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 The Old Portage Rail Road - Old Route 22 - Duncansville, PA Posted by:  Lat34North
N 40° 27.188 W 078° 32.596
17T E 708323 N 4480951
The Old Portage Rail Road monumentis located in the median of old Route 22 at Healy Road. Rout 22 changes from a 2 lane road to a 4 lane and this point. Parking is available near the monument.
Waymark Code: WMFM1X
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 11/01/2012
Views: 9
This monument was erected in 1934 for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Old Portage Rail Road. In addition to the plaque dedicating the monument, three other plaques describe the history of the Old Portage Rail Road and tell a very interesting story.
This monument
was erected to celebrate the
100th anniversary
of the opening of the line
The Old Portage Rail Road
March 18, 1834.
A scale model of one of the inclined plane is in the Blair County
historical Museum, Altoona, PA.
This monument and the model
provided by the state of Pennsylvania.
Erected March 18, 1934.
The commission
William Elmer, chairman
Plymouth W. Snyder, Sec. W. L. Woodcock, counselor.
Thomas G. People's. Tarring G. Davis.
Description of the old portage Railroad
In 1825, the state of New York completed the Erie Canal. The citizens of Pennsylvania, alarm at the possible loss of trade by this new route, besought the Legislature to construct a system of communication between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. A charter for a railroad, to be know as the Pennsylvania Railroad, had been granted to Col. John Stevens, of Hoboken, N.J., in 1823; but this had come to naught. No one had faith in railroads in those days, so a canal was chosen. It started at Columbia, and the eastern division extended to Hollidaysburg. The western division began in Johnstown and ended at Pittsburgh. A railroad was built from Philadelphia to Columbia, and this Old Portage Railroad was built from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown in order to get over the Allegheny Mountains. There were five inclined planes on each side of the summit, up which the cars were pulled by ropes operated by steam engines. The planes varied in length from 1480 feet to 3116 feet, the great being about ten percent. The operation was slow and costly, the canal was frozen up in winter, and after the opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1852 the Public Works began to deteriorate. The new Portage Railroad was built by the state in order to avoid the inclined planes, and this was opened on July 1, 1855. From that date the Old Portage Railroad ceased to exist. The canals cost $ 8,327,889.01. The railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia cost $ 4,204,969.96. The Old Portage Railroad cost $ 1,828,461.38. The New Portage Railroad cost $2,143,335.49. Total cost of state works Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, $ 16,504,655.34.
The Bas-relief above is made from a painting in the possession of the Blair County Historical Society, at Altoona, Panna. It represents a train standing on the level at the head of plane 6. The powerhouse for this plane is shown in the center and the steam engines and boilers were housed therein. The engines were in duplicate to provide against breakdowns. Each engine had two cylinders 15 in. diameter and 60 in. stroke, 14 revolutions per minute, 70 lbs. steam pressure, 35 horse power. Each engine had three boilers 30 in. diameter and 20 ft long. The passengers are shown returning to the train after a stop for dinner. The old Lemon House shown on the right is still standing a short distance from this point, near the head of plane 6.
The Bas-relief above is made from a painting in the possession of the Blair County Historical Society, at Altoona, Panna. It represents a sectional canal boat being transported over the Allegheny Mountains on cars pulled up the inclined plane by a steam engine winding a rope around a drum. At the same time these cars are going up the plane others are going down. This view was taken from almost the spot where this monument stands and the cars have just come through the Skew Arch Bridge behind you. This bridge carried the original highway over the old portage railroad. The powerhouse is at the top of plane 6, which extended through the Skew Arch Bridge and can be followed up the hill on the other side of the concrete highway.
More Information:
NPS - Allegheny Portage Rail Road National Historic site
Wikipedia - Allegheny Portage Railroad
National Park Foundation - Allegheny Portage Rail Road National Historic site
Group that erected the marker: State of Pennsylvania
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
medium of old US 22
Duncansville, PA USA
16635
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Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the marker, preferably including yourself or your GPSr in the photo. A very detailed description of your visit may be substituted for a photo. In any case please provide a description of your visit. A description of only "Visited" or "Saw it while on vacation" by anyone other than the person creating the waymark may be deleted by the waymark owner or the category officers.
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