We enjoyed the great Mountain View Resort and Spa for our night in the White Mountains. Time to leave and go to our next adventure. We have booked a ride on the Mount Washington Cog Railway for 9:30 this morning. We were to be there forty-five minutes prior to departure. We drove the twenty miles from Whitefield to the Mount Washington Base Station. We knew we were close when we came to the Mount Washington Cog Railway sign.
The Mount Washington Cog Railway, also known as the Cog, is the world's first mountain-climbing rack-and-pinion (cog) railway. The railway uses either steam locomotives or biodiesel powered locomotives to carry tourists to the top of the mountain. It is the second steepest rack railway in the world. The Cog begins at an elevation of approximately 2,700 feet above sea level and ends just short of the mountain's summit peak of 6,288 feet. The train ascends the mountain at 2.8 miles per hour and descends at 4.6 mph. It takes approximately 65 minutes to ascend and 40 minutes to descend. There was an untypical early snowfall that forced the train to only ascend half-way for the two prior days. Our trip will take us up three quarters of the way due to one hundred and ten mile an hour wind gusts at the summit of Mount Washington and the high snow accumulation, making it unsafe to go that extra full distance.
To get the full effect of the steep incline of the mountain, these are a couple of post card pictures of the Cog with the steam engine going up Mount Washington.
Our guide on the train besides being a docent, must constantly watch the track insuring nothing prevents the cog toothed wheel and ratchet device that pulls the train up the track and holds the train back on the way down does not have any interference.
Arriving at the station and checking in, we had a light breakfast in the Peppersass Restaurant. The gift shop was open and we browsed through it after the ride. 
There are three loading area for The Cog … we were on platform A. We watched as a couple of trains left and came with workers to clear the snow off of the track. There was also a charter group that had the steam engine reserved that affored the opportunity to see the steam in action. We were on a biodiesel powered locomotive.
The Mount Washington Cog Railway, also known as the Cog, is the world's first mountain-climbing rack-and-pinion (cog) railway. The railway uses either steam locomotives or biodiesel powered locomotives to carry tourists to the top of the mountain. It is the second steepest rack railway in the world. The Cog begins at an elevation of approximately 2,700 feet above sea level and ends just short of the mountain's summit peak of 6,288 feet. The train ascends the mountain at 2.8 miles per hour and descends at 4.6 mph. It takes approximately 65 minutes to ascend and 40 minutes to descend. There was an untypical early snowfall that forced the train to only ascend half-way for the two prior days. Our trip will take us up three quarters of the way due to one hundred and ten mile an hour wind gusts at the summit of Mount Washington and the high snow accumulation, making it unsafe to go that extra full distance.
To get the full effect of the steep incline of the mountain, these are a couple of post card pictures of the Cog with the steam engine going up Mount Washington.
Our guide on the train besides being a docent, must constantly watch the track insuring nothing prevents the cog toothed wheel and ratchet device that pulls the train up the track and holds the train back on the way down does not have any interference.
Arriving at the station and checking in, we had a light breakfast in the Peppersass Restaurant. The gift shop was open and we browsed through it after the ride. 
There are three loading area for The Cog … we were on platform A. We watched as a couple of trains left and came with workers to clear the snow off of the track. There was also a charter group that had the steam engine reserved that affored the opportunity to see the steam in action. We were on a biodiesel powered locomotive.
As can be seen in this picture of the water tank with icicles, it was pretty cold!
We started our ascent up the mountain …
The incline is so steep that the trees which are growing straight give the illusion of growing at an angel!
The railway is a one track system, so there is a switch station built with two tracks that allows the passing of the upward bound and the downward bound trains to pass. If not, only one train at a time could run a full cycle. Each train consists of a locomotive pushing a single passenger car up the mountain, descending the mountain by going in reverse. Both locomotive and car are equipped with sprag clutches and disc brake assemblies. The rack rail design uses 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 lodging in it.
At the half-way mark is the Intermediate Station which is built to stand straight but as can be seen by it's foundation is on a built-up angle of the mountain. The steam engines require coal and water at this point too.
The incline is so steep that the trees which are growing straight give the illusion of growing at an angel!
The railway is a one track system, so there is a switch station built with two tracks that allows the passing of the upward bound and the downward bound trains to pass. If not, only one train at a time could run a full cycle. Each train consists of a locomotive pushing a single passenger car up the mountain, descending the mountain by going in reverse. Both locomotive and car are equipped with sprag clutches and disc brake assemblies. The rack rail design uses 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 lodging in it.
At the half-way mark is the Intermediate Station which is built to stand straight but as can be seen by it's foundation is on a built-up angle of the mountain. The steam engines require coal and water at this point too.
Great scenery on the trip. At the tree line are what looks to be small brushes or bushes. However, scientists have run tests and found that these are actually fully mature trees at 100 to 150 years old! Amazing!!!
We are happy to have made it three quarters of the way up and had an absolutely beautiful day to go. No wind, no snow and lots of sunshine. The Cog folks said that this was the best day that they had had since the snow fell! Wonderful!
And now to the rest of the day, we leave Mount Washington …
And to our surprise, Littleton had much more to offer! Littleton's jubilant bronze sculpture tributes hometown author, Eleanor H. Porter best remembered as the creator of the world's most optimistic character, Pollyanna in 1913. The story is that of a young orphan with an optimistic outlook who, after losing her father, is sent to live with her stern aunt in a small New England town. Pollyanna’s cheerful personality and Glad Game win over everyone including, eventually, her aunt Polly. The town in the novel bears a strong resemblance to her hometown.
Littleton is Pollyanna all the way! There are painted upright pianos on the sidewalks that anyone can sit at and play. During warm and nice weather, we're sure you can hear many being played. The cross walks are painted with Pollyanna and glad greetings. There are Glad banners all around town. And there is even a Pollyanna Gateway shopping experience!
One of the houses we passed looked like it was right out of the Pollyanna movie. Wouldn't it be great to live in it?
During our walk around town, we stumbled upon historic Thayers Inn. We went inside and imagined the history that took place within these walls. The artifacts and furnishings were lovely to look at. President Ulysses S. Grant stayed here in 1869.
We thought this was a beautiful looking building in Littleton and upon a closer look discovered that it was the Post Office and Court House. Sandra needed some international postage stamps and this was just the place to get them!
As a tourist spot, Littleton also added River Walk, a beautiful stroll on the Ammonoosuc River. They built a pedestrian covered bridge which is a big draw. The combination of the Grist Mill, Covered Bridge and River is astonishing!
What a great time in Littleton, New Hampshire! We were GLAD (in the Pollyanna spirit) that we made this one of our destinations! We headed out of Littleton to travel to Stowe, Vermont via the Kancamagus Highway between Conway and Lincoln, New Hampshire. The roadway, a winding path carved out from the mountains, took us by water falls, streams, the Swift River, and amazing trees changing colors. The end of the Kanc drops visitors back into modern-day New Hampshire. There is no cell phone reception, no gas stations, hotels, restaurants or modern amenities along the 34.5-mile stretch of Route 112 known as the Kancamagus Highway, but there are few drives as rewarding. Making the trek from Conway to Lincoln, New Hampshire along the Kancamagus Highway put the Swift River on one side and the sometimes-steep walls of the White Mountains on the other.
Off the scenic Kancamagus Highway is the Swift River Covered Bridge in North Conway. The bridge is located in the White Mountain National Forest over the Swift River. The bridge was built in 1858. The covered portion of the bridge is 120 feet long.
Off the scenic Kancamagus Highway is the Swift River Covered Bridge in North Conway. The bridge is located in the White Mountain National Forest over the Swift River. The bridge was built in 1858. The covered portion of the bridge is 120 feet long.
Not only is the bridge spectacular, but the Fall foliage was terrific!
In less than a couple of miles from the Swift River Covered Bridge, but on the opposite side of the road, is the Saco River Covered Bridge built in 1890.
The drive was gorgeous to our night accommodations. We continued to absorb all of this New England beauty!
The drive was gorgeous to our night accommodations. We continued to absorb all of this New England beauty!
We headed to Hardwick, Vermont to stay for the night so that we would be about a half an hour outside of Stowe for our destination tomorrow. This turned out to be our most rural stay. The owners had purchased this motel a year prior and are fixing it up. It was clean, quaint and only about a five minute drive from town. The rooms had pine panel walls … nothing fancy and quite different from last night at The Mountainview Grand Resort! Admittedly, the old motel name- half burned-out flashing neon motel sign on the end of the building was a little reminiscent of The Bates Motel from Psycho! The owners are pleasant, the rooms clean and comfortable … no complaints! The Lamoille River behind the Inn On The River (yes, that is their name!) was really quite pretty.
This album in full is at this link.
0 comments:
Post a Comment