Wayne and Sue Presby with Jay Leno, filming an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage at the Cog Railway

The Mount Washington Railway Company:

Over a Century and a Half of Stewardship

Sylvester Marsh

1866-1884

New Hampshire native and retired Chicago businessman Sylvester Marsh designed and built the Mount Washington Cog Railway after a near fatal hike to the summit in 1857. In addition to numerous other innovations, Marsh’s concept utilized a cog and rack mechanism for locomotion. With its official opening on July 3, 1869, “The Cog” became the world’s first mountain climbing cog railway.

Boston and Maine Railroad

1896-1931

Upon Marsh’s death in 1884, The Cog’s ownership fell to majority shareholder John E. Lyon (president of the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad) and other prominent railroad executives. Consolidation of regional roads in the late nineteenth century eventually resulted in the B&M Railroad’s 35 year tenure as owner of the Cog Railway. The B&M operated a branch line from Fabyan’s to