Today we rode the Cog Train up Mount Washington. 
We have heard horror stories about how cold and windy it can be on Mt. Washington. They say it has the worst weather on Earth! The average temperature there is 37 degrees and the wind is always blowing. The record low temp. was -49 degrees and tthe highest ever was 74 degrees. The wind was once clocked at 231 mph in 1934 and it is 75mph or higher on over half the days during the winter months. Last Monday morning it was 0 degrees with 100 mph winds. These folks from Texas didn't come prepared for that kind of cold. Thanks to Wal-Mart and LLCote we were able to get hooded sweatshirts, insulated underwear and socks, a heavy coat and gloves.This morning it was 38 degrees with 18 mph winds - not too bad.
We reached the summit!
The Mount Washington Cog Train has been in operation since 1869, when it became the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world. Today they run both coal fired and biodiesel engines to push the passenger car up the mountain and to block it on its return down the mountain.
The coal fired engine - burns 1 ton of goal on each trip
Blocking the way down the mountain.
The railroad tracks are 1" narrower than a standard railroad, and there is a center track of slots which receive the cogs from the engine. The tracks go constantly uphill as it ascends at a rate of up to 37.41% - a gain in elevation of 14 inches for every three feet forward 
Believe me, that is steep. When you looked out the window the trees and buildings looked like they were very crooked. In truth, we were crooked. 
We started at the base station at an altitude of 2,700 feet, and we finally reached the summit at 6,288'. There is a permanent weather station, a cafe, restrooms and of course a gift shop at the summit. The ride up was very smooth.
The trees looked like they were leaning.
From the top on a clear day you could see Canada, Maine, the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont, and New York. Today we could see a long way but were unsure of what we were seeing. 
We broke through a layer of clouds at about the 4500' level. This is a "must-do" trip when you are in New Hampshire.
Above the clouds on Mt. Washington
Following our trainride we all met at a restaurant at the bottom of the mountain for a LEO - Lt's Eat Out. 
After that I took Jenna to Bethleham to get her hair cut/colored and I went to Littleton for a haircut. Then we went to the Mount Washington Hotel - a magnificent hotel build in the 1800's. 
The golf course behind the Mt. Washington Hotel.
Today it is owned by Omni Hotels. It was quite a place to see. Tonight we have a travel briefing and then we are all watching "On Golden Pond." We are going there to visit next week - hence the movie.
LEO at Fabyans Station
Flowers at the front entrance to the Mt. Washington Hotel
Until next time, Happy Trails.
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