Mt. Washington Auto Road

[Divco one]

Would like to drive my Model A up Mt Washington this summer. Car never gets hot with normal driving in Pennsylvania. Who has done it and what were your experiences? What about braking on the way down?

[rogerkb1936]

i used to work on mt wash. eight miles up and eight miles down. a good model a with a good driver should do ok as long as you are not in a hurry. coming down will require use of lower gears as places are pretty steep. be sure to pick a good day, if you can't see the top of mtn, wait for another day. spectacular views. good luck, let us know how it goes.

[tbirdtbird]

I have biked it.
The mountains in PA are bush league compared to Mt Washington. No comparison.
Def. use lower gears on way down, do not count solely on ur brakes you will burn them out or get horrible fade.
The first mile is paved. The next 7 is gravel. They do not tell you this going in.
There are NO guardrails. Nothing between you and the 5000 ft straight down drop. Not for the squeamish.
The road is very narrow, and there are tour buses coming down crowding the
roadway.
It is way steeper than you can imagine.
They do not allow certain make/model/yr cars to go up. They can do this because it is a privately held road, not city/state. The reason they ban certain cars is because it has been shown that the brakes and trannies in some cars cannot handle it. You may want to call ahead and see if you have restrictions on a Model A. It is cold and windy at the top and the weather can change in an instant. Not for the faint of heart.
Going up you will be in first the entire time.
On the Harley I went up in first and came down in second. Hardly touched the brakes.
When I was there a guy broke down and the tow truck that came to get him was not able to get up the road, it was too steep and the tow truck overheated badly.
Be sure you have re-torqued your head gasket. Several cars that did the Blue Ridge mountain tour a few years ago blew head gaskets.
There are only one or two pull-offs and they are not large at all.

Your cell phones may not work up there. At the top of the mountain there are 'secret' govt microwave towers that the Mt Washington ppl are not allowed to tell you about. They are very strong signals and interfer with phones. You will notice all the employees use walkie-talkies, it must be a way different frequency. If you need help at the top I suggest you stop an employee and ask them to summon help for you. By the time you have descended about 2 miles your phones will work again. I knew a guy on a bike that went to the top, then set his alarm system. Because of the microwaves he was not able to clear the alarm and thus could not start the bike. The employees told him nothing but they knew of his problem. Finally another biker came along who knew of the microwaves and told him he was not gonna get off the mountain unless he coasted down the first 2 miles, then he would find that his alarm fob would have an effective signal again. So the dude went down the first 2 miles on red-hot brakes and prayed. Sure enough, it worked.. That biker was tbird.

If you make it up and down then you have a very stout car indeed to match your pioneering spirit.
The views are exhilirating to be sure
While you are there be sure to go to the other side of the mountain and take the Cog Railway up to the top, a real blast, steam driven. Get an early run it fills up fast.

When you get back post and tell us your adventure

[Keith True]

I know a few people that have done it in A's.A couple loved the thrill,and a few said never again.You do have to be on your toes,and remember you are not the only one on that road.I remember quite a conga line going because some people in an old car were puttering down the middle like they owned it.When I tried to go up it in my A,in the mid 70's,they wouldn't let me go.There had been a little bit of ice,the road got sanded and hadn't been swept off yet.I was told that I didn't have enough rubber on the road.Then they told me about a recent close call with an old car.The car has passed some other cars,coming down,but it had all four wheels locked.It just slid right by.They were a little gun shy at that time.The big thing to look out for back then was the tour busses/taxis.They were International Travelalls,and the drivers drove like they were being chased.They had huge brake drums,big enough so that you could walk by and see them.

[1931 flamingo]

If when you get there and have second thoughts about driving up (and being able to come down safely), drive around the mountain and take the Cog Railway to the top. It also is an adventure.
Paul in CT

[Steve Plucker]

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Didn't Ford feature this drive in one of his films?

Pluck

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

If when you get there and have second thoughts about driving up (and being able to come down safely), drive around the mountain and take the Cog Railway to the top. It also is an adventure.
Paul in CT

Good advise. We drove up in a modern and even with that type of rig, I would not do it again. Temp was in the 70's at the bottom and freezing at the top.

But, beautiful view, highest point in New England, etc. So if you are brave, go for it!

[Ron W]

I went in my modern car and blew some sensor on the motor because of the change in pressure. I went with my '66 Plymouth with no problem. I was told antiques go free! You must use low gear coming down. If you have cars behind pushing you can pull over at occasional rest areas and let them go. Use first gear and go SLOW! It is unbelievable steep! I'm 3 hours away so I haven't taken the A yet, but would like to. If you make it, the reward is well worth it. Ron W

[2manycars]

My brother lives not far from there, and has taken his roadster up there, and several times on his Harley. I went up once, in a modern car, and once was enough for me. A white Knuckle ride all the way. You cant see much going up, as the road rises so steep you mostly see the road, like a wall in front of you. The view on the way down is wonderful. Someone who does not know where the edge of their car is can hog the center of the road, and make it very tricky. They have a list at the top of the people who failed to negociate the road. It is very cold at the top, even in summer, and the wind is strong. Bring winter coats.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by tbirdtbird

I have biked it.
The mountains in PA are bush league compared to Mt Washington. No comparison.
Def. use lower gears on way down, do not count solely on ur brakes you will burn them out or get horrible fade.
The first mile is paved. The next 7 is gravel. They do not tell you this going in.
There are NO guardrails. Nothing between you and the 5000 ft straight down drop. Not for the squeamish.
The road is very narrow, and there are tour buses coming down crowding the
roadway.
It is way steeper than you can imagine.
They do not allow certain make/model/yr cars to go up. They can do this because it is a privately held road, not city/state. The reason they ban certain cars is because it has been shown that the brakes and trannies in some cars cannot handle it. You may want to call ahead and see if you have restrictions on a Model A. It is cold and windy at the top and the weather can change in an instant. Not for the faint of heart.
Going up you will be in first the entire time.
On the Harley I went up in first and came down in second. Hardly touched the brakes.
When I was there a guy broke down and the tow truck that came to get him was not able to get up the road, it was too steep and the tow truck overheated badly.
Be sure you have re-torqued your head gasket. Several cars that did the Blue Ridge mountain tour a few years ago blew head gaskets.
There are only one or two pull-offs and they are not large at all.

Your cell phones may not work up there. At the top of the mountain there are 'secret' govt microwave towers that the Mt Washington ppl are not allowed to tell you about. They are very strong signals and interfer with phones. You will notice all the employees use walkie-talkies, it must be a way different frequency. If you need help at the top I suggest you stop an employee and ask them to summon help for you. By the time you have descended about 2 miles your phones will work again. I knew a guy on a bike that went to the top, then set his alarm system. Because of the microwaves he was not able to clear the alarm and thus could not start the bike. The employees told him nothing but they knew of his problem. Finally another biker came along who knew of the microwaves and told him he was not gonna get off the mountain unless he coasted down the first 2 miles, then he would find that his alarm fob would have an effective signal again. So the dude went down the first 2 miles on red-hot brakes and prayed. Sure enough, it worked.. That biker was tbird.

If you make it up and down then you have a very stout car indeed to match your pioneering spirit.
The views are exhilirating to be sure
While you are there be sure to go to the other side of the mountain and take the Cog Railway up to the top, a real blast, steam driven. Get an early run it fills up fast.

When you get back post and tell us your adventure

Bird Man,
I climbed steep & windy MT. DIABLO, in the S.F. Bay area, with it's multi-transmittors on the top, every time I turned a corner, my RADIO would change STATIONS FABULOUS VIEW
Bill Wanderer

[tbirdtbird]

funny you should say that I had the same thing happen in some mountains in Massachusetts. I began to wonder about aliens, then remembered my Mt Washington experience, then realized there must be some top secret CIA mircowave towers nearby. After about 5 miles the radio went back to normal

[Keith True]

In the summer or 1973 I rode up the mountain on a new Honda 350.Zero problems with brakes or power.The following summer I rode up in a 59 VW beetle with a 36 HP engine.That car was heavy enough to stop instead of sliding for the most part.I was at a dead stop on a grade from somebody holding up the traffic,and the car finally did try to slide down on it's own with the brakes locked.After that I tried with the A but they shot me down with that one.I rode up on a 69 BSA motorcycle,that was OK but the 350 Honda performed better going up.Both times I went up on motorcycles I got snowed on at the top.The cog railway is much more fun than driving up to me.My tenant worked for a contractor that did some work up there.They got the equipment off the mountain,and planned to bring the Mack dump truck down the following day.That night what they called rime ice moved in,the truck was there for the winter.The pictures of that ice truck were printed and sold by the thousands.I'm thinking that was in the late 80's or early 90's.

[29er]

Wow! The Ford Barn is such a Great site! Here I've learned about auto mechanics, physics, electrical theory, fluid dynamics, politics, personal relationships, anger management, and now..... geography!

Coming from the other side of the continent, I was unfamiliar with Mt. Washington. After reading up on it a little, I wanna go!

For others interested in the highest peak in the NE US, look up the Wikipedia page on it. There are a bunch of You Tube videos showing the Auto Road to the summit, but here's a short version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu0VHabvp2A


You might also like learning about the Cog Railway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flM3e_c23yA

Driving a Model A to the summit has now been put on my bucket list!

Mike in Oregon

[Fred K-OR]

The cog railroad.

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by 29er

Wow! The Ford Barn is such a Great site! Here I've learned about auto mechanics, physics, electrical theory, fluid dynamics, politics, personal relationships, anger management, and now..... geography!

Coming from the other side of the continent, I was unfamiliar with Mt. Washington. After reading up on it a little, I wanna go!

For others interested in the highest peak in the NE US, look up the Wikipedia page on it. There are a bunch of You Tube videos showing the Auto Road to the summit, but here's a short version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu0VHabvp2A


You might also like learning about the Cog Railway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flM3e_c23yA

Driving a Model A to the summit has now been put on my bucket list!

Mike in Oregon

Mike that is the place. It is great in that area in the fall, unless you want to go down the slopes. But in the fall you have the falling leaves around NE. But you being from OR, we have much the same stuff in the fall.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I've never given this place a thought before, but it sure looks like an interesting trip to take.

[700rpm]

I came down Hwy 1 into Stinson Beach (CA) in an unrestored Model A in 1971. The most terrifying road trip I've ever been on. Mt. Washington looks just as scary. I'm too old for that now!

[Capt Quahog]

Would like to drive my Model A up Mt Washington this summer. Car never gets hot with normal driving in Pennsylvania.

Your car will likely get very "HOT" battling it's way up there. Drove up to the top of Mount Washington in a 1940 Ford V8 sedan back in 1969. It was a horror trip up the mountain and even worse coming down. The brakes needed to be pumped constantly and used sparingly but still failed. Talk about seeing one's life flash in front of them. Don't know if that narrow two-way road is now paved, but back then it was mostly dirt and loose stone. Vehicles coming the other way would spit up rocks and seriously chipped the paint job. Not only did the car get beat to hell but driver and passenger ended up hammered out too. The journey up and back was a miserable experience. Also too, there were few guard rails. Never met anyone who claimed to have "climbed Mount Washington" in a car more than once. Probably better to park at the bottom and take the steam powered nerve racking cog railway to the top.

[tbirdtbird]

sounds like you had a wonderful time.
as mentioned only the first mile at the bottom is paved. they do not tell you that

i did see several bikes and cars that had gone over the cliff; and there was a wrecker on the day i went trying to pull a car that had gone off the road down the ravine

[barnstuf]

I have driven my 1930 Coupe up Mt Washington twice, 1947 and 1949. No mechanical problems at all, just extremely steep mostly low gear all the way up and all the way down. Both times hot summer day, no cooling problem. We did try to stop once on the way down on the first trip, to take a photo, but even with brakes locked it kept sliding along without stopping so we did not get the photo we wanted. I drove up it about 1989 in a Mercury Sable and had zero problems. Om every trip I have seen other cars overheating however. Use low gear. do not ride your brakes going down. If you and your car are in tune with each other its a great ride.

[Pilotdave]

Several members of the New Hampshire Lakes Region Model A Club drove the Mt. Washington Auto Road last fall. I wasn't one of them, but the trip occurred without incident. I believe that the Club made prior arrangements. A good cooling system, stout brakes and a heavy dose of common sense would seem to be prerequisites.

[Keith True]

I forgot about the rocks and gravel flying.I got sprayed pretty good on the bikes,and quite a lot on the VW bug.It was mostly from the Travelalls they were using.If dirt wasn't squirting out from behind the tires on the way up it was throwing roostertails sideways on the corners coming down.I don't know what they are using to ferry people up and down nowadays.

[29er]

Originally Posted by Fred K-OR

Mike that is the place. It is great in that area in the fall, unless you want to go down the slopes. But in the fall you have the falling leaves around NE. But you being from OR, we have much the same stuff in the fall.

Yeah, but Fred, here you can drive downhill without leaving PUCKER MARKS on the seat!



Mike

[HowieWemyss]

Hi folks - I manage the Mt Washington Auto Road and have for 29 years now. I thought I ought to jump on your forum since you were discussing the Auto Road and there were so many inaccurate or outdated statements being made. If I were to simply read this forum and not bother finding the Auto Road website, I'd have to wonder if the Road was actually in business, it sound horrific from some of these posts.

International Travelalls were last used on the Auto Road as tour vehicles in the late 60's. There never was a time when the first mile was paved and the rest gravel - back in the 60s we started paving the road where the most problems occurred with washboarding or erosion. That process started up beyond halfway, the bottom of the road finally got paved in the late 70s. Today, there is exactly one mile of unpaved road at mid-mountain, all the rest is paved. The gravel section is generally kept very hard packed. At 12% average grade, the road is steep - but several of us had a good chuckle over the idea of a car with locked brakes continuing to slid down the mountain!

Vehicles over 25 years old do go free and have for as long as I've been involved here. Our tour drivers are considerably more relaxed these days than they may have been in the past - ie, they don't drive as fast as they apparently used to!

As the wind comes up the first restriction we put are on motorcycles - we don't want them blown over! Next, as we deal with icing in the spring and fall, we may have to put down sand. When we do that we often have to restrict mc use due to the obvious loss of traction on steep grades.

We've been in business for 154 years - we take safety very seriously and will always be conservative in our operations. In 154 years, we've had three fatalities on the Road, tragic events all of them. The notion that there were several vehicles over the side during someone's visit is simply nonsense.

Please check the reviews on Trip Advisor - you'll see that this road isn't for everyone, but it is unique in the Northeast for sure! Yes - bring your A , just do your homework first!

www.mtwashingtonautoroad.com

[Ron W]

Thanks for posting, Howie. It's a great adventure. Any special advice for model A's?
Ron W

[HowieWemyss]

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You're welcome, Ron. I'm not very familiar with the old Fords - so have no good advice to offer. I was hoping that some of the guys who I know have been up and down in their A's and T's might chime in as I think it's completely doable with proper caution and common sense.

[Divco one]

Thanks for all the replys. As usual, there are a lot of opinions. I'm going to do it.

[tbirdtbird]

Howie, good to hear from a source.
I have video I can share of when I went up and only the first mile was paved

It is an awesome adventure I assure all

[holdover]

my wife and I climbed/hiked it in the 70s went up Tuckerman riven I believe it was called. When we got to the top people driving up looked at us like we were crazy. When I saw the road they came up on I was happy that we hiked it, (nice to be young), there is no way I would attempt to drive any of my 3 As up that hill, especially the down part.. best of luck...

[Ron W]

We have a pretty steep hill nearby. It's about 1/3 mile long. I'm going to try engine breaking on that and see how well it works! Ron W

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by Ron W

We have a pretty steep hill nearby. It's about 1/3 mile long. I'm going to try engine breaking on that and see how well it works! Ron W

In my younger years, I would drive farm trucks loaded with wheat. We would go down a grade of several miles. We would put them in a low gear and apply the brakes rather hard every once in awhile but in doing so, we would bring it almost to a stop. Would not let the truck get going very fast before applying the brakes again. It doing it this way, we would not burn the brakes. In between the stops the brakes had a chance to cool. Worked great.

It would seem like this may be a good way to go down the road at Mt Washington with your Model A. Good luck and have fun!

Just another thing to note about some of the comments above about driving the Model A up that road. When some of the people above did it, that was a number of years ago. Now days I am sure there is far more traffic on that road. Be careful.

[Mikeinnj]

The link on post #24 is incorrect. He left out a letter.

Here is the correct link : www.mtwashingtonautoroad.com

[HowieWemyss]

Originally Posted by Mikeinnj

The link on post #24 is incorrect. He left out a letter.

Here is the correct link : www.mtwashingtonautoroad.com

Oops! Thanks, Mikeinnj.

[BUDB]

We've done it several times over the years, once in a Model A, in a 64 Falcon, a 63 Fairlane stick 6, in other later model cars also. The only "nail biter" was in a 67 Lincoln Continental which was much too heavy for the downgrade. Be sensible, take it easy, and you will have a great ride!

[larrys40]

Hey guys... I've been up there twice in my life so far.. but not with the "A" yet! Driven the "A" up Pikes Peak and that wasn't that bad except for the fog and the mist that only gave us a 20ft visibility at times!

Here's a really cool link that shows the drive in fast forward with the William Tell Overature music... maybe this year or next ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqUhRtael3Y

It's the places you go and the people you meet that make Model A times the best!
Larry Shepard

[HowieWemyss]

Here's a couple of very different ways to see Mt Washington some of you may enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBWDE-dReqw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdXJYc4CpXA

[J Witt]

I took my 1912 T touring car up to the top of Pike's Peak, but I can tell you that was a breeze. I wouldn't have tried Mt Washington in a T. When I was there I took the cog railway which was a treat for sure, you've never seen a piece of machinery shake like that. Sunny and warm at the bottom, freezing cold weather moved in while at the top. Highest recorded peak wind gust in the US one of the signs said: 231 mph.

John

[mhsmith]

In August of 2915 the N. H.Lakes Region Model A Club did a tour up Mt. Washington. We had 6 Model A's. Six made it up and six made it down. Use first gear all the way up and all the way down and you should be O.K. I would recommend pulling over at the pull over spots and let the car cool down and let the faster cars go by both going up and down. The only thing I would do differently is not take the pair of clean underwear, I didn't need then. Check out the story in March/April issue of The Restorer. If anyone needs more information you can find me on the MAFCA website as secretary.

[mhsmith]

Sorry it was August 2015

[Benson]

Under what conditions does the Borg Warner Over Drive free wheel?

Some say that it does "free wheel".

I have heard that it will not Free Wheel over 28 MPH ... but 28 might be too fast if your brake drums are thin and over heated!

Seems that the B.W. might be dangerous in free wheel mode when rolling down hill!

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by Benson

Under what conditions does the Borg Warner Over Drive free wheel?

Some say that it does "free wheel".

I have heard that it will not Free Wheel over 28 MPH ... but 28 might be too fast if your brake drums are thin and over heated!

Seems that the B.W. might be dangerous in free wheel mode when rolling down hill!

You would always want to make sure the OD cable is pulled out in this situation to keep it from "free-wheeling"

[Benson]

Originally Posted by CarlG

You would always want to make sure the OD cable is pulled out in this situation to keep it from "free-wheeling"

Thanks Carl,

[StoolBus]

If you go, let me know. I'll come along and arrange for a "chase vehicle" with tools, spares, and coolant.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[barnstuf]

It is a stormy day and I was going through old postings here on the forum.

The Mt. Washington Auto Road title caught my eye and I read it once again. I found I posted as number 20 poster as having driven up Mt. Washington in my 1930 Coupe in 1947 and again in 1949. It is a great sequence of postings and deserves to come up again. Read and enjoy!

By the way I am still driving that 1930 Coupe which I acquired on February 22, 1941. 77 years of ownership behind me, now starting the 78 th year of ownership and it was not my first Model A, but my third.

[Bruce Adams]

The 200- 300 Model A Ford New England Meet, Sept 2017 together with some International Model A Ford Day Model A's scaled Mount Washington as that was where we all picnicked. A number of cars went to the top, and most said while going up was a bit concerning, going down was scarey, even with Hi Comp engines and good brakes. There were no incidents that were reported, however.
I went about 20% up by mistake, turned around when I saw it was the "Climb" and drove down in second with normal braking on my cast iron drums, using my Hi Comp engine to hold back a bit but not dramatically.

[divcoone]

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I started this thread. And I’m happy to say I made it to the top.The weather was so bad we could’t get out of the car. Coming down was OK except the tranny wouldn’t stay in gear.
If I ever get the chance to do it again, I won’t hesitate.

[dpson]

There is a similar road to the top of Mt. Mansfield (highest peak) in Vermont.

Here is a link to the website: https://www.stowe.com/activities/summer/auto-toll-road/

If you come on August 10-12 you can also enjoy the Stowe (now Vermont) Antique Car Show, in it's 61st year. The show moves to nearby Waterbury this year.

https://vtauto.org/vermont-car-shows/stowe-auto-show/

[holdover]

never drove up Mt Washington, but in another life wife and I hiked up it, and down. Pretty tough climb. At the top the road didn't look very good, but that was back in the early 70s. Ever since they established a web site I check in with them a few times a week. Pretty windy up there right now at 11:25 PM eastern it is blowing 71 MPH at the weather station. No way that I would take any of my Asa on that road., I don't think going up would be a problen, just going down

https://www.mountwashington.org/expe...onditions.aspx

[1929]

I had no problem with my cell phone service at the top of the mountain. I drove my modern car up, I wouldn't drive my Model A up. If you read up on the history displayed on the wall, in the building at the top, I think it stated that about 159 people died on that mountain since the 1800s.

[old31]

Originally Posted by dpson

There is a similar road to the top of Mt. Mansfield (highest peak) in Vermont.

Here is a link to the website: https://www.stowe.com/activities/summer/auto-toll-road/

If you come on August 10-12 you can also enjoy the Stowe (now Vermont) Antique Car Show, in it's 61st year. The show moves to nearby Waterbury this year.

https://vtauto.org/vermont-car-shows/stowe-auto-show/

The car show is no longer held in Stowe. We went last year and it was the last year held and a dud.

[old31]

My wife and I last year went to the meet at MT Washington. We drove up in a 2017 car and it was a real white knuckle ride for my wife in a new car.

Later when I found out that a half dozen or so A's went up all I could say is "you guys have brass ones". WOW, and good for you. I would actually like to do it and receive the banner that says "this car climbed MT Washington" and put that on the back of my A.

The road is now all paved, and the sights are spectacularly beautiful and breathtaking.

If you wait and pick a real clear day, the sights will be worth it. If it is a so so day half way up you will see nothing due to the way the weather works up there.

Mt Washington held the world record for the fastest wind ever recorded on the surface of the Earth: 231 miles per hour.

2 weeks ago Jay Leno did his show up there and talked about the engines on the cog railway.

[wmws]

In about 1958 I drove up Mt. Washington in a friends Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing coup. It was a fast trip up and back down. The weather at the top was terrible. Then in 1965 I tried to drive my Ford Econoline van up Pikes Peak. I got just past the rest stop flat on the floor in first gear and it wouldn't go any further. I backed down to the rest stop and while there was talking to a patrol man. He said he would take me and my wife up to the top. Well that was the wildest ride I ever had. He thought he was Bobby Unser sliding every corner like he was in the race. My poor wife in the back seat was sliding from one side of the seat to the other. I thought it was great fun but then I was young and wild.

[Bob Wright]

This past September, the annual New England Model "A" Meet was held in North Conway New N.H.. The Grand Tour ended at the base of MT. Washington. There were 30 or so Model "A"'s that made there way to the top and reported that it for the most part it was a very memorable trip (no major problems).
Bob

[jhowes]

I climbed it once in the late 50's. I would recommend cast iron brakes, I think the steal ones are bound to fade. Jack

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by jhowes

I climbed it once in the late 50's. I would recommend cast iron brakes, I think the steal ones are bound to fade. Jack

I've never been there.
Do you descend in first gear, or can you use second gear?
Wouldn't first gear give enough engine braking?

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

I've never been there.
Do you descend in first gear, or can you use second gear?
Wouldn't first gear give enough engine braking?

Tom after driving this road in a modern, I don't think 1st gear would hold on the way down even with a high compression head. This "hill" is steep and a very narrow road. I would never take one of my A's up there even with their cast iron drums and good brakes. But it is worth going up there. If for no other reason other than to see the cog railroad come up the mountain. Of course you can ride up and down the mountain on the train!