After a hard day’s work, a thrilling slide off the mountain
Sylvester Marsh formed the Mount Washington Railway Company in the spring of 1866. The area now known as Marshfield Station was heavily forested at the time, so the first order of business had been to clear the land and process timber into ties, trestles and a log cabin to serve as an office and lodging space. A horse path back to Fabyan Station was widened and improved to facilitate the delivery of equipment and supplies by oxcart.
With the demonstration for investors behind him, Marsh began the immense challenge of building his new railway. His workforce grew to approximately 300 (including many returning Civil War veterans), and with Peppersass and a second similar locomotive built in Franklin, New Hampshire by machinist Walter Aiken, his wood and steel road climbed skyward.
At the end of the long work day each evening, many track workers descended on slideboards known as Devil’s Shingles. Little more than a narrow plank of wood that rode on the center rack track, each homemade contraption was fitted with a seat, foot rests and hand brakes designed to grip the overhanging lip of the rack. The average trip from summit to base station took about 15 minutes, but boys being boys, competitive descents soon became common. The record time was 2 minutes 45 seconds at an average speed of 60 mph!
Eventually, however, the state of New Hampshire (the “live free or die” state) outlawed the use of the Devil’s Shingles, apparently because way too many workers were living free and dying on them!