The Monongahela Freight Incline was a funicular

Funicular

A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...

 railway that scaled Mount Washington

Mount Washington (Pittsburgh)

Mount Washington is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's south city area. It has a zip code of 15211 and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by both the council members for District 3 and District 2 .It is known for its steep hill overlooking the Pittsburgh skyline, which was...

 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, USA.

Designed by Samuel Diescher

Samuel Diescher

Samuel Diescher, a prominent civil and mechanical engineer, was born in Budapest, educated at Karlsruhe Polytechnique and at the University of Zurich. Coming to the United States in 1866, he settled in Cincinnati, where he built his first inclined plane. He came to Pittsburgh and was associated...

 and John Endres

John Endres (engineer)

John J. Endres was a civil engineer. Born in Prussia, he later resided in Cincinnati, Ohio. He designed the Monongahela Incline, the first passenger incline in the United States, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The incline was originally steam powered and ran on wooden tracks. His daughter, Caroline...

, the incline was built in 1883 beside the smaller, original Monongahela Incline

Monongahela Incline

The Monongahela Incline, built by John Endres in 1870, islocated near the Smithfield Street Bridge in Pittsburgh. It is the oldest continuously operating funicular in the USA. It is also one of two surviving inclines from the original 17 passenger-carrying inclines built in Pittsburgh starting...

. The incline cost $125, 000 to build. It had a unique 10 ft gauge that would allow vehicles, as well as passengers to ascend and descend the hill. The cars were hoisted by a pair of Robinson & Rea engines. The incline ran until 1935. The older passenger incline still runs today, and concrete pylons from the freight incline can be seen during the descent.