Johnstown Inclined Plane

The Johnstown Inclined Plane is a 896. 5-foot funicular in Johnstown, Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. After a catastrophic flood in 1889, the incline was completed in 1891 to serve as an escape route for floods.

About Johnstown Inclined Plane in brief

Summary Johnstown Inclined PlaneThe Johnstown Inclined Plane is a 896. 5-foot funicular in Johnstown, Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. After a catastrophic flood in 1889, the incline was completed in 1891 to serve as an escape route for floods, as well as a convenient mode of transportation for residents of the new communities above the valley. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was designated a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1994. A 400-horsepower electric motor drives the drum, simultaneously winding and unwinding the cable, to propel the inclined plane. The cars are large enough to carry either 65 people, 6 motorcycles, or an automobile. Each car weighs 22 short tons, but they and the cables can carry an additional load of 15 short tons. The Johnstown inclined plane was designed by Hungarian engineer Samuel Diescher, who had also designed the Duquesne, Castle Shannon and Fort Pitt Inclines in Pittsburgh. The earliest inclines in the United States were a series of 10 that brought the concept to their native lands from their native Slavic, Slavic and Welsh people who settled near Johnstown.

The train travels at a 70. 9% grade or an angle of 35 degrees and 28 minutes from the horizontal. The travel time between stations is 90 seconds, and the cars traverse the slope; as one descends, the other ascends and acts as a counterweight. The main deck of the main car, which is open to the elements, has an enclosed seating area with a bench. The upper station has an observation deck and a visitor center adjacent to it. In addition to the 9-foot safety cable, a safety cable is also connected to the hoisting room that houses cars that houses 165 short tons and a hoisting mechanism that houses the hoist. The car is capable of withstanding a fall of up to 9 feet, and is equipped with an emergency brake that engages if the air pressure to control the brake is insufficient; a dead man’s switch is tripped in the operator’s booth. It is billed as the \”world’s steepest vehicular inclined plane\”, and can carry automobiles and passengers, up or down a slope with a grade of 71. 9%.