Pikes Peak Cog Railway - Train To The Clouds (Driver's View!) [S3: E03]

[Music] it's a train ride to the clouds it's a ride through history and an experience that will leave you breathless literally the oxygen level at the highest point on this line is only 60% of what you would experience at sea level with the train station perched to top Pikes Peak in the Colorado Rockies this is the highest point that you can reach on a train in North America and the trip up here is nothing short of a amazing conventional railroads almost never have a grade of more than 4% which means that the train gains 4 ft in elevation for every 100 ft traveled but this Railway blows that Norm out of the water with a staggering 25% grade gaining 25 ft in elevation while traveling the same distance how do these Extreme Trains accomplish such a feat there's only one one way to find out nestled in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains the Broadmore manitu and Pikes Peak Cog Railway stands as a testament to human determination and as a window into the a inspiring beauty of nature the Rocky Mountains are home to several massive Peaks whose Summit reaches above 14,000 ft these are locally known as 14ers and Colorado is home to 58 of them aboard this Historic Railway we will be ascending to the Sumit of one of Colorado's most famous 14ers while the line may be historic the tracks and trains are all brand new more on that after we reach the summit the adventure begins at the base station where passengers eagerly await their Ascent with such steep hills ahead of us it's understandable to be nervous about how this train can tackle such steep grades but not to worry because this is not a normal Railway with almost every train in North America locomotives of all types electric Diesel and steam all move their trains forward in the same way by using the power of their driving Wheels which grip the steel rails and move the train forward despite the size of these large trains the surface area of the wheel which makes physical contact with the rails is only about the size of a dime this allows trains to roll down the tracks with shockingly low amount of friction which is why trains are so ruthlessly efficient at moving their Freight and passengers but this same lack of friction that's a benefit for conventional trains is the mortal enemy of our train today therefore the outer wheels of this train are completely unpowered and only serve to keep us on the tracks they play no role in moving our train whatsoever another solution will be needed enter the Cog Railway also known as a rack Railway it is a Marvel of engineering that enables trains to Traverse Steep inclines and navigate challenging terrain with ease at the heart of their functionality lies a unique Cog wheel mechanism which is mounted in the center of our engine and meshes with a center rack rail it's difficult to get a good look at this on our modern locomotive but there is still a great way to discover how this all works built in 1893 this steam engine served on the Cog Railway for 46 years it now sits on display in a park in downtown manitu Springs where visitors can still get an up close look at how Cog Railways used to work and the basic principles haven't changed you can clearly see how the Cog wheel on the engine fits perfectly into the rack rail on the tracks this Innovative design provides exceptional traction and stability allowing trains to to ascend and descend gradients that would be impossible for conventional locomotives to conquer as the train moves forward the Cog Wheels engage with the rack rail effectively gripping onto it and propelling the train forward and upward or controlling its descent on the way downhill Cog Railways also incorporate additional safety features such as brakes and anti-roll back mechanisms to enhance control and stability now that our fears have been assuaged I'd say it's time to climb aboard and begin our Ascent to the top of the mighty Pikes [Music] Peak we are now about halfway into the climb when we reach Mountain View here we passed the train from this morning now on its return Journey down the mountain notice the switch operator who remains in this Trackside shed at this location all day to ensure the safe operation of the complicated switch mechanisms these turnouts are made more complex by the fact that not only the outside rails need to move but the center rack rail must also be configured by hand so that trains May navigate The [Music] Junction we can tell we are getting close to the summit as we pass the timber line the point and elevation on the mountain where the extreme conditions make it virtually impossible for trees to grow from from here to the summit we enter an otherworldly moonscape reminding us of just how inhospitable this Alpine environment could have been for those that built this Railway [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] oh at last the summit looms into view a beacon of achievement perched at an elevation of 14,115 Ft above sea [Applause] [Music] level stepping off the train passengers are greeted by a panorama that stretches to the Horizon showcasing a vast expanse of snowcapped Peaks and endless Skies now safely at the top let's take this opportunity to learn more about the history of the Cog Railway and explore the Thoroughly Modern train that brought us here today construction on the railway began in 1889 and the first train summited Pikes Peak 2 years later later in June of 1891 instead of pulling their cars like a conventional train the steam engines which first worked the railway would push their consist of wooden coaches up the hill thus limiting the chances of a car breaking away and rolling down the hill uncontrolled this is still how the trains operate today although this is a historic line the operation is now Thoroughly Modern in every aspect in the early 2000s the infrastru structure and the trains themselves were slowly beginning to create a situation that was both unsafe and increasingly expensive to maintain so in March of 2018 the decision was made to close the line indefinitely later that same year an agreement was signed to completely replace the track rebuild the facilities and purchased three new train sets which were delivered in 2021 these brand new trains were built by Stadler rail of Switzerland appropriate since Switzerland is where the Cog or rack and pinion Railway was invented each train set consists of one diesel electric locomotive two coaches and a cab control car in addition this snowblower number 30 was purchased along with the train sets albeit from a different company we were lucky enough to snag the front row also known as the driver's view seat in the cab control car for our journey there we were treated to a tutorial of the driver's console from the operator the high-tech controls include these displays which give the driver ample information about their train including the Tractive force on each of the four powered Cog Wheels beneath the engine this graph shows positive values for traction on the way up the hill and negative values for dynamic braking on the way down the driver can also control the Train's doors monitor the power supply and be alerted via these warning lights if anything is impeding the safe operation of the trade after having explored the summit for over an hour the effects of the high elevation were starting to take their toll on myself and my fellow passengers at this altitude there is only 60% of the oxygen that you would experience at sea level this manifests itself as dizziness shortness of breath and confusion at best and headaches nausea and other more severe symptoms at worst as busy as I was feeling it certainly made me wonder how people are able to Summit Mount Everest which is over twice the height luckily the worst of these effects can be avoided by just taking it easy moving slowly and avoiding any heavy exertion while at the summit during the rebuilding of the Cog Railway the nearby City of Colorado Springs was also working hard on construction of this brand new Visitors Center at the [Music] summit now it's time to put the air brakes on the cars and the dynamic DC brakes on the engine to the test as we head back down to the L lofty elevation of 6,300 Ft back in Manitou [Music] [Music] [Music] Springs [Music] after the passengers have disembarked the train pulls out of the station and is moved into the shed until tomorrow when it will conquer Pike's Peak all over again [Applause] if you support the Channel with a super thanks or pick up something from our online store linked below your contribution goes directly towards making filming trips like this possible and covers the cost of Licensing historic footage if you're not quite ready to come back down to sea level yet check out this video next for some more mountain railroading thank you for watching real weekly [Music]

Channel: Rail Weekly

Views: 5,836

Keywords: Pikes Peak, Railway, Railroad, Sceinc Railway, Scenic Train, Scenic Train Journey, Tourist Train, Rail Fan, Railfanning, Train Adventure, Colorado, Mountain Railroading

Id: 0Bi6Png2szs

Length: 14min 3sec (843 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 29 2024