Pennsylvania

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site

The Portage Railroad officially opened March 18, 1834. It then became possible to travel from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in 4 days. The total cost of the Public Works system was $16,504,655.84. The railroad system was $1,828,461.38. The railroad and canal system spurred trade in Pennsylvania. The system carried raw materials to the east and manufactured goods to the west. With the building of the Mainline of Public Works Pennsylvania began an era of prosperity leading to the creation of one of the greatest industrial states in the nation. The Allegheny Portage Railroad and the Public Works system ran for twenty years, from 1834-1854.

Total Area (Acres)

1,284

Visitors Average

123,800

Explore OUP Content

Go deeper into the history of each park with scholarly articles and essays from Oxford University Press, freely available for the centennial year.

American National Biography

John Augustus Roebling

Engineer and bridge-builder

In constructing a bridge over the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh (1857-1860), Roebling employed a new method of spinning the cable on the site, using traveling sheaves that moved on temporary cables over the support towers from one anchor to the other.

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