Stopping for water at Waumbek. At 3800 ft. MSL, at the top of Cold Spring Hill, sits Waumbek Tank. One of the most remote water stops you'll ever find, this spring-fed tank has been a critical piece of infrastructure for the steam engines that have served throughout the history of the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. These engines typically use about 1000 gallons of water in the 3-mile climb to the summit, but their tiny tenders only carry 700 gallons. Without Waumbek, there's no getting to the top. In this image, MWRC #3 "Agiocochook" sits with her coach on the platform, while her Fireman fills the tender tank. Meanwhile, her Engineer takes an opportunity to walk around his engine and inspect the running gear, greasing and oiling as necessary. You'll note that two parallel tracks straddle the water tank here. Until a decade or so ago, only a single track passed this location and descending trains would have to take a siding to allow ascending trains to pass. Now, an automated, hydraulic switch just below the tank puts ascending trains on the south side of the tank, allowing descending trains to pass on the north side. The parallel tracks extend about a third of a mile above the tank, terminating at another hydraulic switch just below Half-way House. The current arrangement allows multiple ascending trains to pass multiple descending trains, with little or no interruption in schedules. During the busy, fall foliage periods, it is not uncommon to see four trains at this location simultaneously. Of course now, nearly all are diesel-powered, and they no longer stop at the old tank.
