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The Mount Washington Cog Railway was the world's first mountain-climbing Cog Railway (rack-and-pinion railway) with a Marsh Rack System . It climbs Mount Washington in New Hampshire , USA . The railway ascends the mountain beginning at an elevation of approximately 2700 feet (823 m) above sea level and ending at the summit of Mt. Washington at an elevation of 6288 feet (1916.6 m). It is the second steepest rack railway in the world with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37.41%. The railway is still in operation As Of 2007 , using Steam Locomotive s as it always has (most dating to the 19th century, though an experimental Diesel was used between 1976 and 1981). The train ascends the mountain at 2.8 mph and descends at 4.6 mph. It takes approximately 65 minutes to ascend and 40 minutes to descend. The railway is approximately 3 miles long. Most of the Cog Railway is in Thompson And Meserve's Purchase , with the part of the railway nearest to Mt. Washington's summit being in Sargent's Purchase . HISTORY The railway was built by Sylvester Marsh , who came up with the idea while climbing the mountain in 1857. His plan was treated as insane. (Local tradition says the state legislature voted permission based on a consensus that harm resulting from operating it was no issue — since the design was attempting the impossible — but benefits were guaranteed: The $5,000 of his own money he put up, and whatever else he could raise, would be spent largely locally.) The railway is sometimes called Railway to the Moon because one state legislator remarked during the proceedings that Marsh should not only be given a charter up Mt. Washington but also to the moon. After developing a prototype locomotive and a short demonstration section of track, he indeed found investors and started construction. Despite its incomplete state, the first paying customers rode in 1868; the construction reached the summit in 1869. The early Locomotive s all had vertical Boiler s, like many stationary Steam Engine s of the time; the boilers were mounted on Trunnion s allowing them to be held vertically no matter what the gradient of the track. Later designs introduced horizontal boilers, slanted so they remain close to horizontal on the steeply graded track. The first of two major accidents in the railway's history occurred in 1929. The first Locomotive , #1 (first named ''Hero'' and later ''Peppersass'' because of its vertical boiler's resemblance to a pepper-sauce bottle) which was used to build the railway was found after being lost for many years as it had been moved about the country and placed on display at many exhibitions. The owners of the railway at the time (the B&M Railroad) decided to restore Peppersass and make a commemorative trip for the railway's 60th anniversary. During the ascent, the locomotive's front axle broke and the locomotive began descending the mountain at high speed. All but one of its crew jumped to safety (though some suffered broken bones) but one man did not escape and died. Although the locomotive broke into pieces, the boiler did not rupture, and the pieces were later reassembled to reconstruct the locomotive for static display. It is now located at the Cog Railway Base Station. On September 17 1967 , eight passengers were killed and seventy-two injured when Engine #3 derailed at the Skyline switch about a mile below the summit. The engine rolled off the trestle while the uncoupled passenger car slid several hundred feet into a large rock. An investigation revealed that the Skyline switch had not been properly configured for the descending train. Despite these incidents the railway still has a solid safety record having taken almost five million people to the summit during its existence. Devil's shingle Since the early days of the railway's construction the workers wanted to minimize time when climping and descending the ramp, so they invented slideboards fitting over the cog rack and providing enough room for themselves and their tools. These boards – no two were exactly alike – were approximately 90 Cm long by 25 cm wide, made of wood with hand forged iron and with two long hardwood handles usually attached at the down-mountain end. Common times for the descent of the mountain using these boards were about 15 minutes. The record was 2:45, an average speed above 100 Km/h (62 mph). The banning of the ''Devil's shingles'' came in 1906 after the death of an employee by accident. Later the design of the rack was changed so the old braking mechanism could not grip any more. MECHANICAL DESIGN Each train consists of a locomotive pushing a single passenger car up the mountain, and descending the mountain by going backwards. Both locomotive and car were originally equipped with a Ratchet and Pawl mechanism engaged during the climb that prevents any roll-back; during descent, both locomotive and car are braked. Recent improvements in design have replaced the ratchet (gear and pawl mechanism) with sprague clutches and Disc Brake assemblies. The Rack rail design used is one of Marsh's own invention, using a ladder-like rack with open bar "rungs" engaged by the teeth of the Cog Wheel . This system allows snow and debris to fall through the rack rather than lodge in it. (A very similar system was invented in Switzerland and named the Riggenbach Rack System .) Count Riggi ( Niklaus Riggenbach ?) visited Marsh while he was constructing the railway up Mt. Washington and Marsh gave him copies of all of his plans. Initially there was no way to pass. In 1941 a nine-motion Switch was invented, and two spur Sidings were added, each long enough to divert two up "trains" so others could pass down, enabling more round trips per day. In 2004 work was completed replacing the lower, "Waumbek Switch and Siding", with an 1800-foot passing loop equipped with electric and hydraulicly powered automated switches. These switches are powered by batteries and recharged by solar panels. One switch is located at each end of the "loop" allowing ascending and descending trains to pass one another. MODERN OPERATIONS The most common trips on the Cog are between the two main stations, one at the summit and the other adjacent to the operators' logistical and repair "base". From 2003 to 2006, "ski trains" ran, stopping at an intermediate station, from which passengers could Ski down to the base station. The "Cog" track crosses a hiking trail a relatively short distance below the summit of Mt. Washington, and some hikers wait for the next train, in order to Moon the train. Access to the base station by car is by three possible routes, each culminating with the upper portion of the dead-end "Cog Base Road". The advertised, roughly eastbound route uses the Base Road's full length from Bretton Woods . An especially scenic route, initially southbound from U.S. Highway 2 , follows Jefferson Notch Road, a narrow dirt road with hairpin turns; it rises 1500 feet (500 meters) to the pass, at 3000 feet (1000 meters) above sea level, between Mount Jefferson in the Presidential Range and Mount Dartmouth , before descending to its junction with the Base Road. However, in winter, and usually before and after, the Jefferson Notch Road is closed to wheeled vehicles and used primarily by snowmobiles. The initially roughly northbound route from U.S. Highway 302 in Crawford Notch via Mt. Clinton Road is also closed in the winter to vehicular traffic. Due to the operations of trains all winter beginning in 2004-2005 the Cog Base Road is now plowed and sanded all winter to allow tourists, skiers and employees to access the Base Station. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS The locomotives on the railway generate large amounts of Smoke . The smoke has been nicknamed Cog Smog {Link without Title} . The railway is exempted from the state's air-pollution-control law (RSA 125-C:20) {Link without Title} , which exempts "any steam locomotives and engines or replacements thereof used in connection with the operation of a railroad or railway which were in operation or on order prior to January 1, 1973, and are located entirely within the state: Each 3-mile ride burns one ton of coal and consumes 1,000 gallons of water. {Link without Title} LOCOMOTIVES SEE ALSO
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