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Pittsburgh is the king of inclines. But its crown is in jeopardy. More than a century ago, at least 15 funicular railways operated simultaneously in Pittsburgh — more than in any other U.

S. city. They toiled as hard as the working-class residents they ferried up and down the steep hills above the three rivers.



Pittsburgh boasted the likes of the Castle Shannon Incline, the Mount Oliver, the Knoxville and the Nunnery Hill, now all but forgotten. Not long after that golden time, inclined railways started going out of fashion, made obsolete by the advent of trolleys and, eventually, the automobile. Pittsburgh held out for as long as it could, but it was a losing battle as, one by one, the inclines shut down.

Today, the only remnant of that bygone era is our current pair of funiculars, the 154-year-old Monongahela Incline and its slightly younger sibling, the Duquesne Incline. It’s hard enough to find an American city with one public funicular. Pittsburgh is the only town with two.

Chris Walker, archives manager at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington County, noted that Pittsburgh’s two working inclines make the Steel City a standout. “They definitely are really Pittsburgh unique,” Walker said. “They have basically become symbols of the city.

” Whether Pittsburgh can maintain its status as railway royalty remains to be seen. Old age and wear and tear are grinding down the Mon Incline, which is becoming increasingly unreliable. Engineers have struggled to kee.

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