What in the heck is a "cog" railroad?
Does it have to do with that funny looking thing running down the middle of the track?

l.e. on 23rd January 2015 @ 8:00am

Wonder if this is the NH line, the rack does not look the same as I remember at Pikes Peak. I never rode Pikes Peak when it was burning coal, but at 9 mph and a 25% grade the smoke and cinders must have been a real sight.

Kenn on 23rd January 2015 @ 8:10am

Guess I should have explained. Cog railroads have a special gear mechanism to allow them to climb and descend very steep pitches where a normal locomotive would slide.

Arthur on 23rd January 2015 @ 8:11am

I.E., the notched wheel under the loco meshes with the notched rail in the center giving postiive traction.. Steel wheels on steel track slip and cannot get traction on 25% to 48% grades that cogs can handle. Normal RRs attempt to stay under 2%.

Kenn on 23rd January 2015 @ 8:16am

This is a much more powerful looking engine than the one(s) used on Mt Washington, or at least the ones that I remember. Would like to know how the drive mechanism worked for this engine. What can be seen of the drive appears to supply only reciprocating motion, as the levers the drive rods are attached to do not look like they can rotate in a full circle but just back and forth in an arc.

Are those "Real McCoy" oilers?

Longshot on 23rd January 2015 @ 8:35am

Reciprocating action is all that is needed, as on a standard loco. The cog wheel is in the center of the axle so it turns with the wheels, thus using wheel traction as well as positive cog traction.

Kenn on 23rd January 2015 @ 8:44am

Lots of knowledgeable comments about engines and railroads and Arlen hasn't even been here yet.
Charlott has not yet added anything about Harold Herschner and I have an idea she is going to know something about the Herschner family.
So, I thought I would give a link to this HR New article. It is an interesting obituary about Jerry Bell, but has some inside complimentary things to say about Harold Herschner. (Hershner)

http://www.hoodrivernews.com/obituaries/2009/apr/15/jarrell-bell/

l.e. on 23rd January 2015 @ 10:19am

This appears to be one of the retired steam locomotives from Pikes Peak:
https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/16-manitou-pikes-peak-cog-railway

Arthur on 23rd January 2015 @ 11:12am

Okay, Harold Hershners father was John L. Hershner. He was the minister in Hood River.

Harold's wife's name was Ann Wood and they may have had a son James, but I am not totally sure about that.

Harold initially was a cashier at the bank, but in 1956 Truman Butler sold him 1/2 interest in his insurance and real estate business.

The Hershners lived out on west Cascade.

They are both buried in Idlewilde with other relatives.

charlott on 25th January 2015 @ 8:20am

On a standard steam locomotive the lever the rods attach to is part of the wheel and the wheel is free to rotate in a full circle repeatedly. On this engine two rods appear to connect to a middle lever using separate pins thus restraining the lever from rotating more than about 120°. This would imply that there must be a hidden mechanism that changes the reciprocating motion of the rods into the circular motion of the cogs.

Would love to see a better view of the same locomotive more directly from the side.

Longshot on 25th January 2015 @ 11:55am

The History of Oregon, Charles Henry Carey, The Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., Chicago-Portland, 1922
Volume III, pages 186-7
JOHN LAWRENCE HERSHNER
The labors of John Lawrence Hershner have constituted a valuable contribution to central Oregon in its development and upbuilding and his name is therefore inseparably interwoven with its history. He has been particularly well known in the Hood River country and he now makes his home in the city of Hood River. He was born at Blooming Grove, Morrow county, Ohio, in 1857, and in every position in which he has found himself throughout an active life he has won and merited the praise of his fellow citizens because of the beneficial character of his labors and his uprightness in every relation. He was educated in the graded schools of his native town and in the Lexington Seminary. In 1879 he became a resident of the Willamette valley. Though but little past his majority, he decided that the firmest props of mankind were religion and morality and he took up the study of theology. For two years he served as assistant pastor at Albany, Oregon, and from 1882 until 1886 at Independence. His next charge was at Corvallis, where he labored as minister until 1889, when he was called to Albina, and there remained for five years. In 1894 he accepted a call from the Riverside Congregational church at Hood River and for ten years labored untiringly in that field, his efforts being a most potent force in promoting the moral progress of the community. He won the love of the people of all denominations, for he is a man not only of scholarly attainments but of broad sympathy and has the faculty of calling forth the best that is in the individual.
From 1906 until 1917 Mr. Hershner was assistant superintendent of Congregational work in the state of Washington. In 1902 he purchased thirty-five acres of raw land in the Hood River valley, north of the village of Van Horn, which he reclaimed and developed, planting the tract to apples and pears, and since his retirement from active ministerial duties he has given a large part of his time to the further development and improvement of his orchard.
In 1886 Mr. Hershner was married at Monmouth, Oregon, to Miss Rachel Loughary, a daughter of a pioneer family of the Willamette valley. The children of this marriage who are still living are: Harold, now the assistant cashier of the Butler Bank of Hood River; Leila Zoe, the wife of Crawford Lemmon of Yakima, Washington; Lawrence Scott, who is a student in the University of Oregon; and Helen, a high school pupil at The Dalles. Mr. and Mrs. Hershner have reared their children to realize that good citizenship must be shown in active interest in public affairs; that patriotism is not confined to the singing of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on special occasions; that the building of the community in which they live, the betterment of local conditions and the promotion of material, moral and religious improvement of each community is a component part of loyal and progressive citizenship. Following these teachings, Harold Hershner served his country in time of war as a member of the gallant Ninety-first Division of the American Expeditionary Forces, doing active duty in France and Belgium and winning advancement to the position of sergeant. Returning home after twenty-two months of service, he has become interested in civic affairs with the determination to do his full duty to his country in days of peace as in times of war and is now the treasurer of the local organization of the American Legion. Lawrence Hershner also tendered his services to his country but upon physical examination was put in the fourth class and was never called. Mrs. Hershner is a graduate of the State Normal School and following the completion of her studies there became a member of the faculty. She is now a member of the Hood River Women's Club and was formerly president of the Ladies' Aid Society of the Congregational church, with which she is still identified. She is likewise a past worthy matron of the Eastern Star. Mr. Hershner is a Royal Arch Mason and is serving as chaplain of Hood River Lodge, No. 105, F. & A. M, and is past worthy patron of the Eastern Star, while twice he has been president of the Oregon Congregational Association. His life has been of distinct value to the state in its mental and moral development.

Jeffrey Bryant on 31st January 2015 @ 7:16pm

I wish that the South Sister, 1 of the 3 Sister Mountains had a brand new cogwheel railroad that would use 4 bright red diesels, 3 bright red twin diesel railcars, 6 jet black steam locomotives & 10 blue wooden coaches with lights on their fronts below their middle windows like a trolley car to push up to the summit of the South Sister as a 10-mile ride.

Blayze Lynn on 24th August 2019 @ 7:43pm

I wish that I could build 2 replicas of the equipment from the Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway in Colorado which are the coach & the engine.

Blayze Lynn Arbsland on 1st October 2021 @ 4:06pm