In 2008, the Mount Washington Cog Railway took a significant leap into the 21st century. Since the mid-1980s, the owners of the Mount Washington Cog Railway have invested in innovations, improvements, and modernization.įor the first 140 years of the Mount Washington Cog Railway, it operated with 19th-century technology. In 1983, the cog railway was sold to a group of New Hampshire businessmen. In the early 1980s, the demands of owning and running the railway became too much of a strain for Ellen Teague’s age and her health. It was during her tenure, as president, that the Cog Railway employees built a new steam locomotive for the first time. One of her notable accomplishments was winning exemption for all steam locomotives in the State of New Hampshire from the air pollution act in 1972. Teague became the world’s first female railroad president. Ownership of the Cog Railway then went to his wife, and in August of that year, Ellen C. He emerged as one of the most notable figures in the history of the Cog Railway.Īfter Henry Teague’s death, Arthur Teague remained as the General Manager (now under Dartmouth College’s ownership), and with a mortgage purchased the railway from Dartmouth in 1962.Īrthur Teague’s sudden and untimely death in 1967 came as a great shock to his family, his friends, and the cog railway employees. He ultimately became Vice President and General Manager. Arthur Teague was a very capable man who combined innovative mechanical ability with management skills. Teague, who had the same last name but was no direct relation. Because of this funny statement, and from that moment on, the engine of the cog railway was never known by any other name.ĭuring Henry Teague’s ownership success was achieved with the help of those he hired, and they were often carefully chosen. This person called out “There’s your Peppersass!”.

A pepper sauce bottle was a common item on kitchen tables of the period. Someone in the crowd thought that the upright boiler looked like a pepper sauce bottle. However, many in the crowd thought it didn’t look like the hero. It was August 29, 1866, when stockholders, railroad officials, and other invited guests arrived at the base of the mountain to witness the demonstration. It was only intended to prove itself on a track that went about 600 feet up the mountainside. It certainly was not suited to make such a climb without these things. It had no cab, no provisions for fuel, water storage or even a pump to fill the boiler. When the first locomotive engine arrived and was assembled, it looked more like a hoisting engine that might be used to raise a piano to a third-story window in a city rather than a revolutionary machine to climb to the summit of Mount Washington. The first engine was named Peppersass as a joke by someone in the crowd of spectators on a demonstration to prove the concept.

White mountain cog railway