allegheny portage railroad

Allegheny Portage Railroad - August 21, 2008

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The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 gave the merchants of New York City a great competitive advantage over their counterparts in Philadelphia in reaching western markets. As a result, in 1826 the Pennsylvania legislature authorized the construction of the Main Line Canal between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. By 1831 much of the 276 miles of canal and its aqueducts, tunnels, dams and reservoirs had been completed, but in between the two cities stood the Allegheny Mountains. Water didn't flow uphill in 1831 much better than it does nowadays, and no one had yet put on paper a plausible scheme for overcoming that obstacle.

In 1831 the legislature approved the construction of a system by which canal boat passengers and freight would be transferred to railroad cars and hauled by stationary steam engines up a series of five inclined planes. On the other side of the summit, the cars would descend a similar series of inclined planes and passengers and freight would be transferred back to canal boats to continue their journey. By the mid-1830s sectional packet boats had been developed that could be separated and loaded onto the railroad cars, eliminating the time-consuming transfers.

At first, horses pulled the cars over the level stretches between inclines. They proved to be too slow and were replaced by steam locomotives that could travel at speeds up to 15mph. By 1840 the trip between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh had been reduced to four days from a pre-canal time of 23 days. The physical comfort of traveling had been improved substantially, too.

Rail on the level portions was supported in iron chairs anchored to stone sleepers

The machinery was arranged so that the hoisting cable ran in a continuous loop and there were two parallel tracks, one ascending and the other descending. Whenever possible descending cars were used to counterbalance the weight of ascending cars, reducing the strain on the machinery.

In peak periods cars were hauled over the inclines every ten minutes, resulting in considerable wear on the 3 1/2-inch hemp rope, and frequent breakage. Although the cars were equipped with devices to help prevent runaways in such situations, and although the devices sometimes worked, the recoiling rope could main or kill anyone who got in its way and the delays had a serious impact on the busy system. Because the rope ran in a continuous loop, a break stopped traffic in both directions. John Roebling suggested they try the wire rope he was developing, and by 1849 all the planes were using Roebling's cable.

The inclines averaged a half-mile in length, some with grades approaching ten percent. Cars averaged about 7,000 pounds each, and the hoisting engines could pull them in sets of three up the grade at about 4mph. At six trains per hour during busiest times, and considering how little exposure most people then had to technology and heavy machinery, that must have been a thrilling sight. I'd venture that I'd get chills seeing it even now.

About 1832 Samuel Lemon built the structure that served as his house and business office and tavern serving meals to travelers in well-appointed, spacious, well-lighted dining rooms.

In the early 1850s the state started construction on a new continuous portage railroad that would eliminate the slow, costly-to-operate inclines. Before it was ever finished, the Pennsylvania Railroad completed its line through the Alleghenies in 1854, establishing continuous rail service between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The canal and portage railroad shut down after being purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1857, only 23 years after opening.