January 22, 2025

When Teamwork Peaks on the Mountainside

The Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway reconstruction project turned challenges into solutions with stellar collaboration among the project team, creating a once in a lifetime project aimed to last for 100-plus years.

Over a century since the gears began turning to get visitors up Pikes Peak, The Manitou and Peaks Pike Cog Railway is ready for the next century working up and down the mountain. 

The once-in-a-lifetime job was the result of excellent collaboration between the railway, the Stacy Witbeck team, and an excellent array of international trade partners—all of which had a project first mentality, with constant communication and solutions-oriented collaboration between owner, designer, and the construction team. 

These jobs come with challenges, and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway Reconstruction had plenty to overcome. The gradients traversed across the project were up to 25%, and special precautions were needed to preserve the nature on the mountain, all while constructing a new cog railway. 

History and Vision of Modern Railway

Completed in 1891, The Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway is the world's highest and longest cog railway. Trains ran for over 125 years and brought visitors up the nine-mile track. While trains were modernized multiple times, annually increasing upkeep and maintenance costs meant the track needed an update to match. 

Reconstruction became the chosen solution, and ownership decided on an alternative track structure—a new system of steel ties embedded in the ballast, with 60 lb. running rail and switched to Strub rail system. This would make the reconstructed railway simpler to maintain while remaining highly effective in the years to come. 

The materials involved in the project were a multinational effort. Ties, rack rail, and special track work were engineered and manufactured by Switzerland-based Tensol Rail, and the running rail came from Poland. Whether it was German-made Vossloh elastic clips for the running trail, or cables used in the anchor system that consisted of clevis fasteners, turnbuckles, and cables along with additional anchor bars that bolted to the rack rail to complete the anchoring system, OTM had European origins, too. Joint bars used in the 60-lb running rail came from the U.S. While location sourcing differed, the OTM's purpose was unified as all of it was made with a mechanical connection—no spikes were used on the project. 

Design, Engineering, and Coordination Set the Stage

Initial design from IDG InAlps Design Group was the starting point, while engineering was managed by The Cog Railway and supported by Stadler and other firms. Coordination across this multinational project team became especially important once surveying determined that the new design could closely follow existing alignment.

Unity on cost and results brought a solution to utilize jointed running rail over continuously welded running rail for cost savings in materials, means, and methods. With vast differences in elevation and solar radiation, there were four defined destress zones for the running rail.

The tolerances needed to be met for an effective train cog wheel to rack rail interface—a critical and challenging part of the operation. The top of the Strub rack rail needed to be 59mm (2.32in) above the running rail for effective cog wheel integration. Another area of very tight tolerance was on the jointing of the Strub rack rail itself. The rack rail joints had a minuscule tolerance of +1/-1mm (+0.04/-0.04in). This was so tight for the cog wheel interface and for the rack rail to essentially operate as continuous welded rail throughout the entire alignment. 

With just two access points in Manitou Springs and Pikes Peak Highway, high-level coordination was paramount. We worked hand in hand with The Cog Railway and multiple public agencies to resolve any concerns that arose during the construction process, ultimately adhering to strict delivery schedules, shuttling equipment and materials at night and during early morning hours, and planning for stockpiles and efficient onsite material storage. 

Reconstruction Begins with Demolition

Phasing the project started with demolishing track from the bottom up to create access to the alignment. Track construction would start inversely at or near the summit and work back down the mountain, with our crews closing off access as needed.

Demolition began near Manitou Springs, where most of the original running rail from 1890 could be salvaged. Crews equipped with spike pullers, impact guns, and other hand tools helped break joints and remove lag screws before another crew torch cut the rail into lengths between 18-20 feet.

A dedicated crew handled existing rail ties to be removed via wheel loader using a set of forks, before being moved to a different location to separate the usable ties. 

After the existing track was demolished with 143 existing track anchors removed from the alignment, the project was ready for grading. We replaced culverts, mitigated sections of the alignment subject to soft spots, and improved drainage to keep the subgrade and future blast suitable for the mountain’s harsh winters. 

Since one area of alignment required a 100 M curve radius, we blasted a rock wall to improve clearance in the “Cut”, a 400-foot-long curved rock trench. A blasting contractor drilled and blasted the north wall of the cut to open it up by about 10 feet. Material from the blast was moved a quarter mile uphill where it created room to extend the siding at Windy Point—with the material kept within the original alignment.

Customized Equipment Meets Mountain Needs

Due to the steep grades and unique climate, the team recognized the need for equipment flexibility to increase project delivery speed safely. Once the tracked trucks began working on the sizable grade, the initial speed to move the loaded equipment uphill was half what was anticipated. To offset this, the team studied existing bridges and determined that, with reinforcements, a loaded articulated truck could safely operate across them.