Upper Waumbek Switch. For about the first seven decades of its existence, the Mt. Washington Cog Railway was a single-track railroad. There were no sidings and no switches, so there was no way for trains to pass each other. Most often, the line was divided into three sections and trains ran back and forth on specific sections of the line. Passengers had to change trains twice to go to the summit. Another scheme that was used was to send multiple trains up and down the entire hill in a big gaggle. That all changed in the 1940s, when passing spurs were installed. Unfortunately, the switches that were used on those spur tracks were the most complicated in railroad history. Nine separate movements were required to actuate those switches. They were literally like puzzles, which the brakemen had to get right. At least one accident resulted from an improperly set switch.
Beginning in 2000, a major modernization program provided a more permanent and reliable means for trains to pass on the mountain. It started with the development of a 2,100 ft. passing loop at Waumbek Tank, and the development of transfer table-style switches, powered by the sun and hydraulically-actuated. Pictured here is the one at the top of the Waumbek loop, called "Upper Waumbek Switch." The building at the left hosts the solar power and hydraulic equipment, and the transfer table can be see right ahead on the track. At the time of this photo, the switch was in the process of moving from the ascending track to the descending one, to allow multiple trains to pass the one that the photographer is riding. Just above the switch, a small, track-side electrical box on a pole contains the actuator switches. All trains stop for all switches as standard procedure. Similar configuration switches are now in place below Waumbek Tank at the bottom of the passing loop, at the Base Station and just below the Summit Platform. These switches are among the many innovations that have been designed and built right here on the property and they make the railroad far more efficient, and most importantly, SAFE!
