Mt. Washington Railroad Trains, New Hampshire - Stereograms from 1880s America
When I first saw this stereogram, I was strongly drawn to what I thought was a remarkably fascinating design for these early steam engine trains. They're remarkably different from what I'd normally expect. They look extremely short carrying only one passenger car, and for reasons I could only guess at, the cart with wood, the fuel for the steam engine(until 1910 when coal was chosen as an alternative fuel), was not between the engine and the passenger car. Rather, it sits at either the front or the end of the entire rig. Later on, I would discover that the trains are even further bizarre because the engine and boiler are mounted at a slope instead of flat, parallel with the tracks.
I've never been to New Hampshire, so I know nothing about the local history nor the present state of Mt Washington. My best guess was that these early trains were for logging, or other early industrial activities. Imagine my surprise when I found that these same trains still seem to be running in New Hampshire, under the name of the Mt Washington Cog Railway. And from what I gather reading online, the cog railway seems to have been operating as a tourist attraction since it first opened for business in 1868.
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Mt Washington Railroad Trains. 1868 to 1880. |
The stereogram scanned above was produced by the Kilburn Brothers from New Hampshire, local photographers Benjamin and Edward. They produced a significant collection of stereograms from the mid 1800s until the 1880s and '90s. Their business is reported to have been largely succeeded by former employees and competitors by 1910.
The rest of our growing collection of stereogram images can be viewed in The Stereogram Archive on our website.
