Monongahela Freight Incline
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox rail
|railroad_name = Monongahela Freight Incline
|logo_filename = Monongahela incline and freight incline.jpg
|logo_size = 200px
|gauge = {{RailGauge|10ft}}
|old_gauge =
|electrification =
|length =
|marks =
|locale = Pittsburgh, PA
|start_year = 1884
|end_year = 1935
|hq_city = Pittsburgh, PA
}}
The Monongahela Freight Incline was a funicular railway that scaled Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
History and features
Designed by European immigrants Samuel Diescher and John Endres, this incline was built beside the smaller, original Monongahela Incline and opened in 1884.{{cite journal|last=Diescher|first=Samuel|title=American Inclined Plane Railways|journal=Cassier's Magazine|volume=12|issue=2|date=June 1897|page=86|url=https://archive.org/stream/cassiersma121897newy#page/86/mode/1up }} The incline cost $125,000.
It had a unique {{RailGauge|10ft}} broad gauge 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.A Century of Inclines, pp. 7-8.
The incline operated until 1935.{{cite news|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|date=11 October 1935|page=37|title=Twentieth Century Progress Dooms Vehicle Incline Built Before Autos Replaced Hansoms and Victorias|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q1gdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bo4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=2174%2C6856132}}
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
References
Sources
{{commons category}}
- A Century of Inclines, The Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Incline.
{{Pittsburgh}}
{{coord|40.431944|-80.005556|display=title}}
Category:Defunct funicular railways in the United States
Category:Railway inclines in Pittsburgh
Category:10 ft gauge railways in the United States
Category:Railway lines opened in 1884
Category:Railway lines closed in 1935