Johnstown Inclined Plane

Johnstown Inclined Plane - Pennsylvania

Recently, I had the opportunity to check out the Johnstown Inclined Plane in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Like the more famous Duquesne Incline and Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh, the Johnstown Inclined Plane was built with Western Pennsylvania's topography in mind in to carry people and goods between Point A and Point B. Built in 1890 and opened in 1891, just a few years after the devastating Johnstown Flood of 1889, the incline railway goes up and down Yoder Hill between downtown Johnstown and the Borough of Westmont on the top of the hill.

The Johnstown Inclined Plane features a double track of rail with two cars permanently attached to steel cables, counterbalancing each while in operation. As one car rises, the other is lowered. Power is only needed to lift the net weight. The grade of the Inclined Plane is quite steep, at just over 70% as it travels 896 feet up the hill. For a thrill seeker like myself, I was also impressed by the scenic views of Johnstown and the surrounding valley that I could see while a passenger on the Inclined Plane.

A view of Johnstown while traveling down the Johnstown Inclined Plane.

A view looking down the Inclined Plane.

Since the ride on the Inclined Plane only takes a couple minutes to go up or down the hill and runs every 15 minutes, I had a few minutes to poke around at the bottom of the hill. Here, we have a sign denoting the high water mark during the Johnstown Flood of 1889.

A bridge over the Stonycreek River will lead you to the entrance of the Inclined Plane.

The posted fares as of November 13, 2017 for using the Johnstown Inclined Plane. I estimated that the cab of the Inclined Plane cars can comfortably fit one mid-sized SUV. However, I was a walk on passenger that day.

Riding back up the Inclined Plane.

Passing cars.

Almost at the top.

Sources and Links:
"The History of the Incline" --- The Inclined Plane

How to Get There:

Crossposted to Quintessential Pennsylvania - https://quintessentialpa.blogspot.com/2017/12/johnstown-inclined-plane.html

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