Allegheny Portage Railroad - History

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 ascent from Hollidaysburg was 1,399 feet (426 m). The barges were drawn by horses along level sections, which included a tunnel 900 feet (274 m) long as well as a viaduct over the Little Conemaugh River upstream from Johnstown. A typical voyage took between six and seven hours. The entire Main Line system connecting Pittsburgh and Philadelphia was 400 miles (644 km) long. Charles Dickens wrote a contemporary account of travel on the railroad in Chapter X of his American Notes.

In 1854 the portage railroad was rendered obsolete by construction of a locomotive railroad over the Alleghenies by the Pennsylvania Railroad, a private company. Despite this, construction on the New Portage Railroad, a $2.14 million realignment to bypass the inclines, continued, opening in 1856. On July 31, 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad bought the portage railroad from the state, abandoning most and using the rest as local branches. In 1904, the part east of the Gallitzin Tunnels was reopened as a freight bypass line. However, in 1981, CONRAIL abandoned this line to Hollidaysburg, PA, and removed the rails.

• Bridge at the National Historic Site

• Exterior of Engine House 6 Exhibit Building

• Interior of Engine House 6 Exhibit Building

• Inside the Lemon House

• Inside the Lemon House

• Exterior of the Lemon House

• Lilly Culvert