Hiker parking at Cog Railway

I received the following email from Wayne Presby, the President of the Mount Washington Railway. Since he is the president, I would think that his word is final (nothing like getting straight from the top).

$5 a day for parking and requesting that you use the lower lots is entirely reasonable. Please comply with their requests, the hiking community should not jeopardize the access that they provide.

Wayne also passes on some positive intentions on addressing the pollution issues associated with the cog.

- darren



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Dear Darren:

I have been reading with interest a number of comments regarding parking in the lots at the base of the Cog Railway by hikers. We have no problem with hikers parking in our lower lots. We do request that they pay us $5.00 per day for the privilege as we do incur costs to keep the lots open. We do discourage folks from using our upper lots because it makes it difficult to plow after a storm.

I also have read that many dislike the soot produced by the coal burned operating the train. We apologize for this but it is part of the historical nature of the operation. We are in the midst of addressing the issue however. We have been working diligently over the past few years on making major improvements to the efficiency of our locomotives. We have succeeded in increasing the efficiency of the locomotives by almost 70%. Once we have completed these improvements, which is very technical and time consuming, we will begin the conversion of the engines from burning coal to burning oil. We will start by burning #2 heating fuel but hope to eventually begin burning a green fuel made from forest products.

I hope this clears up some issues of concern to your members. Please feel free to post this to your site.

Best regards,


Wayne W. Presby, President
Mount Washington Railway Company
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Thank you for posting that Darren and a BIG THANK YOU to Wayne for clearing up that question. Looks like a VERY resonable request and a great benefit to the hiking community.

It is also reassuring to know that they are trying to solve the pollution issue while retaining the "history" of the Cog.

sli74

It was a nice response from him.
Interesting... he seems like a nice guy who is having a huge impact on the area. I imagine there are many "pros & cons" to the subject.
Thanks for posting it.

SS:
Please pardon my ignorance, but what's the "huge negative impact"?

PS:
Kudos to Mr. Presby for allowing this access.

Cheers to Wayne for both clarifying his business offer ($5.00 parking) and for addressing the pollution issue.

Perhaps a sign would be useful

If anybody is talking to Wayne, they might mention a sign would be useful. There are lower lots and even lower lots, but I did not see anything which directed hikers to park in one of the lower lots (I guess we might have accidentally used the upper lower lot--or was it the lower upper lot??) or even to pay for the parking experience. There was a lot of room on Sunday, 2/13, in all of the lots.

It's great to have the access.

Mr Presby deserves credit for addressing the issues publicly. In an era where it is much easier to just "swat the flies", he has extended his hand to welcome us. I appreciate the gesture. Winter climbs of Washington, Monroe (and Jefferson) just got "legally" easier. Many of us appreciate that.

Thank you to Mr. Presby on the parking info and steps to
address the coal burning issue.

afka_bob said:

Please pardon my ignorance, but what's the "huge negative impact"?

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I'm so glad you asked that question!
The Cog burns coal, which releases sulfer dioxide into the atmosphere. SO2
contributes to acid rain, and causes respitory illness. It can travel long distances -- coal burning plants from the midwest send SO2 into our New England air, which can especially be easily detected on those hazy summer days.

Ozone levels have been found to be 2-5 times higher on the summit of Mt. Washington than at Camp Dodge (see www.outdoors.org). While there are many reasons for a spike in ozone, the Cog is one of many contributors.

The haze around the Mt. Washington Valley is often caused by fine sulfer particles that come directly from coal burning power plants. In a 10 hr period in July 1995, unhealthy particle levels were found on Mt. Washington(85 micrograms per cubic meter of air). Fine particulate matter is very serious, as it is absorbed directly into the lungs.

Like I said, while the Cog is only one small contributor, it's coal burning does
produce a "huge negative impact". Check out the AMC study of hiker lung function on Mt. Washington at www.outdoors.org in the conservation section.


-Liza

Blue,

I suspect Bob is aware of the pollution from the cog (anyone who has ever been in the vicinity is). I figured he was playing devil's advocate.

Remember, we can't get too self-righteous when we all zoom around the northeast in our vehicles every weekend...

It would be interesting to do a study of the relative atmospheric deposition per person associated with per capita cog-riders versus hikers (who ride in 1, 2 or 3s to the trailheads). Mass transit has an inherent advantage... even if this type of mass transit seems frivolous to many of us on VFTT...

I too appreciate Mr. Presby's willingness to share his resources. There are few such dichotomous examples of sharing the "Land of many uses..."

spencer

Blue (I'm so glad you answered!), Spencer, et al:

Not so much devil's advocate as bemused by-stander.

I have a suspicion (which is about as scientific as your figures for the Cog's actual contribution) that the Cog is a tiny part of that problem. And (again, about as scientific as your figures) a "small contributer" might not actually have a "huge negative impact."

Let me say that I am not in favor of more pollution, and a cleaner cog could be a great thing for the mountain -- but I think it very odd that folks are concerned about the coal-burning Cog and don't bat an eye about ski areas* that cut forests, increase traffic, develop (or cause to be developed) condos as far as the eye can see, tax water systems and pump out sewage at an alarming rate. The Cog's coal-fired pollution is a drop in the bucket compared to the total impact of one fair-to-mid-sized ski area, let alone the how-many-are-there in the WMNF area.

It seems to be another mote-in-your-eye/beam-in-mine situation when we slam the Cog for polluting and ignore the big players.

Blue said:

...Like I said, while the Cog is only one small contributor, it's coal burning does produce a "huge negative impact". Check out the AMC study of hiker lung function on Mt. Washington at www.outdoors.org in the conservation section.

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Gotta love that site! In the side bar next to "Outdoor Leadership Ethics: Leave No Trace — Learn how to minimize your impact on the environment while enjoying the outdoors!" is a link for the "New Highland Center" What a hoot!



PS to pbernard ("Norman Einstein"):
History ain't the problem -- more recent development of condos and lodging and the stifling vehicular traffic have done much more damage to the environment in the WMNF area than the the Cog and Auto Road.

Biodesiel for the "unfortunate" Cog?

Do you walk to your hike?

This all (not just you, but much of this thread) sounds a bit like a fat man ordering the super-size quadruple bacon cheese burger and biggie fries, virtuously topping it off with a small diet coke, and then wrinkling his nose at his thinner wife and asking if she had put on a little weight.

If the first principle is not to fool ourselves, than we have to admit that we are all the fat people here.


* Y'all signed up for the big VFTT ski-fest? Don't drive your brother-in-law's car with the "This car climbed Mt. Washington" bumper sticker!

What am I innocent of?

I'm one of the fat people.

Another factoid of coal burning plants: A plant producing the same amount of kilowatt power as a nuclear power plant produces 300 times the radioactivity. And releases it all into the air.

Spencer, I don't think Blue was being self-righteous, just putting some actual facts out there. Nothing wrong with that. I would bet she is conscious about her energy consumption as well. But you're right, we all consume a ton of energy and spew much more garbage into the air, land, and water than we should. Even for those who carpool, recycle and reuse, etc. being self-righteous isn't going to do anything anyways. It has to be a group effort with consumers, manufacturers and yes, the government, pushing through a greener, cleaner effort to change the entire energy structure on all levels. And it will happen. Let's just hope it happens sooner by choice as opposed to later by necessity.

Let's let the child by the inventer, this time. And not the mother.

Getting back on topic, three cheers for Mr. Presby for sending the e-mail to Darren to post here for you NHers. I may never be using the lot, but it makes me feel good that the owner is thinking of transforming the coal process into something better, as opposed to stubborning sticking to a mentality of "history over health."

Which leads me to my own cog story. This past September while on my Pemi loop, and after seeing Washington under sparkling clear skies for three straight days, we were lunching atop South Twin. We had mixed reactions during the many hours of checking out the cog's plume of smoke on the side of Washington. I came out with a wish rebuttal to my friends insistance that the thing was cool, by coming up with my own idea of what I thought would be cool for the cog to be. Well, after a couple came huffing and puffing up from Galehead Hut below and started wondering what all the mountains were around them, I decided to try out my idea and see what they would think. Harmless fun with a slightly harmful subject.

I pointed out peaks, then lead them across the Presis where the man exclaimed there must be a fire on the mountain. As we watched it climb higher I explained it was the cog railway. They were both amazed and disgusted that a spewing rail engine was allowed to climb in the middle of all those beautiful mountains. Then I told them that it was traditional and historic, but that the cog was the latest in a scientific attempt to combat acid rain. It was powered by the next generation high output battery packs, all charged by solar panels hidden between the cog tracks and by mini hydro turbines tapping the various mountain streams flowing past it. And the smoke isn't smoke at all, but actually an alkaline based powder that is fighting to neutralize the effects of all the acid rain that falls on the mountains. To keep with tradition they naturally dyed the powder black with all organic squid ink, which breaks down into nutrients for the alpine plants.

They bought it hook, line, and sinker. I felt guilty as they walked around the summit giddy that mankind was finally on its way to using technology to save mountain tops, reverse global warming, and save mankind; and finally broke down and told them the truth. No, it's not fighting acid rain, it's actually a frontline soldier in the pollution war. But I hope someday far-fetched notions will become the reality and the norm, and that we will live to see those days come. Despite their disappointment, they forced up a smile and said, "We hope so, too."

Then, again...

Doc,

Maybe they weren't "buying it" hook line, etc., but, instead, were nodding, smiling and backing away slowly, hoping the crazy person talking about mountain stream turbines and alkiline-based powders didn't suddenly lunge at them and try to eat them.

spencer said:

Remember, we can't get too self-righteous when we all zoom around the northeast in our vehicles every weekend...

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I did'nt mean to call Blue self-righteous. I was reminding us all that we have the tendency to complain about things without realizing our own impacts (as Bob points out).

great story, Doc!

spencer

Thanks Darren for asking & Wayne for replying. I'm printing the thread to put in my car so I'll have it in NH when I park in one of teh lower lots.

Curiosity and Compliment

I am curious as to the differences in pollution, energy consumption and social costs of the auto road vs. the cog. By "social cost" I mean to compare the reinforcement of the automobile as the best way to get somewhere vs. the train.

In my opinion, the biggest disaster, along with the biggest progress in transportation, is wasteful American land use patterns by the use of the highway system as a land planning template. I'll take the efficiencies of rail transport anytime along with the resulting villages and communities spawned by rail and all but rendered obsolete by over-indulgence in the highway plan.

The cog scores one on the elevation of the social conciousness of the efficacy and romance of rail.

Compliments to Darren and to all who constructively contribute to these threads. This website has drawn the attention and the participation of the president of the cog, the editor of a major outdoor magazine, sadly, the next of kin, and others and that is, I think, a reflection of the level and the integrity of the discussions.

Excuse me for commenting, just some thoughts. What do condos and autos have to do with the Cog railway anyway?

Alternative Fuels

There's been a lot of discussion lately about the relative "greenness" of hybrid automobiles versus those powered by natural gas.

Since there seems to be some evidence that the natural gas powered conveyances are easier on the environment than the hybrid alternatives, I wonder if the Cog is considering (natural) gas powered trains.

Re: The Cog Railroad

The cog railroad has been operating essentially unchanged since around the Civil War. Our choice of transportation then was to walk, ride horse drawn or back or the railroad. Walking is pretty slow and tiring. Horses in quantity have some major environmental impacts (manure etc.; not to mention dead horse lying where they died). All railroads had the same soot, cinders, toxic and environmentally damaging gases as the cog.
To have to tolerate the best of 19th century technology and treatment of the environment once in a while is possibly a good reminder of why we should put up with emissions controls, unleaded fuel on our cars, accept the ban on freon, DDT etc.
While we perceive some progress as bad, a close up look at the past may help to raise our thinking.

Bill

Spencer -- I wasn't being self-righteous and I wasn't complaining (much).
I'm enthralled in a class I'm taking at Harvard, Environmental Management, and tend to get very excited to get a chance to talk or write about air pollution and fine particle matter. It's great to learn about a topic you've never studied, and sometimes one tends to get a little over eager about new knowledge.

-L

spencer said:

I did'nt mean to call Blue self-righteous. I was reminding us all that we have the tendency to complain about things without realizing our own impacts (as Bob points out).

great story, Doc!

spencer

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