Wender·Vista
Mount Washington Cog Railway on the cone
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileNew Hampshire
on the upper cone of Mount Washington, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

Mount Washington Cog Railway on the cone

— — the small black engine climbing the white.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A coal-and-biodiesel train that has been climbing the same mountain since 1869. The track leaves the spruce behind around 4,000 feet and the rest of the run is open rock, krummholz, and weather. On Jacob's Ladder the trestle pitches up to about 37 percent, the steepest sustained grade of any adhesion-free railway in the country. The cone is the last mile, and the longest. — from the studio

from the studio
Mount Washington Cog Railway on the cone
— bring it home

Mount Washington Cog Railway on the cone, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Mount Washington Cog Railway on the cone

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Mount Washington Cog Railway runs three miles from Marshfield Base Station at roughly 2,700 feet up the western flank of Mount Washington to the 6,288-foot summit, the highest point in the northeastern United States. Sylvester Marsh of Campton finished the line in 1869, making it the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world. The route crosses Jacob's Ladder trestle, where the grade reaches about 37 percent. The upper section, the cone, is entirely above treeline within the White Mountain National Forest.

— the stone

Above treeline the railway runs over open ledge of Littleton Formation schist and gneiss, scoured smooth by the last glaciation and broken into the felsenmeer that covers the upper Presidentials. The trestles are timber and steel; the ties sit on iron pedestals drilled into the rock. Between the rails a third toothed rack, the Marsh rack, takes the load of the climb. Cairns mark the Gulfside Trail nearby. The Appalachian Mountain Club maintains the footpaths that cross the line.

— the visit

The Cog runs daily from late April through late November, weather permitting, with shoulder-season schedules thinner than the summer timetable. A round trip from Marshfield Base Station takes about three hours, with roughly an hour on the summit. Biodiesel trains make up most of the daily runs; the steam train operates on a limited schedule and sells out earliest. Tickets are sold online by The Mount Washington Cog Railway Company; same-day walk-up is rarely available in peak foliage weeks.

— where
United States · Coos County, New Hampshire
— within
White Mountain National Forest
— elevation
1,917 m · 6,288 ft
— position
44.2705° N · 71.3533° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
3 km E
Mount Washington summit
peak
9 km SW
Bretton Woods
village
9 km SW
Mount Washington Hotel
grand hotel
14 km S
Crawford Notch
mountain pass
N
Mount Washington Cog Railway on the cone
Mount Washington summit
Bretton Woods
Mount Washington Hotel
Crawford Notch
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Mount Washington Cog Railway on the cone — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The line opened on July 3, 1869, built by Sylvester Marsh of Campton, New Hampshire. It was the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world and predates the Swiss Rigi Bahn by two years.

The grade averages about 25 percent over three miles. On Jacob's Ladder trestle, near the lower edge of the cone, it pitches up to roughly 37 percent, the steepest sustained adhesion-free railway grade in the United States.

From Marshfield Base Station at about 2,700 feet to the 6,288-foot summit of Mount Washington, a vertical rise of roughly 3,600 feet over three track miles.

Most daily runs are biodiesel locomotives introduced after 2008. One coal-fired steam locomotive still runs on a limited schedule, usually the first departure of the day, and is the original mode of the line.

The cone is the upper, conical portion of Mount Washington above treeline, roughly the last mile of track. Above about 4,400 feet the spruce thins to krummholz, and the cone is open alpine rock and weather.

The Mount Washington Cog Railway Company, a privately held New Hampshire business based at Marshfield Base Station in the town of Carroll. The railway operates inside the White Mountain National Forest under a long-standing easement.

— about the piece in your home

It tends to land well with that group. The cone view, the trestle, the small black engine against open rock are the images riders remember. A Medium with a studio note carries the memory cleanly.

Mountain-modern interiors, classic New England farmhouse, and rustic-industrial rooms with dark metal and timber. The black engine and the cool granite palette read well against white shiplap, oiled walnut, and slate.

Yes. Mountain-modern leans on a grounded palette of stone, charcoal, and warm wood, with one expressive piece on the wall. A single Large or a Triptych above a console fits that brief without ornament.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads at the right scale, or a four-tile Mural for more presence. Above a console table, a Medium or a Triptych of three Smalls works well.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and hold up to humidity, so the tile can live above a kitchen range or on a bathroom feature wall without clouding.

A microfibre cloth and warm water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface beneath a thin glossy finish, so it cannot be wiped off or faded by household cleaning.

Yes. Every piece in the WenderVista atlas is curated and finished by Reid Wender at Wender Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee. The work is not licensed from any third party.

— if this one stayed with you

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