Originally
steam powered, the Duquesne Incline was designed by
Samuel Diescher, a Hungarian-American civil engineer based in Pittsburgh, and completed in 1877. The incline is long, in height, and is
inclined at a 30-degree angle. Its track gauge is , which is unusual in the United States (but standard in Finland, Russia, and Mongolia). Diescher is known for having designed the majority of inclines in the United States, including several in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania, in addition to numerous other industrial and highway projects. The incline was intended to carry cargo up and down Mt. Washington in the late 19th century. It later carried passengers, particularly Mt. Washington residents who were tired of walking up the steep footpaths to the top of the bluff. Inclines were being built all over Mt. Washington to serve working-class people who were forced out of the lowlying riverfront by industrial development. But as more roads were built in the twentieth century on "
Coal Hill", as it was known, and automobile use increased, most of the other inclines were closed. By the end of the 1960s, only the
Monongahela Incline and the Duquesne Incline remained in operation. In 1962, the Duquesne Incline was closed, apparently for good. Major repairs were needed, and with so few patrons, the incline's private owners did little. But local
Duquesne Heights residents launched a fund-raiser to help restore the incline. It was a huge success, and on July 1, 1963, the incline reopened under the auspices of a non-profit organization dedicated to its preservation. The incline has since been totally refurbished. The cars, built by the
J. G. Brill and Company of Philadelphia, have been stripped of paint to reveal the original wood. An observation deck was added at the top affording a view of Pittsburgh's "
Golden Triangle". The Duquesne Incline is now one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. In 1975 it was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. By 1977 the two remaining passenger inclines served more than one million commuters and tourists annually. That year both inclines were designated as
Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks by the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). == Specifications ==