CARROLL, N.H. (AP) – For the first time, New Hampshire’s Cog Railway is staying open on Mount Washington through the end of November. But the owners have even bigger plans for next year.

If all goes well, the cog will be the first ski train in North America, says its president, Wayne Presby said.

Under the plan, skiers would buy half-day or full-day tickets and heated train cars would let them off at two points for runs down Mount Washington.

Presby says more work is needed before skiers ride the rails. They’ll run the train in the dead of winter this season to make sure the engines can handle it. Also, the land along the tracks will have to be cleared of boulders, logs and old water pipes.

Last winter, workers successfully tested the ability to clear the tracks using a custom-made snow blower. They also groomed the snow next to the tracks with a groomer machine borrowed from the Bretton Woods Mountain Resort.

“We’ll make history,” said Doug Waites, the railway’s marketing manager. “It’ll be the first and only ski train in North America.”

Presby envisions the Cog Railway’s newest attraction as being “run just like you would a normal ski area,” complete with ski patrollers and a base area open for food and drinks.

“We think the novelty will be something that will drive tourists to New Hampshire,” Presby said.

For now, the Snow Flake Express, running through the end of this month, is reserved for tourists bridging the gap between leaf-peeping season and ski season.

The train takes passengers to the Waumbek tank, one-third of the way up the mountain, in a one-hour round trip. At the tank, passengers are able to get off the train and check out the views from a platform.

“It gives you a whole new perspective of what the White Mountains are,” Waites said. “You’re leaving fall conditions in the valley and going into winter conditions. You’re seeing Mount Washington like no other way you’ve seen it before.”

AP-ES-11-16-03 1415EST