Sylvester Marsh

Cog railway

While ascending Mount Washington in 1852, Marsh lost his way, and then conceived the idea of building a railroad to its summit, believing that such an enterprise could be made profitable. He obtained a charter for the road on June 25, 1858, but the American Civil War prevented any action until May 1866. The construction of such a road was regarded as impossible, and he became known as “Crazy Marsh”; indeed, the legislature, in granting him a charter, further expressed their willingness to grant a “charter to the moon” if he wished.

Notwithstanding all opposition, Marsh persisted in building the railroad, relying chiefly on his own resources, and received little capital investment until an engine was actually running over part of the route. The peculiar form of locomotive, cog rail, and brakes used were invented by Marsh. The cog railway was formally opened on August 14, 1868, as far as “Jacob's ladder,” and entirely completed in July 1869. During the construction of this road, it was visited by a Swiss engineer, who took away drawings of the machinery and track, from which a similar railway, Rigi Railways, was built up Mount Rigi in Switzerland.