ON THIS DAY: May 28, 1870, Monongahela Incline opens

PITTSBURGH — Located above the Smithfield Street Bridge and Station Square, the Monongahela Incline connects Mount Washington with downtown Pittsburgh. The incline opened to the public on May 28, 1870, and is the oldest continuously operating funicular railway in the U.S., transporting more than half a million passengers each year.

Known as Coal Hill at the time of the incline’s construction, Mount Washington was mostly home to German immigrants who used the elevation to escape the smoke and soot that plagued Pittsburgh at the end of the Civil War, as the flat riverbanks were too valuable as industrial land. The problem for residents was that the only means of commuting into the city was by a treacherous trail that was arduously steep, circuitous, and often muddy. Residents proposed that the city build a series of “seilbahns” (incline planes or funiculars) like the ones they were familiar with in their mountainous homeland.

In February 1854, the Mount Washington Inclined Plane Company was incorporated to benefit the landowners and business owners who wanted to make the hilltop a desirable neighborhood that could take advantage of its proximity to downtown, but the war and property disputes postponed the project.

A charter for the formation of the Monongahela Inclined Plane Company was granted after the war in April 1867. It would be the first incline built primarily for passengers instead of the usual coal and cargo planes.

Two sites were suggested in the original surveys for the project, made by J.S. Kirk. One was the current site of the Mon Incline and the other would eventually become the Duquesne Incline seven years later (and was the third built in Pittsburgh). The Mon Incline site was chosen first because it was closer to more residents.

Mon Incline Detroit Publishing Co, P. (1905) Monongahela Incline and adjacent freight incline, Pittsburgh, Pa. Pittsburgh Pennsylvania United States, 1905. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2016811624/. (Library of Congress)

Mon Incline Detroit Publishing Co., Copyright Claimant, and Publisher Detroit Publishing Co. Monongahela Incline and adjacent freight incline, Pittsburgh, Pa. Pittsburgh Pennsylvania United States, ca. 1905. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016805381/. (Library of Congress)

Mon Incline Detroit Publishing Co, C. C. & Detroit Publishing Co, P. P. & L.E. Ry. Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad station and Mt. Washington, Pittsburgh, Pa. Pittsburgh Pennsylvania United States. [between 1900 and 1910] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2016800533/. (Library of Congress)

Mon Incline General view of incline supports looking to Mount Washington Roadway, taken on December 13, 1926. The passenger line was built in 1870 and reconstructed of metal in 1882. A parallel plane was added in 1884 to facilitate the hauling of freight. The parallel plane was closed in 1936. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)

Mon Incline Historic American Engineering Record, C., Endres, J. J., Otis Elevator Company, Acres American, I., Massaro Corporation, Hail Industries [...] Rogers, R. M., Thum, D., photographer. (1968) Monongahela Incline Plane, Connecting North side of Grandview Avenue at Wyoming Street with West Carson Street near Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA. Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Allegheny County, 1968. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/pa2667/. (Library of Congress)

Mon Incline View looking up the tracks of the Monongahela Incline from the bottom. Picture taken in January 1970. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)

Mon Incline January 1970 view of one of the Mon Incline's cars. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)

Mon Incline View looking down the tracks of the Monongahela Incline from the top. Picture taken in January 1970. (Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System)

Mon Incline Caption on the back of the photograph reads, “The Monongahela Incline was opened May 28, 1870; the first Incline in Pittsburgh. Eventually, Pittsburgh had 17 Inclines. Now, only 2 remain; the Duquesne Incline and the Monongahela Incline. The Monongahela Incline was first operated by the Pittsburgh Railways Company, and in 1964 it was taken over by the Port Authority who operate it at the present time. It runs from Carson Street to the top of Mt. Washington which is a residential area. One-half Million People, commuters and visitors ride this incline each year.” The Monongahela Incline climbs a 35 percent grade, one of the steepest incline planes in the world. In 1970 it was declared a historic structure by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. In 1982 Port Authority made improvements to the incline with the replacement of car bodies, improved access, and renovated stations. In 1994 electrical and mechanical components of the machinery were replaced, trackway lighting was installed, and an addition was added to the upper station. (Detre Library & Archives, Sen. John Heinz History Center)

Designed primarily by John Endres and Samuel Diescher, accounts also credit Endres’ daughter Caroline (an engineer educated in Europe) with contributing significantly to the project, which was considered quite unusual at the time and gawkers would go to the Endres’ home to watch her work. The close collaboration led to romance and Diescher eventually married Caroline and they went on to become leading designers of other incline planes in Pittsburgh and beyond.

Famed Pittsburgh engineer John Roebling was contacted to specify the main cable, which measures an inch and a half in diameter. A slightly smaller reserve cable serves as an emergency backup.

The incline’s 635 feet of track has a 35% grade, but it can’t compete with incline in Johnstown, which has a 71% grade and is the steepest in the world.

Originally powered by two steam engines located in a powerhouse across Grandview Avenue from the upper station, the engineer and conductors would manually control the cars from the upper station’s glass enclosure during their 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. shifts. Speed was regulated using a combination of hand throttles and a foot brake.

The Mon Incline carried 994 people on its first day of operation, at a fare of six cents each, starting at 3 p.m. and running until 8 p.m. Word got out fast, and the second day of operation saw 4,174 passengers. Eventually, 17 passenger inclines would be built around Pittsburgh, of which the Mon Incline and Duquesne Incline are the sole survivors.

In 1884, a new freight incline allowed staff at the Mon Incline to reduce their shifts to 12 hours from their normal 17 hours. The freight incline was adjacent to the Mon Incline but had larger cars that were 17 feet wide by 32 feet long.

The current lower station building was constructed in 1904.

P.J. McCardle Road was completed in 1928 and the increased accessibility led to a decline in demand for the inclines.

The steam engines were replaced in 1935 by electric ones manufactured by the Otis Elevator Company. The freight incline was also retired and dismantled, though its cement foundations are still visible on the hillside.

Mon Incline The cars for the Monongahela Incline pass on Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic/AP)

Mon Incline The skyline of the city of Pittsburgh is seen through a window in the Monongahela Incline as it approaches the passing car down the hill to the lower terminal on Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pittsburgh. The incline that transports people up and down the side of a hill in Pittsburgh reopened today after being closed since February. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic/AP)

Mon Incline The skyline of the city of Pittsburgh is seen through a window in the Monongahela Incline as it approaches the lower terminal on Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic/AP)

Mon Incline One of the cars of the Monongahela Incline approaches the downhill terminal, Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pittsburgh.(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic/AP)

Mon Incline A patron boards one of the cars of the Monongahela Incline on Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pittsburgh. The incline that transports people up and down the side of a hill in Pittsburgh reopened Friday after being closed since February. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic/AP)

Mon Incline A sign marks the lower terminal of the Monongahela Incline on Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pittsburgh. The incline that transports people up and down the side of a hill in Pittsburgh reopened Friday after being closed since February. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic/AP)

Mon Incline The cars for the Monongahela Incline pass on Friday, May 10, 2019, in Pittsburgh. The incline that transports people up and down the side of a hill in Pittsburgh reopened Friday after being closed since February. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Keith Srakocic/AP)

Mon Incline The upper station of "the Mon," as locals call it. The Monongahela Incline atop Mount Washington, high above downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Mon is (as of 2019) one of only two remaining hill-climbing systems above hilly Pittsburgh. (Photographer: Carol M. Highsmith/Library of Congress)

Mon Incline The Monongahela Incline connects Mount Washington with downtown Pittsburgh and opened to the public on May 28, 1870. It is the oldest continuously operating funicular railway in the U.S., transporting more than half a million passengers each year.

The Port Authority took over operation of the incline in 1964.

In 1994, the incline systems were overhauled again. The electrical and mechanical components were replaced with ones designed by Baker and Associates of Beaver, Pennsylvania. The incline’s original ten-foot diameter brake wheel, installed in 1882, was also replaced. The upper station received an addition and trackway lighting was added.

The incline’s cars were replaced in 1995.

The incline was closed for several months in 2015 as it underwent an even more extensive renovation. The $3.5 million project upgraded all the trackwork and lift components, with a complete refurbishment of the cars. A work car was built to make the removal of the passenger cars easier.

The Mon Incline remains a popular commuting route, with its easy connections to the Port Authority’s light rail system and downtown. It’s also immensely popular with tourists and visitors to Station Square who enjoy its spectacular views of the Pittsburgh skyline.