The Clifton Incline was a
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
that operated from 1889 to 1905 in what is now the
Perry Hilltop
Perry South — also known as Perry Hilltop — is a neighborhood on Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's North Side. It developed as a streetcar suburb around the turn of the 20th century, so it consists almost exclusively of residential housing, with a s ...
neighborhood of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. It extended from its base at Sarah Street (now Strauss Street) at the intersection with Myrtle Street (now the closed Metcalf Street) to its top landing at Clifton Park near the end of Clifton Street (now Chautauqua Street).
Businessman William McCreery co-founded the incline to facilitate access to a residential neighborhood developed from his former estate. The Clifton Avenue Incline Plane Company, formed for the purpose of erecting and operating the incline, was chartered on June 25, 1888. Within a year of that date, McCreery offered free incline rides to property auctions on the hill.
There were two cars, only one of which carried passengers, the other one being a dummy car serving as a counterweight. A single operator performed the duties of engineer, conductor, and fireman.
The incline closed after an accident on November 10, 1905, in which the passenger car—empty at the time—broke loose, hurtled down the track, plowed through the waiting room on Sarah Street and smashed into the front steps of a house.
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See also
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List of funicular railways
This is a list of funicular railways, organised by place within country and continent. The funiculars range from short urban lines to significant multi-section mountain railways.
A funicular railway is distinguished from the similar incline eleva ...
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List of inclines in Pittsburgh
Beginning in 1870, the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania built numerous inclined railways to provide passenger service to workers traveling the steep hills to their homes; there were 17 built in the late 19th century. Following road building and gre ...
References
Maps
1890 plat mapshowing the Clifton Incline in northeast corner
1901 plat mapshowing the same
External links
The Clifton Incline… Finally a look!
{{Pittsburgh
Railway inclines in Pittsburgh
Defunct funicular railways in the United States
1889 establishments in Pennsylvania
1905 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
Railway lines opened in 1889