At 14,115 feet, Pike’s Peak is one of Colorado’s Fourteeners, mountains over 14,000 feet high, of which there are 58, more than in any other state. Being the easternmost of these its summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.
The mountain itself was the inspiration for “America The Beautiful”, a song written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893. A National Historic Landmark, since 1961, Pike’s Peak is the second most visited mountain in the world after Mt Fuji, Japan.
The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, to give it its full name, has been climbing Pikes Peak since 1891. Recognized as the world’s highest cog railroad, it is an important part of the heritage of the Western United States. Starting at a depot in Manitou Springs, located at an elevation of 6,320 feet the train climbs 8.9 miles to the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,115 feet.
Construction on the line was started in 1889 and the first train reached the summit on June 30, 1891. This is one of only three such lines remaining in the United States, the others being the older Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire, and the short Quincy and Torch Lake Cog Railway. Originally powered by steam locomotives, the line later switched over to diesel-powered locomotives and self-propelled railcars.
Conventional trains use the friction of the wheels on the rails to push the cars forward, only mastering grades up to 6 percent (or a quick burst up to 9 percent). But a cog wheel, or rack, style of train can handle impressive grades up to 48 percent — a necessity when you’re talking about scaling the side of a fourteener.
The trade-off, however, is that Cog trains have to drive much slower — just 9 miles per hour for the Pikes Peak train. It makes the ride feel more like a steady climb, but also gives passengers extra time to set up that perfect shot.
Today, only one steam engine still operates to pull a restored historic car nearly nine miles up the mountain.
Travelers journey past Ruxton Creek, Englemann Canyon, giant boulders, Mount Almagre and Minnehaha Falls. You will see some of the oldest living things on the planet, 2,000-plus-year-old bristlecone pine trees.
Pikes Peak Cog Railway takes passengers on a 3 ½-hour trip to the mountaintop for jaw-dropping views of the green aspens and pine trees and those brilliant blue skies that Colorado is known for. Lucky passengers might catch a glimpse of a marmot, mule deer or bighorn sheep along the way. In fact, this area is home to one of the biggest herd of bighorns in the state. If the sky is clear, passengers can see the Denver skyline in the far distance.