Transportation
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The Pikes Peak Cog Railway carries visitors from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak on a steep rack railway built because ordinary trains could not handle the mountain’s grades. Inspired by inventor Zalmon G. Simmons after a hard mule trip in 1888, the line was constructed beginning in 1889 and reached the summit in 1891. It began with angled steam locomotives that pushed passenger cars uphill, then later adopted gasoline, diesel, and Swiss-built self-propelled railcars as tourism grew. One of only three remaining cog railways in the United States, it underwent a major rebuilding after closing in 2017 and reopened in 2021.
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Manitou Springs, Colorado · United States
