A Train Ride into the Clouds

The spectacular view from the summit of Pike's Peak.

In 1976, on a trip to Arizona with my cousin, David, we passed through Colorado Springs and attempted to drive his American Motors Gremlin to the top of Pike's Peak. We never made it. Ever since, I've wanted to someday return and get to the top. Driving my truck was not going to work so the next best alternative was the Pike's Peak Cog Railway. What's a cog railway? Conventional railroads use the friction of wheels upon the rails, called "adhesion", to provide locomotive power. A cog, or rack, railroad uses a gear, "cog wheel", meshing into a special rack rail (mounted in the middle between the outer rails) to climb much steeper grades than those possible with a standard adhesion railroad. An adhesion railroad can only climb grades of 4 to 6%, with very short sections of up to 9%. A "rack" railroad can climb grades of up to 48%, depending upon the type of rack system employed.The ride up the 14,110-foot mountain took about an hour and provided a great 360-degree view of the surrounding area.

The awe-inspiring view from Pike's Peak was the inspiration for Katherine Lee Bates to compose "America the Beautiful."