Photo by Walt Sapolsky

Sunset Steam Special at Mount Washington Cog Railway

Our summit visit was brief – it was the end of the day for the Sherman Adams Building crew. A last diesel train came up behind us to accommodate the remaining regular passengers; once it headed down, we began descending close behind. We broke out of the clouds above Jacob’s Ladder, and Walt Sapolsky was able to get one good “sunset” picture (above, looking west towards Mts. Waumbek and Cabot) before the shadows fell at the end of our trip.

Our advice: ride ahead of steam on the Cog very soon, for its future is uncertain. When our trip sold out, Vic asked the railway staff if they could schedule a “second steam section,” but a live engine and a crew were not available. As Editor Emeritus Paul Shackford notes, dieselizing the Cog has irrevocably altered the riding experience from what it had been since 1869. Go now and go as often as you can; another few years may bring the end.