Allegheny Portage Railroad
From 1834 until 1854, when the Pennsylvania Railroad Company finished a competing line, the Allegheny Portage Railroad made continuous boat traffic possible over the Allegheny Mountains between the Juniata and Western Division Canals. It followed a 36-mile (58 km) route that included 11 levels, 10 inclined planes fitted with stationary engines that could raise and lower boats and cargo, a 900-foot (270 m), viaduct over the Little Conemaugh River, and many bridges. Infrastructure included 153 drains and culverts. The railroad climbed 1,398 feet (426 m) from the eastern canal basin at Hollidaysburg and 1,171 feet (357 m) from the western basin at Johnstown. At its summit, the railroad reached an elevation of 2,322 feet (708 m) above sea level.
Read more about this topic: Main Line Of Public Works
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Within its rocky heart,
And Allegheny graves its tone
Throughout his lofty chart.
Monadnock, on his forehead hoar,
Doth seal the sacred trust,
Your mountains build their monument,
Though ye destroy their dust.”
—Lydia Huntley Sigourney (1791–1865)
“This I saw when waking late,
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Far into the lives of other folk.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)