Andrew’s mom and step-dad were in town a couple of weekends ago and we took the excuse to cash-in a favor from a friend for tickets on the Cog Railway up Mount Washington.

If you’ve never taken the train up the mountain, you should splurge at least once in your life. It’s a fascinating and fun way to see the mountain, go through several ecological zones, and visit the top of New Hampshire.

We happened on a beautiful bluebird day with discounted tickets in hand, and spent a short time enjoying the museum displays at the Marshfield Station. At the loading platforms it was exciting to watch descending trains return and the engineer inspect the engine and car for another trip up.  Once boarded we noted the uncomfortable angle all the bench seats positioned us, but knew it was for good reason. The passenger cars themselves are works of art due to the fine craftsmanship that is all constructed by the Cog Railway mechanics, who also engineer and build the locomotives there at the railroad. When the powerful diesel locomotive rumbles alive and the ascent begins, the breakman on each car provides a good history of the railway and interesting facts about the mountain.

At the top of Mount Washington, we joined hikers and car drivers exploring the summit buildings. We had about 45 minutes which was plenty of time to enjoy the view and seek out some other friends who work at Mount Washington State Park. We took advantage of Andrew’s connections yet again and took a secret side trip to find Marty, the summit cat.

The ride back down the mountain was pleasant and in no time we were back down at the station. Since we had such a cheap day (relative to the actual price of the tickets) we didn’t hesitate to eat lunch in their cafe and purchase a photo of us posing in front of the train. A great day was had by all!