Sunset on the steam era at Mt. Washington. The early fall sun is just a few degrees above the horizon and the light is fading at Marshfield Station. Nearly all of the trains are now back in the yard with their fires banked for the night. A band of hikers marches off the Jewell Trail and across the tracks to their waiting cars. A few other folks await friends and relatives on the one train still on the hill. I didn't know it at the time, but this day was the last real hurrah for the steam engines on Mt. Washington. There were six hot this day, running two trains per hour in glorious sunshine. Sure, there would be a few more steam runs in 2008 and again in 2009, but never again would they drive for the summit in pairs and never again would there be 4-way steam meets at Waumbek Tank. I am so incredibly glad that I chose to hike the mountain this day and so incredibly thankful that I was able to record as much of this historic event as I was.
