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Cog Railway planning Mt. Washington ski lifts
By LORNA COLQUHOUN
Union Leader Correspondent
For morose skiers counting the days until winter, here's one for poolside contemplation this weekend.
If all goes according to plans, and those are in the preliminary stages, the Cog Railway could be bringing skiers part way up the slopes of Mount Washington in the next two or three years.
Wayne Presby, one of the owners of the mountain railway, announced the new service yesterday at the grand opening of the Bretton Woods Golf Clubhouse.
"Our strategic planning says it looks feasible," he said. "What we would do is run tourists and skiers up to the Waumbek tank and (skiers) could go down groomed slopes on the side of the tracks."
The water tower, where the coal fired locomotives take on water on their three-mile run to the summit of 6,288-foot Mount Washington, is about one-third of the way up the tracks from the Marshfield base station in Crawford's Purchase.
"It's about a mile out of the base station," Presby said. "We're taking a preliminary look at making a stop where the terrain would be ideal for beginners. Further up, it's pretty steep for more expert skiers."
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Being able to offer such an attraction, he said, would be "so unique" that it would draw tourists from all over seeking the experience of riding up a train and skiing down along the tracks.
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