Allegheny Portage Railroad Plane No. 2
Portage Township, Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
From 1834 to 1854 this 36-mile line connected Hollidaysburg to Johnstown. The railroad portaged canal boats over the Allegheny Mountains, which formed a barrier to the Pennsylvania canal system. Horses and mules pulled the first trains. Later steam locomotives were used. At the center of the line, Plane No. 2 served as the railroad headquarters.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Before tunnels pierced the Alleghenies, the mountains stood as a wall across Pennsylvania's ambitious canal system. From 1834 to 1854 the Allegheny Portage Railroad solved the problem with a feat of engineering, hauling entire canal boats up and over the ridge along a series of inclined planes on a 36-mile line between Hollidaysburg and Johnstown. Horses and mules pulled the first cars, later giving way to steam locomotives, with Plane No. 2 serving as the line's headquarters.
Why it matters
The portage railroad was a bold early answer to the challenge of crossing the mountains, a key link in the young nation's race to bind East and West with reliable transportation.
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Related events
- · Allegheny Portage Railroad
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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