Duquesne Incline

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The Duquesne Incline is a funicular, a cable-driven railway on a steep slope, that carries riders up Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was completed in 1877 and still runs today. From the top, visitors look across the rivers and downtown Pittsburgh.

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At a glance

Country: United States
Location: Pittsburgh, USA
Built: 1877
Type: Infrastructure

Quick answers

Where is Duquesne Incline?

Duquesne Incline is in Pittsburgh, USA, United States.

When was Duquesne Incline built?

Duquesne Incline was built in 1877.

A 19th-century funicular whose wooden cars climb Mount Washington for sweeping views of Pittsburgh.

The track is 800 feet (244 metres) long and rises 400 feet (122 metres) at an angle of 30 degrees. Its two wooden-style cars run on a track gauge of 5 feet, which is unusual in the United States. The lower station is built in the Second Empire style, and the incline is on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

It was designed by Samuel Diescher, a Hungarian-American engineer who planned most of the inclines in the United States. At first it was powered by steam and meant to haul cargo up and down the hillside. Later it carried passengers, especially residents of Mount Washington who were tired of climbing steep footpaths. By the late 1960s only the Duquesne and Monongahela inclines were still working.

Closed, then revived

In 1962 the Duquesne Incline was closed, apparently for good, because it needed major repairs. It survived and is now owned by Pittsburgh Regional Transit and run by a nonprofit group, the Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline. In 1977 both Pittsburgh inclines were named Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks, and together they carried more than a million commuters and tourists a year.

Fun facts

Its track gauge of 5 feet is rare in America but common in Finland, Russia and Mongolia.
It has climbed Mount Washington since 1877.
In 1962 it was closed, but it was later brought back to life.