Iconic Pikes Peak Cog railway closed until....?

I rode both the cogs in 2014 and 2015 and feel fortunate to have done so. Drove to the top of Mt Washington back in 90's and won't do that again. Driving to the top of Mt Evans is not difficult and a truely a unique experience.

126 years ago they built this railway and now they can't figure out how to repair it?
Another lost technology :R Another example why our country is in sad shape.

Toured the NE states in summer of 2016 and rode the Cog to the top of Mt. Washington, highly under dressed for the weather at the top. Did some research and found that the only other COG still operating in the states was at Pike's Peak. So summer of 2017 we set off across the country from SC to Cali and back. Got to ride the PP COG exactly 1 year apart. Only difference was the PP COG had front and rear facing seats, and of course got stuck facing downhill for 3 hours. There was no mention of that when you purchase tickets online and they choose your seats to make sure each car was at capacity. Been there, done it, will drive next time!

The conductor always says not to worry because if the Cog Railway fails there are two springs at the bottom, "Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs".

donut dave wrote:
the royal gorge cog train has been gone for a number of years. we were there in 2015 and it was gone.

Sad. I'm glad we did it while we were there.

Lauren wrote:
Run it in less than 10 minutes ???? It is a half marathon. I have run it twice.

I think he is talking about the July 4th auto race, not a foot race.

Run it in less than 10 minutes ???? It is a half marathon. I have run it twice.

Well...if you're longing for a ride to a mountaintop on a cog railway, we have the 2nd one here in NH! Been in operation since 1869! See https://www.thecog.com/ ST

Did the railway about 15 years ago. Drove up last year. Both good but enjoyed driving up Mt Evans better. Slightly higher than Pikes. Nowhere near as developed.

EnzoColorado wrote:
Heard the parts are only made in a couple European countries, and Broadmoor Resort (the owner) is trying to figure out how to get services and parts to here and how much that'll cost. Also heard gossips that this is a move on Broadmoor's part to get the city to help pay for the repairs.

^^^^^ This. Apparently because of the age of the tracks and the mechanism, there are a couple of companies in Switzerland that have been consulted about restoration. No timeline has been given. A spokesperson for the Broadmoor said that they certainly wanted to reopen it as soon as feasibly possible but that cost would be a factor (hint hint wink wink City of Colorado Springs).