Mt. Washington Auto Road
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rogerkb1936
Well-known member
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
BANNED
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
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
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Keith True
Well-known member
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
Well-known member
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
Paul in CT
Steve Plucker
BANNED
Didn't Ford feature this drive in one of his films?
Pluck
Pluck
Fred K-OR
Well-known member
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
Senior Member
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
Well-known member
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
Well-known member
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
BANNED
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
Well-known member
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
Senior Member
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
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
Well-known member
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
Well-known member
I've never given this place a thought before, but it sure looks like an interesting trip to take.
Capt Quahog
Senior Member
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.
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tbirdtbird
BANNED
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
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
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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.