The Monongahela Freight Incline was a
funicular
A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...
railway that scaled
Mount Washington in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, United States.
History and features
Designed by European immigrants
Samuel Diescher and
John Endres, this incline was built beside the smaller, original
Monongahela Incline
The Monongahela Incline is a funicular on the South Side in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, near the Smithfield Street Bridge. Designed and built by Prussian-born engineer John Endres in 1870, it is the oldest continuously operating ...
and opened in 1884. The incline cost $125,000.
It had a unique
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...
that would allow vehicles, as well as walk-on passengers, to ascend and descend the hill. The cars were hoisted by a pair of
Robinson & Rea engines.
The incline operated until 1935.
The older passenger incline, which was built in 1870, is one of two inclines still serving South Side Pittsburgh today, out of a total of seventeen that were built during the nineteenth century. Passengers can see concrete pylons remaining from the freight incline during the descent.
See also
*
List of funicular railways
This is a list of funicular railways, organised by place within country and continent. The funiculars range from short urban lines to significant multi-section mountain railways.
A funicular railway is distinguished from the similar incline elev ...
*
List of inclines in Pittsburgh
References
Sources
*''A Century of Inclines'', The Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Incline.
{{coord, 40.431944, -80.005556, display=title
Defunct funicular railways in the United States
Railway inclines in Pittsburgh
10 ft gauge railways in the United States
Railway lines opened in 1884
Railway lines closed in 1935
1884 establishments in Pennsylvania
1935 disestablishments in Pennsylvania