When Sylvester Marsh suggested to the NH legislature that a railway be built to the summit of Mt. Washington, everyone thought he was crazy. The Cog Railway was built by Sylvester Marsh and the engine by Walter Aiken. They made the Cog Railway so that there would be a quicker and safer way up the mountain.

The Cog wheels on the engine would make a non-slip contact with the rachet to propel the train up the steep slopes of the mountain. The usual type of design(conventional) railway uses the friction of the wheels on the rails, called adhesion, to provide power. A Cog Railroad uses a gear called a "cog wheel" fitted into a special rack rail in the middle between the outer rails to climb much steeper grades than with a standard adhesion railroad.The project was finished in 1869.

The first engine was named Peppersass, because it looked and was shaped like a Victorian pepper sauce bottle.

The engine of the Cog Railway burns a ton of coal and 1,000 gallons of water on each trip up the mountain.

Sylvester Marsh, who made his fortune in the meat packing business, invested$5,000 of his money along with $15,000 from investors. The Steam Railroad Company began production of the railway on the western side of Mt. Washington. Ulysses S. Grant, then President of the United States made a trip up the mountain in 1869. Total cost was $139,500.

From 1873-1915 three summit houses had been burned and rebuilt. Tourists would arrive at the base of Mt. Washington by train, and then would board the Cog Railway to spend the night.

Jacob's Ladder is the steepest part of the railway. The Cog climbs to grade of 37%, almost straight up! The builders called it that because back at that time people liked to name things that were from the Bible. Jacob was a man who was told to run away and when he did, he stopped in the woods to rest. He had a dream that in front of him there was a ladder up to Heaven and that angels walked up and down it. That was what brought him home.

The Mt. Washinton Railway is the only railway in the world with its main line built entirely on wooden trestle. There is no permanent roadbed. The track is laid on top of the ground. The crossties are placed on stout wooden stringers regularly supported by transverse beams or framed stanchions. ( see The Journal for Industrial Archeology, vol. 20, # 1 & 2, 1994 )