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      IRC Nickname: Kcross|RDC Group: Banned Posts: 2535 Member No.: 1723 Joined: February 16, 2009 Total Events Attended: 202    | Johnstown Inclined Plane From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Marcus Ivers loves cock Johnstown Inclined Plane.jpg Info Locale Johnstown, Pennsylvania Transit type Funicular Annual ridership 102,516 (2009) increase 1.9% Website www.inclinedplane.org Operation Began operation June 1, 1891 Operator(s) CamTran Technical System length 896.5 feet (273.3 m) Track gauge 8 feet (2,438 mm) Johnstown Inclined Railway U.S. National Register of Historic Places Coordinates: 40°19′32″N 78°55′43″WCoordinates: 40°19′32″N 78°55′43″W Architect: Samuel Diescher Added to NRHP: June 18, 1973 NRHP Reference#: 73001597[1] The Johnstown Inclined Plane is an 896.5-foot (273.3 m) funicular in Johnstown, Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown, situated in a valley at the confluence of the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh Rivers, to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. The Johnstown Inclined Plane is billed as the "world's steepest vehicular inclined plane" as it is capable of carrying automobiles, in addition to passengers, up or down a slope with a grade of 70.9 percent.[2][3] The travel time from one station to the other is 90 seconds. After a catastrophic flood in 1889, the Johnstown Inclined Plane was completed in 1891 to serve as an escape route for future floods, as well as a convenient mode of transportation for the residents of the new communities situated above the valley. It was operated by Cambria Iron Company and its successor Bethlehem Steel until 1935, when it was sold to the borough of Westmont. The incline was briefly shut down in 1962 when its supply of power from Bethlehem Steel was terminated. Twice in its history, the Johnstown Inclined Plane fulfilled its role as a means of evacuation from floods—once in 1936 and again in 1977. The incline was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was designated a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1994. It had major renovations in 1962 and from 1983 to 1984. Contents [hide] 1 Design 2 History 2.1 Background and construction 2.2 Use 3 Current operations 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Sources 8 External links [edit] Design The Johnstown Inclined Plane was designed by Hungarian engineer Samuel Diescher, who had also designed the Duquesne, Castle Shannon and Fort Pitt Inclines in Pittsburgh.[4] The funicular consists of a parallel set of 8-foot (2,438 mm) gauge railroad tracks with a 70.9 percent grade or an angle of 35 degrees and 28 minutes from the horizontal.[5][A] The incline is 896.5 feet (273.3 m) long and ascends 502.2 feet (153.1 m) vertically to the top of Yoder Hill and the borough of Westmont, the station of which is at an elevation of 1,693.5 feet (516.2 m) above sea level. The rails are supported by 720 14-foot (4.3 m) long, railroad ties made from Southern Yellow Pine.[5] The incline is lit at night by 114 high-pressure sodium-vapor lamps mounted along the sides of tracks.[5] There used to be a stairway between the two tracks with 966 steps, but these were removed circa 1963.[6] The room that houses the incline's hoisting mechanisms Two cars traverse the slope; as one descends, the other ascends and acts as a counterweight. The cars are 15 feet 6 inches (4.72 m) wide, 15 feet 2 inches (4.62 m) tall, and 34 feet (10 m) long, and are large enough to carry either 65 people, 6 motorcycles, or an automobile.[7] While the cars are open to the elements, an enclosed seating area containing a bench is situated along the outer side of the incline.[3] The cables connecting the cars are 2-inch (51 mm) diameter, 6×36 right regular lay, steel wire rope. They are wound around a 3-short-ton (2.7 t), 16-foot (4.9 m) diameter drum that connects the cars together. The cable on the north track is 1,075 feet (328 m) long, while the south cable is 7 feet (2.1 m) shorter. Each car weighs 22 short tons (20 t), but they, and consequently the cables, can carry an additional load of 15 short tons (14 t). A 400-horsepower (298 kW) electric motor turns the drum, simultaneously winding and unwinding the cable, to power the incline. The Johnstown Inclined Plane is unusual in that the motor and winch are located at a 90 degree angle to the incline instead of directly underneath it.[8] Operation of the incline is controlled via a foot pedal located in a booth in the upper station.[9] An emergency brake engages if the air pressure needed to control the incline is insufficient; the brake also engages if a dead man's switch is tripped in the operator's booth.[9] In addition to the hauling cables, a 972-foot (296 m) safety cable capable of withstanding 165 short tons (150 t) is also connected to the cars.[5][10] [edit] History [edit] Background and construction Left: The enclosed passenger area, with bench. Right: The main deck of the car, which is large enough to hold several motorcycles or an automobile. Inclines are common in Europe, and immigrants, like the German, Slavic, and Welsh people who settled near Johnstown, remembered them from their native lands and brought the concept to the United States.[4] The earliest inclines in the United States were a series of 10 that were built in the 1830s as part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad.[11] The portage railroad carried canal boats over the Allegheny Mountains to connect the canals from Pittsburgh to the ones from Philadelphia. Pittsburgh at one time also had "at least 17" inclines—some carried passengers, others freight, while another two inclines (like the Nunnery Hill Incline) were curved.[11] On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam collapsed upstream of Johnstown on the Little Conemaugh River. The resulting deluge devastated the city, killing 2,209 people.[3] As the city rebuilt, the Cambria Iron Company started work on a residential development atop Yoder Hill.[12] To provide easy transportation up and down the steep slope for the residents of the new community of Westmont, the company decided to construct an inclined plane. In addition to being a convenient mode of transportation, the Johnstown Inclined Plane doubled as an escape route in case of another flood. Diescher was hired by Cambria Iron to design the incline. The rails used in the incline were all manufactured in Johnstown at Cambria Iron, with many of the tools needed in the construction also handcrafted there.[13] The 232-foot (71 m) Inclined Plane Bridge was built to span the Stoneycreek River to provide access to the lower station of the incline. Originally named the Cambria Inclined Plane, the Johnstown Inclined Plane opened on June 1, 1891 and cost $133,296 to build.[12] The convenience the incline provided stimulated a rapid growth of population in Westmont and made the borough one the country's first suburbs.[12][13] Over 40 million people rode the incline in its first 80 years of operation.[12] [edit] Use The incline's original steam engine was disconnected on January 6, 1912, and replaced with an electric motor.[14] The cars used on the incline were originally double-deckers, but were reconfigured into a single-decker design in 1921. The double-decker cars had horses and wagons riding on the main, upper deck and passengers riding in a compartment below.[13] Only one human fatality has occurred at the incline, though it was determined that the incident was not caused by the incline itself.[15] There were two incidents in the 1920s when horses aboard the incline became spooked and leapt from the car onto the tracks below.[9] Bethlehem Steel, the successor to Cambria Iron, sold the Johnstown Inclined Plane to the borough of Westmont in April 1935.[13] On March 17, 1936, nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from Johnstown to higher ground via the incline as the Stoneycreek and Conemaugh Rivers overflowed their banks.[9] The floodwaters continued downstream and eventually reached Pittsburgh. From February 1938 to July 1953, the Johnstown Traction Company operated transit buses from Johnstown to Westmont with the "fully loaded public buses" being carried by the incline.[9][16] Bethlehem Steel stopped supplying electricity to the Johnstown Inclined Plane when the factory switched to "an incompatible power system", forcing the incline to close on January 31, 1962.[17] Because of public pressure to keep the incline operating, it was reopened in July 1962 after an extensive renovation, in which the electric motor was rewound, ties were replaced, and the cars were repainted.[9][13] The upper station has an observation deck and visitor center / restaurant adjacent to it The Johnstown Inclined Plane was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 18, 1973.[1] On July 20, 1977, the incline was again used as an escape route, evacuating residents from the valley and rising floodwaters. It also carried "boats, emergency personnel, and equipment down to the valley to aid in rescue operations".[13] The incline was again sold for $1 by Westmont borough on March 8, 1983, to the Cambria County Transit Authority, now CamTran.[13] CamTran initiated a $4.2 million renovation on September 7, 1983, replacing "the incline's foundation piers, structural steel, and track."[18] The renovations were completed on August 22, 1984, and the incline was rededicated on September 6. It was designated an Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in September 1994.[2] A footbridge spanning Pennsylvania Route 56 between the incline and Vine Street was opened around the same time.[19] On September 1, 2000, the incline was closed when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) undertook an $2.3 million renovation of the bridge and the access road leading to the bridge.[20] It was reopened in April 2001, but again closed in September to allow PennDOT to finish repairs to the bridge deck. The repairs were completed on December 14, 2001.[20] A strong thunderstorm disrupted power to the incline on April 16, 2010, stranding the cars and two passengers almost halfway down the slope; the rescue took three hours and ended when firefighters rappelled down the tracks to reach the car.[21] The Johnstown Inclined Plane was closed from September 9 to October 14, 2010, for the installation of a new 9,000-pound (4,100 kg) "hoist brake shaft."[22] [edit] Current operations With the growing popularity of the automobile and subsequent construction of new roads, ridership on the incline diminished and it was losing $25,000 a year by 1961.[9] However, since the 1980s, the incline has become one of the main tourist attractions in Johnstown, with people visiting the incline to "ride for fun, nostalgia and novelty."[3] Though primarily used for tourism, the incline's use by commuters, who bike or walk to work, has also increased.[23] CamTran's Route 18 transit bus offers connections between the incline and downtown Johnstown.[24] As of 2011, the cost for a ride on the incline is $2.25 or $4 for a roundtrip; fares for automobiles to be transported by the incline are $6 one way.[25] The incline takes around 90 seconds to travel from one station to the other; the same trip takes 10 minutes by automobile.[9] In 2009, the Johnstown Inclined Plane had an annual ridership of 102,516 passengers, an increase of 1.9 percent from the previous year.[26][27] The upper station of the incline has a gift shop that sells souvenirs and snack foods.[28] A visitors center is adjacent to the upper station; a restaurant, the City View Bar and Grill, is located directly below the center. The mechanical room housing the incline's electric motor and hoisting mechanism can be viewed from windows in the gift shop, the restaurant and the lobby of the visitor center.[28] An observation deck providing views of the incline, the city, and the valley is located on the opposite side of the station from the visitor center.[28] Two hiking trails allow visitors to walk the slope. One is a sculpture trail, with works created in 1989 by local artist James Wolfe, who used remnants of the Bethlehem Steel factory in Johnstown.[29] Panorama from the observation deck at the top of the incline. The Little Conemaugh River (center-left) and the Stonycreek River (right) combine in Johnstown to form the Conemaugh River. [edit] See also National Register of Historic Places portal Pennsylvania portal Trains portal List of funicular railways List of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks National Register of Historic Places listings in Cambria County, Pennsylvania [edit] Notes a. ^ Various other sources often use 71.9 percent as the grade of the incline.[9] [edit] References ^ a b "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved November 30, 2010. ^ a b "#180 Johnstown Incline (1891)". American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved March 26, 2011. ^ a b c d Wiseman, Lisa (December 23, 2004). "Johnstown's Inclined Plane is steeped in history, tragedy". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 7, 2011. ^ a b Forte, p. 3. ^ a b c d The Historic Johnstown Inclined Plane Technical Guide. CamTran. ^ Moser, Nick (January 17, 1963). "The Passing Parade". Reading Eagle: p. 8. Retrieved January 7, 2011. ^ "Welcome to the Johnstown Inclined Plane". Johnstown Inclined Plane. Retrieved January 7, 2011. ^ Forte , p. 2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Maurer, Chris (October 1, 1967). "A Lofty Look at Johnstown". The New York Times: p. XX11. ^ Pennsylvania Historic Sites and Landmarks, § 7. ^ a b Fountain, p. F6. ^ a b c d Pennsylvania Historic Sites and Landmarks, § 8, p. 1. ^ a b c d e f g Forte, p. 1. ^ Springirth, p. 110. ^ Pennsylvania Historic Sites and Landmarks, § 8, pp. 1–2. ^ Springirth, p. 116. ^ "Johnstown Incline ceases to operate". Reading Eagle. Associated Press. February 1, 1962. Retrieved January 8, 2011. ^ Springirth, p. 112. ^ Springirth, p. 113. ^ a b Springirth, p. 118. ^ Potts, Ted (April 17, 2010). "Hour of havoc". The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pennsylvania). Retrieved February 11, 2011. ^ Faher, Mike (October 14, 2010). "Incline reopening following repairs". The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pennsylvania). Retrieved January 13, 2011. ^ Griffith, Randy (April 20, 2009). "Inclined Plane kicks off summer commuter hours". The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pennsylvania). Retrieved January 8, 2011. ^ "Route 18 Downtown Shuttle" (PDF). CamTran. April 10, 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2011. ^ "Fares". Johnstown Inclined Plane. Retrieved January 8, 2011. ^ "Cambria County Transit Authority (CamTran)" (PDF). National Transit Database. Federal Transit Administration. 2009. Retrieved May 1, 2011. ^ "Cambria County Transit Authority (CamTran)" (PDF). National Transit Database. Federal Transit Administration. 2008. Retrieved May 1, 2011. ^ a b c "Visiting the Incline". Johnstown Inclined Plane. Retrieved January 11, 2011. ^ Springirth, p. 111. [edit] Sources Forte, Kandi (1994). "The Johnstown Incline" (PDF). Regional Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved January 7, 2011. Fountain, Henry (July 20, 2007). "A State of Incline in Pennsylvania". The New York Times: pp. F1, F6. Retrieved January 8, 2011. Pennsylvania Historic Sites and Landmarks (July 1972). "Johnstown Inclined Railway" (PDF). National Register of Historic Place Inventory–Nomination Form. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Retrieved January 8, 2011. Springirth, Kenneth C (2006). Johnstown Trolleys and Incline. Images of Rail. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia. ISBN 0-7385-4583-X. [edit] External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Johnstown Inclined Plane Johnstown Inclined Plane [show]v · d · eJohnstown in Cambria County, Pennsylvania [show]v · d · eRailroads of Pennsylvania [show]v · d · eU.S. National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Featured article Categories: 8ft gauge railways | Buildings and structures in Cambria County, Pennsylvania | Funicular railways of the United States | Heritage railroads in Pennsylvania | Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks | Johnstown, Pennsylvania | Landmarks in Pennsylvania | Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania | Public transport in Pennsylvania | Railway lines opened in 1891 | Railway-related listings on the National Register of Historic Places | Transportation in Cambria County, Pennsylvania | Visitor attractions in Cambria County, Pennsylvania Log in / create account Article Discussion Read Edit View history Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia Toolbox Print/export This page was last modified on 1 June 2011 at 01:36. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Contact us Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Wikimedia Foundation Powered by MediaWiki -------------------- Kcross73 – KevCross – Kevin Proud Trial Guardian: December 24, 2009 – January 10, 2010 Proud Guardian: January 10, 2010 – February 13, 2010 Proud Event Leader: February 13, 2010 – November 27, 2010 Proud Council: November 27, 2010 – July 5, 2011 | ||
Posted: June 1, 2011 01:44 am | |||
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