Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1910-09-21
UP GREEN MOUNTAIN.
History Of Once Famous Cog Wheel
Railway to summit.

From the Lerr,sfon Journal.
Maine can boast Of one Of the first cog
wheel railroads ever built in this country,
and one OF the most interesting specimens
OF railroad construction, for the second
railroad OF the kind to be built in the
United States was built up the slopes Of
Green mountain, Mount Desert island, in
1888. The first OF the kind was built on
Mount Washington.
The Green Mountain railway was char
tered in 1882, and built in 1883, having
been begun in April and finished in June.
1t did rushing business for number OF
years, and is an interesting relic Of the
"boom" days OF Bar Harbor, when every
thing at the famous summer resort was at
q fictitious value.
The queerly constructed railroad was
the pride, not only OF Mount Desert is
land, but OF eastern Maine. Its general
details were closely patterned after its
European prototypes, the roads up
Mount Vesuvius and up the Rhigi. Ii
was s 800 feet long, the route being nearly
a straight line from Eagle lake, !, 500 feet
beneath. up to a spot very near the site
of the old Green Mountain house, which
was burned some years ago. The road
had grade which a modern locomotive
engineer would turn up his hands in
horror to behold, for five hundred feet OF
the ascent rising one foot in three or 3d.
per cent. The sleeper and their supports
were bolted directly to the lodges, with
out the aid OF trestles, and the road was
four feet seven and one-half inches in
gauge, with T and cog rails.
The unique feature Of the line was its
arrangement of cogs. Besides the regular
rails there was third set directly be-
tween the ordinary ones, consisting OF a
system OF cogs, in which ran SEXES OF
large cog-wheels underneath the engine.
This mechanism was to prevent the too
rapid descent OF the train and its freight.
The engine was fat, pudgy little affair,
weighing some ten tons, which pulled and
wheezed and grunted, both in ascent and
descent.
The wheels on one end were much
larger than on the other, as was the case
with the cars, in order to keep the floor OF
the engine and cars level in ascending the
mountain, but the appearance on level
track was most novel. The cars were
open, barn-like affairs, resembling mu.h
the open cars used on electric roads few
years back. Going up, the train went
ahead OF the engine, which pushed and
snorted and grunted to get its cars up the
steep grade, and coming down the engine
staid beneath and pushed in order to keep
its burden from descending at too great a
speed.
1t was beautiful ride up the little rail-
way, though, il one could convince him
self OF the safety OF the Appliance. From
Bar Harbor proper the traveller was driven
to Eagle lake, two and half miles, by big
two-horse barges, whose seats faced each
other like modern street car, and which
shook and ratified numerically over the,
then. rough roads. Arriving at Eagle
lake, the traveller took the little stern
wheel craft Wauwinet, which was at one
time used on the Merrimac at Newbury-
port, and was purchased for use on the
lake. 1t was hauled the distance OF two
miles and half overland. tremendous