[@dannyjones3840]

Thanks Ryan, for another great history lesson!!

[@videoguy1981]

It’s an incredible experience! I highly recommend it.

[@jetsons101]

Thanks for such a fun watch. Back in the day people in LA could ride the Pacific Electric "Red Cars" from San Pedro (let's say) to Mount Lowe with a few transfers and be up in the snow. At the top was a 70-room hotel and a tavern. It's long gone but might make a good vid. Thanks for your time and work......

[@PapawsDadillacOEMplus]

Having taken the cog at NH it really is something to experience. Views from atop are amazing

[@DaveTexas]

I’ve taken the cog railway to the top of Pikes Peak many times over the past 50+ years. That was always one of the most anticipated activities whenever my family went to visit relatives in Colorado. I drove up to the top once about 30 years ago. I didn’t enjoy that. I’ve only taken the dog train since then.

[@honeysucklecat]

I did a lot of hiking in NH when I was a kid in the 70’s. Seeing, and sometimes hearing, the Cog was always fun. Rode it when I was 4 and 26

[@penskepc2374]

No state in the country packs more beauty in such a small package.

[@Biggs58]

That trip to Colorado is on the bucket list. That sounds like an unbelievable adventure even in modern times.

[@bb54321abc]

I have been on several cog railways in Switzerland and loved the experience.

[@jontooke846]

That was a amazing story thanks so much. I loved your story

[@kght222]

i went up pikes peak on one a decade or so ago. when when we parked at the bottom we happened to park next to an old cog and those things are enormous.

[@cyri96]

I was surprised that there are that few Rack railways around the world tbh... but then again I'm swiss and we have 22 of them so almost half

[@BooBooKittyFuzzyBritches]

My husband, our two boys, & I took the COG railroad up to the top of Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs. It was Spring about 20 years ago. It goes from about 6000 ft above sea level to 14,400 at the top. It was about 60F degrees at the bottom & 25F at the top, with several foot of snow. They had a restaurant, gift shop & an oxygen bar at the top. Unfortunately, my 7 year old got sick 🤢🤮 on the way back down. Poor little guy.

[@Backroad_Junkie]

Yeah, I don't think a lot of people really understand what it's like at 14K feet. Oxygen levels are around 21% at sea level. The equivalent oxygen at 14K is about 12.3%, or about 43% less oxygen than at sea level. I had real problems at that height, lol...

[@kght222]

i took that same trip about 10 years ago. my mom decided it was too hot in kansas so we went on a week vacation to colorado springs. it was fun, they even offer a box lunch. those cogs are huge. EDIT: oh, and it also goes past one of the oldest trees on earth.

[@itz_lexiii_]

as a hiker/skiier this kinda takes all the fun out of climbing a mountain

[@marko11kram]

Mount Beacon, on the Hudson river had a cog railway. Sadly it succimbed to a fire in the 1970's

[@Laakona]

I have hiked Mt Washington, driven up the road, and ridden the Cog to the summit. I'm going to do the Cog again this summer.

[@jamie3529gq]

I have a couple of photos my grandparents took at the Mt Washington railway while on their honeymoon in June of 1938. By then it was already 70 years old! And about to be damaged by a hurricane, apparently....

[@brendakrieger7000]

Wonderful! I adore trains🚂

[@sanjeevpereira8141]

Great vedio

[@erin19030]

Here in the Pennsylvania Anthracite fields we had the switchback railroad, a gravity railroad. When climbing a mountain a system of welded Swedish steel,plates were fastened into. Long flexible belt that was attached to a small pusher car placed behind the last car, thusly Pushing the train up the mountain. At the top of the mountain was a steam engine that powered the train. On e at the top of the mountain the cars were set free rolling downhill on their own employing a mechanical braking system Controlled by the conductor.

[@penskepc2374]

Thats super interesting, there was a railway in Vermont that basically went into a giant granite quarry into different levels,I love industrial railways.

[@TwilightSparkel16]

This is really cool. I cant believe that this is real. I remember my geotracks had engines with cog wheels and only the big hills had the track for the cogs.

[@vassa1972]

Interesting video

[@the_sb_0116]

Been on the cog railway, it is awesome

[@sirwilliam677]

I rode the pike's peak cog railway, it was very fun.

[@niklasxl]

wish there was more info in this video about all the cog railways in the alps

[@billlewis2401]

Well done.

[@rockinrainbow25]

I went on the cog railway!! When going up the steam engine can only top about 3mph and going down the breakman had to operate a 1869 break system on the car. It felt a little nerve racking but it's actually one of the safest railways!

[@mikepierce1724]

Awsome seen 1 mount Washington when I went to top

[@ginog5037]

Excellent video Ryan, can you do one on The Blue Ridge Parkway construction?

[@scrapiron1952]

Very Interesting!👍🇺🇸

[@LNERA3]

Since it wasn’t mentioned in this video, I wanted to point out that in 1883-1890 there was the Green Mountain Cog Railway which used the same Baldwin locomotives as Mt Washington. It ran up the side of what’s now Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island, Maine within Acadia National Park. In fact when it went out of business, both locomotives were sold to Mt Washington railway.

[@arthurpoltrack4144]

The locomotives were built by the Manchester Locomotive Works in New Hampshire, not Baldwin.

[@PercyTheSmallEngineStudios]

I was at the pikes Peak cog railway day before yesterday with my train club and the whole railway has been rebuilt completely with new diesels and is very modern we road the older diesel number 18 because the brand new ones are under repair and look like mainline Swiss Diesel engines great experience

[@andrewbrindescu6666]

Been riding one cog train in Occidental Carpatien mountain wich was use for iron mining,miners and people living up there. When mine close it become use for tourism mainly and by locals

[@idcanthony9286]

Just FYI. There is a SLM engine on display at the local trolley museum in Colorado Springs. The Broadmoor recently replaced the aging engines.

[@danielhedrick5886]

I've ridden a cog car to the top of Pikes peak what a view and experience that was. Going down in the Royal gorge was too. It was a sad day when the ride in the gorge was closed. I would like to zip line across it one day.

[@alanpower2857]

I had no idea that the Royal gorge train was no more. In 2003 my wife and I rode the Pikes Peak, Royal gorge and Silverton Durango trains all in the same week. It was the longest car trip I'd ever taken, from Ontario Canada. Went to the Grand Canyon too. Great memories but no digital camera back then...

[@GhostofRhurValley]

Wow so the engine knew it could all along .

[@tsouryavong13]

I have yet to take the cog railroad up the mountain. I've driven up it and I've taken the tour van up it as well

[@danb.709]

The Mount Pilatus cogwheel train and gondola near Lucerne Switzerland was one of the most incredible mountain experiences I've ever had, highly recommended.

[@AltMarc]

You need to try the Brienz-Rothorn-Bahn with it's original wagons and steam engines.

[@jean-emmanuelrotzetter6030]

Pilatus still is world steepest cogwheel railway with up to 48% - build 1889. Interesting is Furka railway - the railway over Furka mountain pass was abandoned after terminating the Furka base tunnel in 1982. Railway enthusiasts reopened the mountain pass route, but without electrical power as used from WW2 to 1982 - so the enthusiast group recovered and rebuild locomotives from before WW2 - a few from Vietnam where they had been sold but were not used any more. There still are many cogwheel trains operating in Switzerland - most of those railways build more than 100 years ago.

[@AndrewTheRadarMan]

Cog railways are used a ton here in Germany and Switzerland, they're electrified this time and go pretty quick surprisingly.

[@HM2SGT]

Nice to see home getting some attention. Beautiful but deadly, the death toll from unprepared hikers is over 250 now. Home of the world’s worst weather. Several hotels have been at the summit- the last building is held in place with battleship chains over the roof & shackled to bolt drilled into the mountain.

[@penskepc2374]

People think it's small, but it actually sticks 6,000 feet out of the ground, it's not just 6,000 in elevation. When I went to visit the Rockies I was kind of dissapointed because I didn't know why they didn't look as big as I thought they would compared to the White Mountains, its because the land around them is already at least mile in elevation.

[@HM2SGT]

@@penskepc2374 ayuh. 6,288 ft, nearly a quarter mile farther than a mile! And with weather so terrible buildings had to be secured with Battleship chains over the roofs and anchored to the mountain before modern Construction. Just about my favorite place on Earth, especially around Columbus day! And as Dandy as the Cog is, driving the auto road is great fun open( & considerably cheaper! )

[@danielstickney2400]

A few years ago my daughter and I rode the cog after a trip to Yellowstone National Park and I noticed that the summit of Mt. Washington is actually 200 feet lower than the ground elevation at the Old Faithful Inn. The Midwest may look flat but it's actually uphill all the way from the Mississippi river to the continental divide.

[@HM2SGT]

@@danielstickney2400 And yet Mount Washington is where the government in general and Air Force in particular chose to torture test everything from gloves and sleeping bags to jet engines because, even if there are taller peaks, no place has worse weather!

[@ronalddevine9587]

My family and I had the pleasure of riding the Mt. Washington Ry about 25 years ago. Still hauled by steam. It was interesting to see the difference between each side of the coach in the vegetation.

[@drstevenrey]

In order to widen your horizon just a little bit. Why not check out the story of rackrailways in Switzerland. Maybe you might have a massive light go on.

[@hannahbrown2728]

I can only imagine workers heading home and they hop into the slide and everyone hears "WWEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeee....." as people zoom on out

[@wondabiz]

hey you should do a video about the original sacramento northern route from oakland to chico,ca

[@notdeadyet3680]

Woah,was this the inspiration for the Culdee fell railway from the railway series??? It would make since as the trains in that book are mountain engines

[@100dampf]

Culdee is inspired by the snowdon railway in wales

[@petermostyneccleston2884]

What about the Snowdon Mountain Railway the longest Rack and Pinion Railway in the world?

[@bobbydixon9368]

Hey man please consider turning down the treble on your recording’s, it could be you need a better mic. It almost sounds like you’re talking into a trash can. It really grated on the nerves. Other than that you present some great content

[@Ryan_Rail]

14:14 but we did reopen in 2021 with new trains, track, and infrastructure

[@HM2SGT]

*CAMP* ton. The town is Campton, not Compton. Bretton Woods, not BreNton.

[@gtv6chuck]

Just to let you know, the Pikes Peak Cog Railway reopened as of last year, so take a ride!

[@nickkozak4763]

seems like the origins of the little engine that could

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

The Swiss use cog railways today. Their entire rail network reminds me of a gigantic garden railway.

[@nimbly1693]

I delivered water to the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, but I never do go ride it.

[@tomt810]

Honestly I'd still be a little nervous to ride this thing...

[@kght222]

i've always wanted to see a drag racing version of a cog track. just imagine it, no worry about wheel traction, just pure horsepower moving the vehicle as fast as possible over a quarter mile.

[@imchris5000]

can you do a video on the incline railways of cincinnati

[@danmathers141]

10:10; Pike's Peak.

[@nordisk1874]

There was a third on mount desert island

[@aoilpe]

9:15. This is No.7 of the Rigi-Bahnen ,no?

[@zfox1]

Over here in southern Germany we actually have a cog railway built and used for commuting (integrated in the local public transport network)

[@GBB-Gelbbergbahn]

Sorry but one Picture shows Locomotive Nr 7 From the Rigi Rack Railway, it was constructed in 1875 in Switzerland and runs still there 😉🇨🇭

[@richardbittikofer988]

👍👍👍👍

[@Syncopator]

I would think there’d be special considerstions when going downhill, to keep it from going too fast. Would be interested to know what they had to do to handle that.

[@NewHampshireNick]

Steam uses the cylinders as sort of an air compressor and controls it with a valve. The more it’s open it the less resistance and faster descent and the coach has brakes to lessen the load on the steam engine. Diesels are hydraulically driven and hydraulic fluid flow is restricted to control descent.

[@rogerknights857]

Unmentioned is the fatal accident on Mt. Washington several decades ago, when the loco somehow lost its grip.

[@feelinghealingfrequences7179]

where is the footage of pikes peak

[@VenomStryker]

It sounds like a cool experience but it seems like a cable car would be more economical.

[@sjoerd5629]

13:39 Just 8 trains per day? And how long is the line operated on a typical day? I have looked at their website, but I could not find timetables. 8 trains per day is not really impressive... perhaps if they only operate for 4 hours per day, making it a half-hour interval to run those 8 trains?

[@NewHampshireNick]

It’s based off the demand. Usually there’s a steamer and a diesel that start the day and then the next several trips depend on how many people booked but as many as 3 and sometimes 4 trains can go up at one time during each hour. Steam leaves at 8:30 and has another afternoon run. Diesels will run until 2-5pm depending on season and demand. Currently just switched to last run at 3pm with 4pm empties to pickup passengers.

[@249dty3]

51 if you count Cody fell

[@mikepierce1724]

Took my pick up on mountain and came down in 4 low never touched the brake my 98 dodge done it

[@kamukameh]

On this topic you totally forgot the Schafbergbahn (Sheep-mountain-railway ;-) ) in the Austrian Salzkammergut, established in 1893: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bp7Gd4Gae9aSnpI Climbing the 1200 meters (3937 feet) rise of the Schafberg-mountain in only 7 km (4,3496 miles) track length with a top-speed of 14 km/h (8,6992 mph) in 45-50 minutes.

[@countofelysium9070]

12:57 it is only natural since Switzerland knows its stuff when it comes to rack railways. After all the Riggenbach system was invented around the same time as the Marsh system. Also the Abt, Strub and Locher systems are Swiss inventions. The latter is used for the Pilatus railroad which the steepest rack railroad of the world.

[@anotherday4361]

He walked all those miles?! ,,,for a job ?! And we can't walk 5 mil

[@deerhunt477]

TRAINS!!

[@squidgert566]

The Swiss cars are bhe 2/4 types.

[@squidgert566]

Other pictures look like bhe 4/4 though…

[@delzworld2007]

Rack and pinion

[@DragonsAndDragons777]

This is illegal. I'm calling Matrix management now to find out why is physics not getting rendered

[@dougking4377]

I think I can I think I can I think I can did it

[@jebise1126]

2:06 that beard...

[@Ham.rigs07]

7:50Their clothes look as if they're from a later point in time.

[@Roland14d]

0:20 If there are 50 rack railways in the world, then they are not "unique".

[@bp420a5]

Health vouchers are provided by the taxes if hard working citizens........just saying. It's not free for us.

[@metuberob]

pikes peak ... catch a ride up with a rally driver faster ... jk

[@robwhythe793]

The title should be "Story of the American Cog Railway" - because it seems to ignore all the others around the world. You mention the Swiss manufacturer of the Pikes Peak cars - why not include their achievements as well, such as the Jungfrau railway? Or the only British cog railway, to the top of Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales? You Americans only ever seem to include what's happening in America, as if no-one else exists.

[@tommersch4296]

Wow. NH Something about this video stinks.