BGuthrie Photos: PA -- Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS

PA -- Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. PORT_120531_011.JPG: Horseshoe Curve: One of the great achievements in American railroad engineering lies close to the track of the Old Portage Railroad. The long loop of track along the Horseshoe Curve, an arc of almost 200 degrees, enabled the newer, more powerful engines to crest the Allegheny Mountains. This engineering feat eliminated the need for the Allegheny Portage Railroad.
2. PORT_120531_023.JPG: The most famous use of Roebling's wire rope was in the Brooklyn Bridge which he designed. The shorter piece of robe comes from that structure. The longer piece is from a rope used on the Allegheny Portage Railroad.
3. PORT_120531_037.JPG: The Engine House of Inclined Plane No. 6 was typical of all of those operated on the ten planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Inside, all that could be seen sticking up through the ground floor, were the tops of two stationary steam engines (one working and one as backup) and the continuous rope moving over the tops of a large pair of vertical sheaves (wheels). In the basement, was the bulk of the 35 horsepower steam engines and the pair of 8-1/2 foot diameter vertical sheaves working with more machinery -- three coal-fed boilers for each steam engine, an adjustable horizontal sheave (wheel) to keep the rope taut, and a water cylinder brake for good measure -- all working to move the cars up and down the incline.
4. PORT_120531_041.JPG: Skew Arch: Contractors J. Fenlon A. & J. Darlin and R. Kinimouth were hired in July 1832 to construct a bridge to carry the Huntingdon, Cambria and Indiana Turnpike over the APRR. Since the existing turnpike and the railroad did not cross each other at right angles, the arch had to be designed "skewed" or twisted. This twist in the bridge allowed both the turnpike and Incline No. 6 to pass each other, and yet, maintain straight courses. This Skew Arch Bridge is still standing at the base of Incline No. 6. Go take a look for yourself!
5. PORT_120531_051.JPG: Horsepower: Hoofs Between the Rails: Passenger coaches were first drawn by horses on the railroads. Got a horse? You, too, could have hauled cars on the rail roads of the "Main Line." In fact, anyone with a horse, a car that fit on the tracks, and the money to pay the tolls could haul along the level stretches of the APRR. Three relays of horses were required for a one-way passenger trip between Johnstown and Holidaysburg, but one team usually made a three day round-trip with freight. Some companies and individual forwarders owned their own horses, others hired them at $1.25 for each ton they pulled. Each driver was free to set his own schedule in the first year of operation on the APRR -- when he started, how fast he traveled, where and when he stopped to feed his horses -- chaos resulted! In the second year, the State set regulations and began to eliminate the problem by running government-owned locomotives in the place of horses. It came as no surprise in 1850, when horses had almost vanished from the roads and their teamsters were singing: "Oh, it's once I made money, by driving my team, But now all is hauled on the railroad by steam, May the devil catch the man that invented the plan, For it ruined us wagoners and every other man."
6. PORT_120531_088.JPG: The Allegheny Portage Railroad: An Interesting Six Hour Trip ... More or Less!
7. PORT_120531_093.JPG: The Allegheny Portage Railroad: An Interesting Six Hour Trip ... More or Less! Johnstown... When construction began on the Portage, Johnstown was already established as a popular "post town" because it was situated between two wagon roads, the Huntingdon, Cambria, and Indiana Turnpike and the Pennsylvania Road. It had 500 people, 60 dwellings, six stores, seven taverns, a mill and a forge -- more than ten times the number of people in Hollidaysburg, the basin town in the eastern end of the Portage. Each day, during the 1840's, as many as 35 section boats passed through the Johnstown canal basin and weigh lock. The town prospered and the population rose to more than 1,000. But by 1843, when the passenger Wilford Woodruff rode the Portage, Hollidaysburg had surpassed Johnstown with twice as many residence.
8. PORT_120531_096.JPG: "The stationary steam engine at the head of the plane (No. 1) was started, and the cars moved majestically up the steep and long acclivity in four minutes... The cars were now attached to horses and drawn through a magnificent tunnel..." -- Nicklin, 1835
9. PORT_120531_100.JPG: "This was one of the [most?] awful, fearful, dangerous, exciting, affecting, grand, sublime and interesting day's journey I ever took in my life." -- Woodruff, 1843
10. PORT_120531_104.JPG: Conemaugh Viaduct as it stood until the Johnstown flood of 1889. "The Valley of the Little Conemaugh is passed in a viaduct of the most beautiful construction... from the bottom of the valley it seems to span the heavens, and you might suppose a rainbow had been turned to stone..." -- Nicklin, 1835
11. PORT_120531_108.JPG: The Lemon House 1819: Around 1819, the Samuel Lemons had built a two-story log structure east of the mountain summit, along the Huntingdon, Cambria, and Indiana Turnpike (now traced by US 22). Here, they operated a "wagon tavern" which was said to have "provided feed and lodging for the horses and teamsters of as many as fifty wagons, in one night!" Samuel Lemon & Jean Moore Lemon After the first four years of operation, his tavern had doubled in value. It continued to thrive; hosting a regular flow of passengers for more than ten years. But Lemon's financial success was not related only to the tavern. He mined and shipped coal from the "Lemon Seam" to the engine houses on the railroad. He quarried stone for rail ties; and rented teams of houses and leased his land for government railroad buildings. By 1848, tax records showed him to be one of the wealthiest persons in Cambria County. 1840: Soon after the surveyors had located Plane No. 6 of the Allegheny Portage Railroad in 1831, Samuel Lemon built this stone house along the level track of this summit -- the perfect spot for what one guest observed as "a spacious and handsome tavern."
12. PORT_120531_134.JPG: The Lemon House: Samuel Lemon and his wife Jean moved to this mountain in 1826 and built a log tavern not far from here. As many as fifty Conestoga wagons a night camped at Lemon's first tavern on the old turnpike that crossed this gap. Five years later, in 1831-32, after learning the Allegheny Portage Railroad would cross the summit here, Lemon built the impressive sandstone building in front of you. When the railroad opened in 1834, the "Lemon House" enjoyed a lively business serving food and drink to railroad passengers and workers. The tavern was on the main floor; the family lived upstairs. In addition to his tavern trade, Lemon operated a profitable coal and lumber business. The coal mine shaft was located on the hillside behind you. The four-foot thick vein of coal provided power for the portage railroad's steam engines, and helped to make Samuel Lemon one of the wealthiest men in the Alleghenies. He died in 1867 at age 74. The Lemon House about 1900 [in photo], nearly fifty years after the Allegheny Portage Railroad ceased operating. Ivy covers the wall above the main entrance. Note the water pump, hammock, and fruit trees with painted trunks in the front yard. The Lemon House remained in the Lemon family until 1907. The National Park Service purchased the property in 1966. Today portions of the restored building are open to the public during scheduled hours. [Painting caption] About 1898 George W. Storm painted this interpretation of life here during the railroad's heyday. In the foreground, passengers return from the Lemon House to their coaches for the downhill trip to Johnstown.
13. PORT_120531_138.JPG: Levels The tracks of the Allegheny Portage Railroad snaked over the mountains in stair-step fashion. The steep inclined planes were connected by sections with gentle grades called "levels." There were eleven levels, and, like the inclines, each was identified by number. The railroad trace in front of you was part of Level No. 6, or the Summit Level, the high point of the trip. It ran 1.62 miles between Inclines 5 and 6. When the railroad opened, horses pulled the railroad cars along the levels. Track was usually laid on stone blocks called "sleepers" rather than on crossties which would have made precarious footing for horses. However, steam locomotives soon replaced horses on nearly all levels. Rails on levels were set on stone blocks called sleepers. The 32 miles of levels required more than 150,000 sleepers, some of which remain in place today. A locomotive pulling a sectional canal boat approaches a viaduct on a level section of the New Portage Railroad. This re-routed version of the old Allegheny Portage Railroad circumvented the bothersome inclined planes, but operated only two years before it was sold to the more efficient Pennsylvania Railroad Co. in 1857.
14. PORT_120531_188.JPG: Making a Living on the Public Works: Although the Portage Railroad and the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal were owned by the state of Pennsylvania, private citizens reaped most of the benefits. Hoping to prosper from the Allegheny Portage Railroad, working men and would-be entrepreneurs competed to win railroad contracts or secure jobs such as engineers, hitchers, stonecutters, woodcutters, and teamsters. Local timber and coal operations expanded to build and fuel the railroad. Once struggling iron furnaces along the Main Line Canal grew to become thriving communities. Henry Spang and the Mount Etna Iron Works: As the route for the Pennsylvania Canal was under consideration in 1823, ironmaster Henry Spang seized an opportunity with the purchase of the troubled Mount Etna Iron Works. As the Public Works improved transportation and lowered shipping costs, Spang's operation expanded to include ore tracts, timber lands, additional furnaces, and a rolling mill in Pittsburgh. Within ten years, the Mount Etna community boasted a company store, blacksmith shop, sawmill, gristmill, and tenant housing for forty workers and their families. "Forwarding" John Dougherty and a Novel Idea: Jesse Christmas set out for Illinois in October 1834 with his keelboat, the Hit or Miss, loaded with his wife, children, household goods, and livestock. On reaching the canal basin in Hollidaysburg, Christian tried to sell his boat, planning to cross the mountain by the Portage Railroad and continue his journey on board another keelboat purchased in Johnstown. Unfortunately for Christian, no buyers were to be found. "Forwarding" John Dougherty, proprietor of the Reliance Transportation Line, came to Christian's aid with a novel concept. Making a few modifications to an ordinary railroad car, Dougherty's "truck" safely scaled the mountain -- carrying keelboat, family, livestock, and all. "All this was done without disturbing the family arrangements of cooking, sleeping, etc. They rested a night on the top of the mountain, like Noah's ark on Ararat, and descended the next morning..." -- Sherman Day, Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania, 1843 Samuel and Jean Lemon: Entrepreneurs: Around 1839, Samuel Lemon, in one of many contracts negotiated with the Allegheny Portage Railroad, agreed to supply water to the boilers of Engine House Number 6. Supplying water was not Lemon's only business venture. He leased houses, operated the Lemon House as a tavern, and provided horses and wood to the railroad as well. Another sideline was his sandstone quarry which was likely the source of materials used to construct the Lemon House and railroad sleepers. Lemon was aware of coal deposits in the area. A rich vein of bituminous coal discovered on his property was one of the most productive in Cambria County; it became known as the "Lemon seam." Lemon employed at least six workers and produced in three years more than 80,000 bushels of coal for use by the railroad. Over the next few years, Lemon sunk a sixty foot shaft north of the tavern and constructed a coal wharf near the railroad tracks. The Lemons coal mine and other businesses helped to make them one of the wealthiest families in the area.
15. PORT_120531_193.JPG: Although the Portage Railroad and the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal were owned by the state of Pennsylvania, private citizens reaped most of the benefits. Hoping to prosper from the Allegheny Portage Railroad, working men and would-be entrepreneurs competed to win railroad contracts or secure jobs such as engineers, hitchers, stonecutters, woodcutters, and teamsters. Local timber and coal operations expanded to build and fuel the railroad. Once struggling iron furnaces along the Main Line Canal grew to become thriving communities. Henry Spang and the Mount Etna Iron Works: As the route for the Pennsylvania Canal was under consideration in 1823, ironmaster Henry Spang seized an opportunity with the purchase of the troubled Mount Etna Iron Works. As the Public Works improved transportation and lowered shipping costs, Spang's operation expanded to include ore tracts, timber lands, additional furnaces, and a rolling mill in Pittsburgh. Within ten years, the Mount Etna community boasted a company store, blacksmith shop, sawmill, gristmill, and tenant housing for forty workers and their families.
16. PORT_120531_198.JPG: "Forwarding" John Dougherty and a Novel Idea: Jesse Christmas set out for Illinois in October 1834 with his keelboat, the Hit or Miss, loaded with his wife, children, household goods, and livestock. On reaching the canal basin in Hollidaysburg, Christian tried to sell his boat, planning to cross the mountain by the Portage Railroad and continue his journey on board another keelboat purchased in Johnstown. Unfortunately for Christian, no buyers were to be found. "Forwarding" John Dougherty, proprietor of the Reliance Transportation Line, came to Christian's aid with a novel concept. Making a few modifications to an ordinary railroad car, Dougherty's "truck" safely scaled the mountain -- carrying keelboat, family, livestock, and all. "All this was done without disturbing the family arrangements of cooking, sleeping, etc. They rested a night on the top of the mountain, like Noah's ark on Ararat, and descended the next morning..." -- Sherman Day, Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania, 1843 Samuel and Jean Lemon: Entrepreneurs: Around 1839, Samuel Lemon, in one of many contracts negotiated with the Allegheny Portage Railroad, agreed to supply water to the boilers of Engine House Number 6. Supplying water was not Lemon's only business venture. He leased houses, operated the Lemon House as a tavern, and provided horses and wood to the railroad as well. Another sideline was his sandstone quarry which was likely the source of materials used to construct the Lemon House and railroad sleepers. Lemon was aware of coal deposits in the area. A rich vein of bituminous coal discovered on his property was one of the most productive in Cambria County; it became known as the "Lemon seam." Lemon employed at least six workers and produced in three years more than 80,000 bushels of coal for use by the railroad. Over the next few years, Lemon sunk a sixty foot shaft north of the tavern and constructed a coal wharf near the railroad tracks. The Lemons coal mine and other businesses helped to make them one of the wealthiest families in the area.
17. PORT_120531_202.JPG: Working for the Portage Railroad: The coming of the Allegheny Portage Railroad meant jobs -- engineers, stonecutters, millwrights, sawyers, coal miners, and laborers were all needed to build, operate, and maintain the railroad. During the first years of construction, the need for labor was so great and the local population so small that many jobs were unfilled. The Ebensburg Sky reported in 1831 that even with 1,300 men on the job, " ... at least one thousand additional workmen" could be employed if only they could be found. Contractors and railroad workers alike responded to advertisements promising "very liberal wages" and "constant employment," but the Portage Railroad's chronic lack of funds made gaps of three or four months between paydays a common occurrence. In sympathy with the temperance-reform movements sweeping across America, townspeople along the Public Works spoke out against the widespread practice of workers' [sic] receiving part of their pay in whiskey. Drunkenness among railroad workers was an ongoing complaint from the local citizenry. Troubled by financial losses, poor management, and labor problems, including strikes, carelessness, insubordination, and absenteeism, the Allegheny Portage Railroad increasingly contracted for necessary services rather than hiring permanent workers to perform the same jobs. The superintendent of the Allegheny Portage Railroad reported that the use of contractors saved the railroad more than $7,000 in 1840 alone. As a businessman, Samuel Lemon was quite successful. Supplying coal to five of the ten inclined planes of the Portage Railroad brought him wealth.
18. PORT_120531_209.JPG: The Allegheny Portage Railroad and the Nation: Improved transportation and communication thrust the previously isolated rural areas served by the Public Works, especially the Allegheny Portage Railroad, into the mainstream of nineteenth-century America. As western Pennsylvania grew in population, it also grew in awareness of national issues, trends, and culture. The Nation: 1828: Andrew Jackson is elected President of the United States, ushering in the "Age of the Common Man." 1837: The Panic of 1837, brought on by western land speculation and crop failures, delivers a serious blow to both the growing national economy and the Portage Railroad. Hard times are experienced by many during this first great depression in America. 1840: William Henry Harrison is elected President but dies of pneumonia one month later, becoming the first president to die in office. His body is carried over the Portage Railroad enroute to North Bend, Ohio for burial. 1845-1848: Daring land deals and victory in the Mexican War lead to America's annexation of the Oregon Country, and Texas, California, and the Southwest. 1848-1850: Zachary Taylor, the hero of the Mexican War, is elected President. Following his sudden death in 1850, Taylor's body, like that of William Henry Harrison before him, is transported by the Portage Railroad enroute to Louisville, Kentucky for burial. An elaborate funeral procession is held in Johnstown with Taylor's horse "Old Whitey" leading the cortege. 1850: After months of bitter debate and talk of Southern secession, Senator Henry Clay negotiates a settlement between free and slave states with The Compromise of 1850. The collapse of the Union and civil war is averted for another decade. 1853: Congress authorizes a survey to define a transcontinental railroad route. Culture and Reform: 1831: The Liberator, a weekly newsletter dedicated to the immediate abolition of slavery, is published. Abolitionist societies spring up in cities and towns throughout the Northern states. 1835: As many as 5,000 temperance societies exist in the United States with a membership of more than one million, and all believe in the "ruination" caused by alcohol. 1842: British author, Charles Dickens, tours the United States and travels the Portage Railroad, recording his impressions in American Notes. 1850-1852: Jenny Lind, known as the "Swedish Nightingale" for her beautiful soprano singing voice, tours the United States with manager P.T. Barnum. Her travels take her across the Allegheny via the Portage Railroad. 1853: Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin, which becomes a powerful weapon for abolition. In 1841, she too travels the Public Works, including the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Allegheny Portage Railroad Milestones: 1824: Surveys of possible transportation routes over the Allegheny Mountains are initiated. 1826-1831: Construction of the "Public Work" is authorized by the Pennsylvania state legislature in 1826. The route for the Allegheny Portage Railroad is established in 1831. Early 1830s: Tavernkeeper Samuel Lemon constructs the Lemon House at the head of Inclined Plane Number 6. 1834: The Allegheny Portage Railroad officially opens on March 18. 1842: Wire rope is introduced by John Roebling, who later becomes famous as the builder of the Brooklyn Bridge. Roebling's wire rope is safer and stronger than the hemp ropes originally used on the inclined planes. 1854: Use of the inclined planes on the Allegheny Portage Railroad is discontinued as a public transportation system. 1857: The Public Works are purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad for $7,500,000.
19. PORT_120531_213.JPG: Newcomers to Western Pennsylvania: Attracted by the relatively easy route over the Alleghenies and the availability of jobs for unskilled laborers, thousands of immigrants flocked to western Pennsylvania via the Main Line Canal and Portage Railroad. The largest immigrant populations were Irish Catholics and German Lutherans. Some forwarding companies specialized in the immigrant trade, cutting fares with frequent stops for passengers to cook and eat their own food. Not all immigrants were favorable impressed with Pennsylvania. Some found the journey to be discouraging and uncomfortable. From 1820 to 1850, immigration swelled the population of Pennsylvania from 1,049, 458 to 2,311,786. Cambria County, through which the Allegheny Portage Railroad passes, had a foreign-born population and greater cultural diversity than any adjacent county. Cambria County -- 1850 Census: Native-born Americans ... Population 14,381 ... Percentage of Population 81% Foreign-born .... 3,264 .... 18% Free Negroes .... 128 ... 1% The newcomers, largely Irish Catholics, were unfamiliar to "native-born Americans" and were viewed with suspicion. Over time, the Irish and other immigrant populations were assimilated into western Pennsylvania, adding to the richness of the area's cultural heritage. Many of their descendants remain in and around Cambria and Blair Counties.
20. PORT_120531_231.JPG: Restoration of the Lemon House: In an ongoing effort to restore the Lemon House to its original 1834 to 1847 appearance, the National Park Service has conducted an extensive program of historical, architectural, and archeological research. The findings have been used to refurnish the first floor rooms as they would have been used by the Lemon family and their employees and guests during the heyday of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. What is known about everyday life in Samuel Lemon's tavern? Historical documents reveal that Lemon operated a successful tavern at the head of Incline Number 6. The county tax assessor, for example, doubled the value of the Lemon House in 1835 and it is likely that many of the 25,000 persons who traveled the portage that year enjoyed a meal or a drink at Lemon's establishment. Another indicator of the tavern's success is the 1840 census report which shows Lemon employing one farmhand, five miners, and five serving women. The National Park Service has relied on detective work -- architectural analysis, archaeological excavations, local knowledge and tradition, inventories from similar taverns, and period illustrations -- to make reasonable conjectures on the appearance and use of the Lemon House. Unfortunately, this research has not uncovered other valuable documents such as personal descriptions, an inventory, or travel accounts directly related to life at the Lemon House. Room #1 4 beds, bedding and bedsteads ... 88.00 1 bureau ... 1 looking glass .. 2.00 1 washstand and toilet .. 2.00 4 chairs ... 2.00 The inventory from the Jackson House in nearby Huntington County lists four bedboards in one room. Private bedrooms in a public inn were rare, so it was common for travelers to share sleeping accommodations. Taverns of the day were not so much places of luxury as they were necessary havens and centers of social interchange. The floor plan of the Lemon House suggests that it too could have served as an overnight hostelry, although no inventory, paintings, or other evidence that has been found supports this.
21. PORT_120531_237.JPG: The Fancy Parlor: Since the common tavern barroom was an exclusively male retreat, taverns often contained a separate and more richly furnished room for the use of ladies, gentlemen, and children. This area served as a relaxing parlor and a private dining room away from the noise and confusion of the more common areas. The parlor was provided with every comfort, including window coverings, wallpaper, and carpeting. The 1842 inventory of Own McDonald's tavern in nearby Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, lists the comparatively luxurious and costly furnishings found in its Fancy Parlor. 1842 Parlor Inventory: sideboard .. 20.00 piano ... 50.00 sofa ... 12.00 2 "extra" tables .. 15.00 marble table ... 15.00 12 mahogany chairs ... 18.00 2 looking glasses ... 3.50 arm chair ... 2.00 4 window blinds ... 4.00 45 yards carpeting .. 11.25 2 rugs .. 3.00 2 small stools ... 1.00 fender ... .75 astral lamp ... 3.00 2 lamps at .25 ... .50 backgammon board ... .25 3 table covers at .25 ... .75 4 picture frames at 12-1/2 ... 50 Archeological Excavations and Paint Analysis: Archaeology at the Lemon House began in 1978. This work helped date the construction of the building to the early 1830s and produced a broad range of mid-century household objects. The most common were ceramic and glass shards of the style common to taverns and middle class homes of the period. Also uncovered were coins of the 1820s and 1830s, an iron fireplace tong, clay pipes, buttons, pieces of spoons and table knives, and fragments of shoes. The large number of animal bones found indicates that the patrons of the Lemon House dined on beef and pork. To restore the interior of the Lemon House to the historic period, it was necessary to determine whether the walls were papered or painted, and what colors were used. New techniques were used to analyze over 100 paint samples. From these it was possible to determine the exact colors for the hallroom and barroom walls and woodwork. The chrome yellow in the barroom walls of another nineteenth-century tavern. Fibers on the walls of the Fancy Parlor indicate that it was always papered. The paper used today copies an original, popular pattern produced in Philadelphia in the 1820s and 1830s.
22. PORT_120531_259.JPG: Travelers on the Public Works: While providing immigrants and ordinary travelers access to the west, the boldness and vision of the Public Works caught the imaginations of engineers, authors, performers, and newspapermen as well. Politician and presidential candidate Henry Clay, Swedish soprano Jenny Lind, British author Charles Dickens, and missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman all journeyed on the Public Works, including the Allegheny Portage Railroad. "America now numbers among its many wonderful artificial lines of communication, a mountain railrway, which, in boldness of design, and difficulty of execution, I can compare to no modern work I have ever seen..." -- David Stevenson, British civil engineer, 1838 "I like traveling by the canal boats very much... [T]he placid moderate gliding ... at about four miles and a half an hour -- seemed to me infinitely preferable to the noise of wheels, the rumble of a coach, and the jerking of bad roads. The only nuisances are the bridges over the canal, which are so very low that one is obligated to prostrate himself on the deck of the boat to avoid being scraped off it. This humiliation occurs, upon an average, once every quarter of an hour." -- Fanny Kemble, Actress, 1838 "Occasionally the rails are laid upon the extreme verge of a giddy precipice; and looking from the carriage window, the traveler gazes sheer down, without a stone or scarp of fence between, into the mountain depths below." -- Charles Dickens, Author, 1842 Sleeping quarters for women and children on canal boats were separated from the men by a curtain. Harriet Beecher Stowe, later the author Uncle Tom;'s Cabin, traveled the Main Line Canal in 1841. Stowe wrote of the disappointment some travelers felt upon first glancing a canal boat. In her writing she captured the confusion and sleepishness in a ladies' cabin overcrowded with women, children, luggage, and one busy chambermaid. "Amusing is the look of dismay which each newcomer gives to the confined [ladies] quarters that present themselves. Those who were so ignorant of the power of compression as to suppose the boat scarce long enough to contain them and theirs, find, with dismay, a respectabie colony of old ladies, babies, mothers, big baskets, and carpet bags already established. 'Mercy on us!' says one, after surveying the little room, about ten feet long and six high, 'Where are we all to sleep to-night?' "
23. PORT_120531_265.JPG: The Decline of the Portage Railroad: "... The present Portage road is a worn out public work; ... The Old Portage, once the wonder of the age in which is was constructed, has done its work..." -- W. Milnor Roberts and Edward Gay, Civil Engineers, 1852 While the Allegheny Portage Railroad may have opened to acclaim, as time went on more and more emphasis was placed on its shortcomings. Critics claimed that the inclined planes were dangerous "nuisances" and the cost of operating them was too high. Profits were impossible as long as it required 54 employees, 12 stationary engines, 12 teams of horses, and nine locomotives to move one section-boat from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown. Maintenance was a constant concern. Pine ties and hemp ropes rotted, winter freezes disturbed the roadbed, and heavy rains washed it out until, as one superintendent reported, "the cars fell in between the tracks." Losses in 1836 alone totaled more than $22,000. Even a state lottery, organized to help cover costs, failed. After only five yeas of operation, alternatives to the Portage Railroad were under consideration. In 1855 the New Portage Railroad was completed without the use of inclined planes. A year earlier a new rail line was opened by the privately-owned Pennsylvania Railroad over the Allegheny Mountains with the completion of the Horseshoe Curve. By the 1850s, the era of modern railroad building was causing new facilities to supersede earlier ones. With the Allegheny Portage Railroad out of operation and the New Portage Railroad in financial trouble, the Commonwealth sold the Main Line of its Public Works to the privately incorporated Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Improved lines and locomotives were soon traversing the state from East to West and points beyond.
24. PORT_120531_270.JPG: Chronology of the Lemon House 1867 - Present: Over the years, through changes of ownership and with modifications to the structure itself, the Lemon House has stood strong and proud. 1867: Samuel Lemon dies on February 25 at the age of 72. Two sons, John A. and Samuel H. Lemon, inherit the stone house and property. 1880: Jean Moore Lemon dies. 1893: A family portrait is taken at the main entrance of the Lemon House with sons John and Samuel Lemon present. The Lemon Family -- John is standing on the far left, Samuel H. is standing second from the right. 1899-1900: Samuel H. Lemon acquires sole ownership of the stone house and property through litigation after John's death in 1895. The Lemon House undergoes major renovation as Samuel Lemon prepares to reopen it as a hotel. The deteriorating Engine House Number 6 is torn down at this time. 1903-1954: Following Samuel H. Lemon's death in 1903, his widow Mary sells the property. For the next fifty years, it passes through a series of owners who use the structure as a farm, rental property, and a boarding house. 1954-1966: The Lemon House and surrounding property are sold to Bryon Roberts who majors major alterations to both the interior and exterior, including an earth sheltered garage. 1968 photo of the Lemon House showing Roberts' garage. 1967: The property is purchased by the National Park Service to create Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.
25. PORT_120531_274.JPG: "The opening of the [Allegheny Portage] railroad will form a new era in the annals of Pennsylvania. The cheapness of transportation from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, by this route, will give an impetus to trade, such as has not been experienced before." -- Philadelphia Literary Gazette, September 3, 1832
26. PORT_120531_279.JPG: Canals and Rails, Opportunity and Change 1834-1854: In the first decades of the nineteenth-century, America was bursting with a sense of excitement and optimism. No obstacle seemed too great -- not even the rugged Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania -- as citizens of the New Republic surged ever westward. The Portage Railroad provided a link between eastern and western Pennsylvania as it crossed the Alleghenies, joining two sections of the Commonwealth's Main Line Canal. Commonly known as the "Public Works," this state-owned system of canals and rails was an engineering marvel. From 1834 to 1854, the Public Works offered the fastest and cheapest way to move raw materials, manufactured goods, and passengers between the bustling markets of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh, people and goods moved westward to the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys and other western areas. As a result, western Pennsylvania, especially those areas alongside the Main Line, experienced growth, prosperity, and change. Canals like the Pennsylvania Main Line and the Erie in New York were a cheaper method of transporting goods and people than overland. These canals assisted in opening the interior of the new United States to settlement and trade. "The whole continent presents a scene of scrambling and roars with greedy hurry. Go ahead! is the order of the day." -- a foreign visitor to America ca 1830
27. PORT_120531_285.JPG: Prosperity for Hollidaysburg and Johnstown: All along its 390 mile route, the Public Works was hailed for the limitless opportunities it offered for growth and industry. During its normal March to December operating season, products could be shipped from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in eight days. Freight costs were reduced an amazing 66 percent. Just as important, passengers were whisked along the same route in a miraculous four to five days! As trade increased, so did the number of "forwarding" companies, carried who shipped goods and moved passengers for a fee. Hollidaysburg and Johnstown, only villages at the time construction of the Portage Railroad began, flourished at its eastern and western ends where canals met rails to cross the Alleghenies. Hollidaysburg, already established as a stopping place on the Northern Turnpike to Pittsburgh, was chosen as the eastern terminus of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. Construction boomed as contractors laid the rails and built a machine shop, carpenter shop, weighscales, and water station. Two canal basins served the thriving town, delivering cargo and passengers to the Portrage Railroad depot. Yet even with four tracks bordering the basin, trade was so heavy that traffic congestion was an ongoing problem. "It will, doubtless, be gratifying to the citizens of Pittsburgh to learn that the Portage Railroad will be open for public use on Tuesday, the 18th... On that day, a line of communication will be opened, uninterrupted between your city and Philadelphia." -- S. Jones, Superintendent, Portage Railway Office, Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, March 13, 1834 Johnstown, a trading center on the Conamaugh River, was the western terminus of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. A large canal basin was constructed with warehouses connected to the railroad by sidings. Contracts were awarded to local businessmen to build a bridge across the river for trains as well as a depot complex and a state-owned machine shop for repairing locomotives. Hotels, taverns, and boatyards sprang up to serve travelers in Hollidaysburg and Johnstown. Foundries and factories lined the canal basins for easy access to raw materials carried on the Public Works. By 1837 there were fourteen forwarding companies in Hollidaysburg and almost as many in Johnstown, each with its own warehouse.
28. PORT_120531_291.JPG: Chronology of the Lemon House 1826-1855: Samuel Lemon and his wife Jean are typical of the men and women who made their living alongside one of nineteenth-century America's busiest thoroughfares. 1826: Samuel Lemon purchases 286 acres along the Northern Turnpike at the Allegheny summit. Here, he builds a two-story log structure and operates it as a tavern serving travelers. Early 1830s: Samuel and Jean Lemon build the substantial stone structure known as the Lemon House. 1834: Samuel Lemon and his family live in the Lemon House and operate it as a tavern, providing meals for passengers of the newly opened Allegheny Portage Railroad. 1840: Samuel Lemon begins mining a vein of coal north of the Lemon House. 1847: The Lemons purchase a new house and relocate to Hollidaysburg. Tax records indicate that business at the tavern slowed because of declining revenues and legislative plans to construct a new railroad bypassing the inclined planes of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. The Lemons continue to use the tavern as a summer home and as an office for the family's other businesses. 1854-1855: Both the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New Portage Railroad are completed across the Allegheny summit, bypassing the Lemon House. Hotel Prices: Lodging: $.25 per night Meals: $.25 each (breakfast, dinner or supper) Stable: $.25 nightly per team of four horses Whiskey punch: $.12-1/2 a drink Whiskey, bottle: $.31-1/4 per night Playing cards: $.25 There is no known record of lodging and meal charges at the Lemon House. This list of prices is from the nearby Summit Hotel, Lemon's chief competitor along the summit level. Due to the close proximity of the two establishments, the rates at the Lemon House were probably similar.
29. PORT_120531_309.JPG: The Fancy Parlor: Tavern inventories, paintings, drawings, and traveler's accounts are the pieces of evidence used to refurnish this 1840s fancy parlor. The forty-five yards of carpet listed on the tavern inventory fit a room just this size. Its inventory price is evidence that this carpet was ingrain and wall-to-wall, a type made in Philadelphia as early as the 1830s. The style of the mahogany chairs, the arm chair, the tables, and the sideboard identify these as manufactured in Philadelphia, a center of furniture production. Since it was also a major shipping point on the Main Line of Public Works, Philadelphia products were easily obtained by the Lemons. The piano was made by Thomas Chickering of Boston, one fo the most popular piano manufacturers of the day. Its serial number, 4713, was found in records showing that it was made in 1840. Pianos gained in popularity after 1825 and were symbols of middle class status from the 1830s to the 1870s. The astral lamp was unique and represented high style during this period. It was the most advanced lighting device because it was powerful enough to illuminate a 360 degree area. As such, it was placed in the middle of the room on a circular table, which became the center of social activity. Compare this to candles, the typical sources of illumination, which were placed around the perimeter of a room. This lamp was made by the Cornelius Company of Philadelphia. As you visit other rooms, notice the less fancy, or country-made furniture. The sideboard in the double dining room is a country copy of the fancy one seen here. It has been fancily painted, or grained, a technique used to give cheaper woods the look of more expensive grains and increase their visual appeal. Decorative plastics and wood veneers achieve the same effect today. Since no known inventory for the Lemon House survives, this 1842 inventory from Owen McDonald's tavern in nearby Edensburg was used as one basis for refurnishing this room. The dollar value of each item is one clue to its style, quality, and probable area of manufacture. The values, in this case, are those for a "fancy" parlor. 1842 Parlor Inventory: sideboard ... 20.00 piano ... 50.00 sofa ... 12.00 2 "extra" tables .. 15.00 marble table .. 15.00 12 mahogany chairs .. 18.00 2 looking glasses .. 3.50 arm chair .. 2.00 4 window blinds .. 4.00 45 yards carpeting .. 11.25 2 rugs .. 3.00 2 small stools ... 1.00 fender .. .75 astral lamp .. 3.00 2 lamps at .25 .. .50 backgammon board .. .25 3 table covers at .25 ... .775 4 picture frames at 12-1/2 .. .50 Genre paintings illustrate styles and placement of furnishings in a given period. This painting of an 1840s middle-class parlor shows wallpaper, table covers, lamps, ingrain carpet, at a piano, all of which are included in the McDonald tavern inventory as well.
30. PORT_120531_354.JPG: Protecting the Resource: This is not the original engine house. While its shape helps recall the historic scene, the building serves an even more important purpose: to protect the remaining structure of the original engine house. The structure in which you are now standing is larger than the original engine house in order to protect the historic foundations. This building is supported on pilings so that it does not rest on any historic fabric.
31. PORT_120531_358.JPG: What's What in the Engine House: The machinery used to hoist the trains up the inclines was more complicated than even these full-size models by Fred Connacher of Cresson, Pennsylvania, indicate. Approximately below where you are standing would have been another two-cylinder engine and behind you another set of boilers. With the exception of the boilers, most of the machinery to raise and lower the trains was located below the ground level. This made it possible for the rope that hauled the trains to be just above the surface and the cars could pass over the machinery as they came to the top of the incline.
32. PORT_120531_370.JPG: Sheaves, Ropes, and Gears: The gears, sheaves, carriage, and other fittings were the heart of the engine house. These actually pulled the endless rope which hauled the trains up the incline. The machinery for working the rope is placed in a pit, under the railway, at the head of the inclined plane. The cast iron sheaves, or wheels, that give motion to the rope,. are placed, the one 91-1/2 feet, and the other 87-1/2 feet from the head of the plane, ... These sheaves are ... 8-1/2 feet in diameter ... These sheaves are placed vertically, and revolve in opposite directions. The end of the shaft of each sheave opposite the engine which works its, has a cogwheel four feet in diameter, strongly secured upon it. The teeth of these wheels work into each other and regulate the motion of the vertical sheaves. A cast iron sheave, nine feet seven inches in diameter, is fixed on a movable carriage between the vertical wheels and the commencement of the descent of the plane... The machinery is designed for two engines -- one of each side of the railroad. -- Sylvester Welch, Report on the Allegheny Portage Railroad, 1833 Whenever the descending train of cars preponderates in weight, over the ascending train... the engine is disengaged, and the sheaves and rope are put in motion, by the gravity of the descending load. The velocity of the descending train of cars is regulated in the following manner: A cylinder fourteen inches in diameter and about six feet long, with a small air vessel upon each end, and a pipe upon one side, is placed upon a cast iron frame, secured to the walls, between the engine and the large sheaves. The cylinder is filled with water, and the piston... drives the water backwards and forwards through the side pipe. In the centre of the side pipe a sliding valve is fixed by which the engine tender can regulate the size of the aperture through which the water must pass, and by this regulate the velocity of the cars. -- Sylvester Welch, Report on the Allegheny Portage Railroad, 1833
33. PORT_120531_379.JPG: The Boilers: Three brick-encased boilers were originally installed on each side of the Engine House. The boilers were essentially long iron cylinders with a wood- or coal-burning furnace below which boiled water to make steam. "[T]he power of the engines depends upon the quality of steam produced, and the degree to which it is heated, they might, by increasing the quantity and elastic power of the steam, be made to do the work of forty, fifty, or sixty horses each, without injury to the engines... Each of the large engines have three cylindrical boilers, each thirty inches in diameter, and twenty feet long. Each of the smaller engines have three cylindrical boilers thirty inches in diameter, and eighteen feet long; all the boilers are made of rolled iron, one-fourth of an inch thick." -- Sylvester Welch, Report on the Allegheny Portage Railroad, 1833 The engine houses were originally equipped with two sets of three boilers. Despite Welch's assurances of the great horsepower generated by the boilers, they proved inefficient in hauling the heavy loads up the incline. In 1836, an additional boiler was installed on each side.
34. PORT_120531_389.JPG: The Engine: A two-cylinder steam engine was located on each side of the drive sheaves. Only one engine at a time was connected to the drive wheels that hauled the trains up the incline. Sylvester Welch's comment that the "engines are of the high pressure kind" refers to the fact that the steam was exhausted to the atmosphere rather than being recycled. "The engines are of the high pressure kind; they have each two cylinders... Those for inclined planes No. 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 have cylinders of fourteen inches in diameter, and the stroke or distance which the piston moves is five feet. The number of revolutions required to produce a velocity for the ascending cars of four miles per hour, will be about fourteen, and with this number, when the engine works under a pressure of steam of about seventy pounds to the inch. The power of the larger engines, computed in the common way, would be that of about thirty-five horses." -- Sylvester Welch, Report on the Allegheny Portage Railroad, 1833 "The engines have no fly-wheel; the second cylinder, which works a crank at right angles to the main crank, and connected with it, supplies the place of a fly-wheel in regulating the motion of the machinery. With a fly-wheel... if any derangement takes place with the rope that will cause it to stop, the machinery or the rope must break, before the fly-wheel can be stopped... Without the fly-wheel, the rope is strong enough to stop the engine without danger of being broken." -- Sylvester Welch, Report on the Allegheny Portage Railroad, 1833
35. PORT_120531_397.JPG: The Weight Pit: The rope, whether hemp or iron, would stretch with age. An arrangement of weights, sheaves, and a wheeled cart compensated for the lengthening rope. At the lower end of the incline a similar sort of arrangement compensated for seasonal expansion and contraction of the rope. "A cast iron sheave, nine feet several inches in diameter ... is fixed on a movable carriage between the vertical wheels and the commencement of the descent of the plane... The movable carriage may be drawn backwards and forwards about fifteen feet, but it is intended generally to be kept at the end of the pit nearest to the inclined plane, by a weight connected with it by a chain. The weight is suspended in a well; the chain with which it is connected with the carriages passes over a small sheave at the top of the well, which allows it to ascend and descend as the carriage is drawn backward and forward." -- Sylvester Welch, Report on the Allegheny Portage Railroad, 1833 The horizontal sheave and weights keep tension on the rope that raises and lowers the cars. At the lower end of the plane, in conjunction with the hitching shed, a sheave and carriage arrangement permitted the slack in the rope caused by its expansion and contraction to be adjusted. "The short distance which this sheave and carriage is permitted to move would not be a sufficient allowance for the contraction and expansion of the rope, but the sheave at the foot of the plane, around which the rope passes, is also placed in a carriage fixed upon ways, and can be moved backwards and forwards upward of fifty feet." -- Sylvester Welch, Report on the Allegheny Portage Railroad, 1833
36. PORT_120531_412.JPG: Wire Rope: One of the most important innovations introduced on the Allegheny Portage Railroad was wire rope, developed by John Roebling who gained enduring fame as the designer of the Brooklyn Bridge. Hemp rope, which the wire version replaced, had a life expectancy of about one season. Wire rope lasted several years and was not as prone to breaking.
37. PORT_120531_420.JPG: The Engine House: On this location stood the engine house for Incline #6. Its foundations are below you. The modern structure recalls, in its shape and location, that historic building, but it is larger to protect the historic remains. Here, also, are exhibits that help to explain the technological side of the Allegheny Portage Railroad story, from how the steam engine worked to how wire rope was made.
38. PORT_120531_431.JPG: The Safety Car: Trains of the Allegheny Portage Railroad hauled behind them a special safety car, or safety buck, that served as a brake to stop the train from plunging down the mountain if the rope should break. Nevertheless, accidents occasionally occurred despite the safety car. Push "Start" to see how the safety car worked.
39. PORT_120531_439.JPG: Inclined Plane No. 6: In front of you is the site of Inclined Plane No. 6, one of ten inclines on the Allegheny Portage Railroad. The track visible today has been reconstructed. From 1834 to 1854, railroad cars bearing canal boats, freight, and passengers were pulled up and lowered down this slope by a continuous rope driven by steam engines located in an engine house to your right. The rope ran between the rails, supported by idler pulleys every 24 feet. Whenever possible, ascending cars were counterbalanced with descending cars. In an open shed at the foot of the incline, a "hitcher" connected westbound cars to the main rope with a short rope. Up here at the engine house, another hitcher disconnected them for the continuing journey by horses or locomotives along the Summit Level. A Passenger's Perspective "Three short hours have brought you from the torrid plain to a refreshing and invigorating climate. The ascending apprehension has left you, but it is succeeded by the fear of the steep descent which thought trembles in your mind, that it [the tram] may slip over the head of the first descending plane, rush down the frightful steep, and be dashed in a thousand pieces at its foot." -- Peregrine Prolin Actual size cross section of hemp rope used on Incline No. 6. By 1849, all inclines converted to wire rope which was stronger and more durable.
40. PORT_120531_445.JPG: Engine House No. 6: In front of you is the site of Engine House No. 6, one of ten such power plants on the Allegheny Portage Railroad. The building was demolished in 1900, but portions of the stone foundation remain intact. The National Park Service is preserving the site as an historical exhibit. Railroad locomotives of the day could not pull cars up the steep inclines. Consequently, the engineers decided to use stationary steam engines situated at the tops of inclines, with endless ropes to transmit the power. The engine house here had two steam engines, one of which served as a backup. Coal-fired boilers provided the steam. Operating the engine house required a crew of at least four men. They kept the boilers fired continuously, tended the engines, lubricated the gears and bearings, and hitched and unhitched cars. Firemen stoked the engine house boilers frequently to keep steam up for approaching trains. The boilers consumed 60 bushels of coal per day. 1. Lemon House Passengers stopped for refreshment at this old tavern on the summit level. 2. Engine House No. 6 The original wood structure protected the machinery and operators from the often-harsh weather here at the summit. 3. Engine and Sheaves A 2-cylinder, 35-horsepower steam engine drove two vertical sheaves (pulleys) that engaged the ascending and descending tow ropes. 4. Hitching Area After being pulled up the incline, railroad cars were hitched to horses or locomotives here. Track in this area was laid level to prevent cars from rolling away. 5. Horizontal Sheave and Weight Well The main tow rope crossed from one track to the other by way of this grooved wheel 9-1/2 feet in diameter. A hanging weight connected by a chain to the hub of the sheave applied tension to the rope. 6. Water Brake This hydraulic cylinder helped to control the descent of trains when there were no ascending trains to counterbalance the system. 7. Sectional Canal Boat Canal boats could be carried on flat cars in two or three sections, then re-assembled for launching in the canal. 8. Smokestacks These brick stacks vented smoke from the coal fires that heated the boilers. Boilers were located on the main floor. The smaller metal stacks discharged steam. 9. Idler Pulley These freewheeling pulleys kept the main tow rope in line and prevented abrasion. 10. Safety Car Also called a "buck," this ingenious device guarded against runaway trains. If the tow rope broke, the end car would ride up onto the safety car whose sled-like runners acted as a friction brake.
41. PORT_120531_448.JPG: Skew Arch Bridge Trail: The spur trail to your left leads 1/3 mile down the east slope of the mountain to the historic Skew Arch Bridge. The bridge is located near the base of the portage railroad's Incline No. 6. The trail roughly parallels the incline. The Skew Arch Bridge was completed in 1834 to carry travelers on the Huntingdon, Cambria & Indiana Turnpike over the portage railroad. The road also accommodated wagons, horses, and livestock. The railroad closed in 1854, but the road bridge remained in service until 1922. Builders "skewed" the angle of the bridge to allow the road to cross Incline No. 6 without making an awkward bend. Today the bridge with its interwoven diagonal planes and pleasing lines stands as a superb example of stone masonry design and craftsmanship.
42. PORT_120531_460.JPG: Allegheny Portage Railroad: Skew Arch Bridge: This notable landmark on the Portage Railroad was built in 1832-34 as an overpass for the existing wagon road. The skew design was used because of the steepness of the road grade and the angle of intersection with the Portage. Skew Arch Bridge served as a highway bridge until 1922, almost 70 years after the Old Portage Railroad discontinued operations It was built of skillfully shaped stones fitted together without mortar.
43. PORT_120531_480.JPG: The bas-relief above is made from a painting in the possession of the Blair County Historical Society, at Altoona, Penna. It represents a train standing on the level at the head of Plane 6. The power house for this plane is shown in the center and the steam engine and the boilers were housed therein. The engines were in duplicate to provide against breakdowns. Each engine had two cylinders 15 in. diameter and 60 in. stroke, 14 revolutions per minute, 70 lbs. steam pressure, 35 horse power. Each engine had three boilers 30 in. diameter and 20 ft. long. The passengers are shown returning to the train after a stop for dinner. The Old Lemon House shown on the right is still standing a short distance from this point, near the head of plane 6.
44. PORT_120531_492.JPG: This Monument Was erected to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of The Old Portage Rail Road March 18, 1834 A scale model of one of the inclined planes is in the Blair County Historical Museum, Altoona, PA. This monument and the model provided by the State of Pennsylvania. Erected March 18, 1934. The Commission William Elmer, Chairman Plymouth W. Snyder, Secretary Thomas G. Peoples Tarring S. Davis
45. PORT_120531_497.JPG: The bas-relief above is made from a painting in the possession of the Blair County Historical Society at Altoona, Penna. It represents a sectional canal boat being transported over the Allegheny Mountains on cars pulled up the incline plane by a steam engine winding a rope around a drum. At the same time these cars are going up the plane others are going down. This view was taken from almost the spot where this monument stands and the cars have just come through the skew arch bridge behind you. This bridge carried the original highway over the old Portage Railroad. The powerhouse is at the top of Plane 6, which extended through the skew arch bridge and can be followed up the hill on the other side of the concrete highway.
46. PORT_120531_507.JPG: Description of Old Portage Railroad In 1825, the state of New York completed the Erie Canal. The citizens of Pennsylvania, alarmed at the possible loss of trade by this new route, besought the legislature to construct a system of communication between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. A charter for a railroad, to be known as the Pennsylvania Railroad, had been granted to Col. John Stevens of Hoboken, N.J., in 1823; but this had come to naught. No one had faith in in railroads in those days , so a canal was chosen. It started at Columbia, and the Eastern Division extended to Hollidaysburg. The Western Division began at Johnstown and ended at Pittsburgh. A railroad was built from Philadelphia to Columbia, and this Old Portage Railroad was built from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown in order to get over the Allegheny Mountains. There were five inclined planes on each of side of the summit, up which the cars were pulled by ropes operated by steam engines. The planes varied in length from 1480 feet to 3116 feet, the grade being about ten percent. The operation was slow and costly, the canal was frozen up in winter and after the opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1852 the public works began to deteriorate. The new Portage Railroad was built by the state in order to avoid the inclined planes, and this was opened on July 1, 1855, from that date the Old Portage Railroad ceased to exist. The canals cost $8,327,889.01. The railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia cost $4,204,969.96. The Old Portage Railroad cost $1,828,461.33. The New Portage Railroad cost $2,143,335.49. Total cost of state works Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, $16,504,655.84
47. PORT_120531_517.JPG: The Skew Arch Bridge: This may be the only skewed masonry bridge remaining in the United States. Built in 1832-34 to carry a wagon road over the tracks of Incline 6, it was constructed on a skewed, or twisted angle. The road and the railroad could then cross, with each maintaining their straight path up the slope. Notice that the arch jambs are not at right angles with the face of the bridge. The bridge abutments are also offset and not directly across from each other. See how the stones were cut and laid in a diagonal direction. This bridge has withstood the elements for over one hundred and fifty years and is well preserved. Its fine architecture stands in tribute to the skills of the engineers and stone masons who built it.
48. PORT_120531_527.JPG: Portage Railroad: Here was No. 6 of the ten inclined planes used to carry canal boats by rail, Hollidaysburg to Johnstown. This unique engineering feat was completed in 1834. The road was 36 miles long.
49. PORT_120531_530.JPG: This tablet erected in 1923 by the Blair County Historical Society of Pennsylvania to perpetuate this skew arch Built in 1832-33 to carry the Huntington-Blairsville Section of the Northern Turn Pike over Inclined Plane Number Six of the Allegheny Portage Railroad.
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Wikipedia Description: Allegheny Portage Railroad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania, United States. It was a series of 10 inclines, approximately 36 miles (58 km) long, and operated from 1834 to 1854. It connected two canal divisions of the Main Line of Public Works of the Pennsylvania Canal from Johnstown on the west to Hollidaysburg on the east, thus allowing continuous barge traffic between the Ohio and the Susquehanna rivers. Considered a technological marvel in its day, it played a critical role in opening the interior of the United States beyond the Appalachian Mountains to settlement and commerce. It included the first railroad tunnel in the United States, the Staple Bend Tunnel, and its inauguration was marked with great fanfare.

Today, the remains of the railroad are preserved within the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service. The site was established in 1964 and is about 12 miles (19.3 km) west of Altoona.

The Lemon House, a tavern located alongside the railroad near Cresson that was a popular stop for railroad passengers, has been converted into a historical museum by the National Park Service. The park service also operates a visitor center with interpretive exhibits near the Lemon House.

The Staple Bend Tunnel is preserved in a separate unit of the historic site 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Johnstown.

History:

Construction of the railroad began in 1831 and took three years to complete. The project was financed by the State of Pennsylvania as a means to compete with the Erie Canal in New York and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Maryland. The work was done largely through private contractors. The railroad used ten inclined planes, five on either side of the summit of the Allegheny Ridge. The vertical ascent from Johnstown was 1,172 feet (357 m). The vertical ...More...
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2012 photos: Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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