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[Pages S3839-S3840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MOUNT WASHINGTON COG RAILWAY
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, today, on behalf of the New
Hampshire congressional delegation, Senator Maggie Hassan and
Representatives Ann McLane Kuster and Chris Pappas, I wish to salute
the Mount Washington Cog Railway on its 150th anniversary. Once hailed
by famed showman P.T. Barnum as the ``Second-Greatest Show on Earth,''
the Cog Railway remains an engineering marvel and a one-of-a-kind
experience a full century and a half after its maiden voyage up New
Hampshire's highest peak.
A railway summiting 6,288-foot Mount Washington was first proposed by
New Hampshire native Sylvester Marsh, a retired meatpacker who made a
fortune working in Chicago. When he approached the New Hampshire State
Legislature for a charter to build his cog-and-rack system, Marsh
encountered some skepticism of his innovative design. Legend has it
that one lawmaker remarked that Marsh ``might as well build a railway
to the moon.'' Marsh got his charter in 1858, and his system found a
nickname, ``The Railway to the Moon,'' that it proudly uses to this
day.
Construction began in 1866 at the base of the mountain, and it took
engineers and builders 3 years to complete the 3\1/4\ mile track to the
peak. It opened to fanfare on July 3, 1869, as the world's first
mountain cog railway. One of its passengers that first summer was
Ulysses S. Grant, who became the first U.S. President to visit Mount
Washington. According to newspapers, the President was impressed with
the safety and simplicity of the locomotive's air brake system.
The Cog Railway's locomotives embraced technology and ingenuity to
push passenger cars up the track and slow their descent. The first
locomotive, nicknamed ``Old Peppersass'' because of its likeness to a
pepper sauce bottle, mounted a vertical boiler on twin trunnions in
order to keep it upright as it climbed the steep grade. Old Peppersass
was eventually replaced in the late 1800s by a fleet of more modern
coal-powered steam locomotives, but it remains preserved and on display
[[Page S3840]]
at base station. Today, under the direction of current owner Wayne
Presby, most locomotives are powered by state-of-the-art biodiesel
technology. The new trains are faster, quieter, cleaner, and more
efficient, but the Cog Railway still uses a couple of steam locomotives
for those who want to experience the trip as it was years ago.
While the locomotives may change with the times, one feature of the
Cog Railway has remained a constant: Personnel must maintain a
resilient system capable of withstanding extreme and unpredictable
weather. Winters come early and leave late atop the Northeast's highest
peak, often burying the mountain in several feet of snow. Mount
Washington is famous as the site of one of the fastest recorded wind
speeds in history: 231 miles per hour in 1934. The Cog Railway weathers
torrential rain, heavy snow, blustering winds, and even hurricanes. A
severe hurricane battered the mountain in 1938 and destroyed Jacob's
Ladder, a steep, curving trestle near the top of the mountain. It was
quickly rebuilt with the help of Dartmouth College.
The White Mountains are a majestic site, and there are few better
places to behold this beauty than the Mount Washington Cog Railway. It
offers spectacular views and brings you to a summit where you can see
up to five States and into Canada on a clear day. Moreover, riding the
Cog Railway is an experience that ties riders to Sylvester Marsh and a
century and a half of steam, steel, and many unforgettable memories.
On behalf of the people of New Hampshire, we ask our colleagues and
all Americans to join us in congratulating the Mount Washington Cog
Railway on 150 years of service and wishing its staff and many
supporters all the best in the coming years.
____________________
