Hi
I saw this on Facebook and the Mt. Washington Cog is now out of service because of the flood waters.
The photo was taken from Facebook, the location at the base station. Also on Facebook from WMUR TV, Route 302 at Fayban was covered with flood waters.

Wow, considering how steep that line is, I'd certainly not have expected problems with flooding.

Flooding is usually not the result of simply the amount of water which fell on a given square foot of surface area but is the result of the water which fell on many square feet trying to go somewhere else. What I see in that picture is not a case of water rising over the railroad but a higher volume of water trying to pass under the trestle in a shorter period of time than the trestle was able to withstand.

Water can be the 'irresistible force' we hear about in physics classes and railroad beds are certainly not the immovable object. This is why there is (or should be) a major emphasis on drainage, both longitudinal and lateral, in any track and right-of-way maintenance program. Water needs a place to go and if you do not provide one it will go anyway and take your track, bridges, what have you along with it.

No matter what load you design for nobody's crystal ball is perfect. Fortunately, as washouts go this one is relatively minor.

GME