Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site ⓘ

Since, 2001, the Staple Bend Tunnel has been open as a separate area of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. It is not in the immediate area of the Summit Level Visitor Center. Rather, it is near the town of Mineral Point , 5 miles from Johnstown. Once you park your vehicle at the trail head, it is a two mile walk to the Staple Bend Tunnel and, of course, a two mile return trip to your vehicle. You are welcome to bring bicycles, but no motorized transport is permitted on the limestone dust surfaced trail.

Take US Route 22 to the Mundy's Corner/Nanty Glo exit. Turn right onto PA Route 271 South. Continue on Route 271 South approximately 5 miles until a (marked) left turn onto Mineral Point Road, PA 3030. After approximately 2 miles make a (marked) right turn onto Beech Hill Road and proceed over the bridge. Go through the railroad underpass and the paved parking lot for Staple Bend Tunnel will be located on the right. Please do not block the emergency access road. This parking area is also used for the Path of the Flood trail.

Finished in June 1833, the Staple Bend tunnel was advertised as the first railroad tunnel in the United States. It was the third tunnel of any kind built in the US, the first tunnels were for other canals in Pennsylvania.

Work began on November 21, 1831 and often occurred during inclement conditions. The men were paid $13 per month plus room and board for 12 hour days 6 days per week. Workers chipped and blasted 901 feet of solid rock to make the tunnel.

Approximately 14,900 cubic yards of bedrock was removed using black powder blasting. This was done by drilling three feet long holes and packing them with powder. Drilling one typical hole took up to three hours of hard effort using a three man crew. Nine to ten holes, each one-inch in diameter and thirty-six inches in length, were made before blasting. One pound of explosive powder wrapped in paper was pushed into each hole, tamped down, punctured with a sharp needle, and a fuse added. Fuses were lit with explosions to occur at mealtime. Workers would eat while the dust settled then get to work cleaning (mucking) the tunnel. Of the 36-inch hole drilled only 18 inches, or half of the hole, was blasted.

The tunnel grew about 18 inches each day, with both sides moving toward the center. On December 21, 1832 the workmen broke through the final barrier and connected the two ends of the tunnel. The workers and foremen actually celebrated their Christmas 1832 there. There was much celebration with speeches and toasts. The full tunnel excavation was completed in April 1833.

The ends of the Staple Bend Tunnel were lined with cut stone for safety. Rock and dirt might fall due to rain or other weather, or from the effects of the portage railroad going through the tunnel. The fancy entranceways to the tunnel were to impress the travelers and the general public. The style was described as "Roman Revival style with low relief lintel supported by Doric pilasters on each side." Of the money spent, the total cost was $37,498.85, nearly half was to build the fancy entrance ways.

In 1907 Henry Storey wrote that the east entrance facade of the tunnel had been removed for building purposes. He gave no indication of a date or the building on which the stones were used. The west entrance facade remains and has been restored to its former grandeur.

After the demise of the old Portage Railroad the tunnel had other uses. Neither the "new Portage" nor the Pennsylvania Railroad used the tunnel. It was instead a popular carriage route until the Flood of 1889. Afterward, Flood damage and other concerns made the tunnel a less desirable driving spot although local residents continued to visit, and even go courting at the tunnel up until the 1940s.

In the 1940s, a concrete liner was added to the east portal of the tunnel and large water lines as well as a water vault structure were built. The Manufacturer's Water Company closed the tunnel to the public, the water lines were used by Bethlehem Steel. In 2001 the tunnel became part of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. Rock bolts, shoring posts, and other reinforcements were added as well as a thin mortar between the historic blocks.

May 1839 En route to West Point. I took passage on a steamer at Ripley, Ohio, for Pittsburg, about the middle of May, 1839. Western boats at that day did not make regular trips at stated times, but would stop anywhere, and for any length of time, for passengers or freight. I have myself been detained two or three days at a place after steam was up, the gang planks, all but one, drawn in, and after the time advertised for starting had expired. On this occasion we had no vexatious delays and in about three days Pittsburgh was reached. From Pittsburgh I chose passage by the canal to Harrisburg, rather than the more expeditious stage. This gave a better opportunity of enjoying the fine scenery of Western Pennsylvania, and I had rather a dread of reaching my destination at all. At that time the canal was much patronized by travellers, and, with the comfortable packets of the period, no mode of conveyance could be more pleasant, when time was not an object. From Harrisburg to Philadelphia there was a railroad, the fist I had ever seen, except the one on which I Had just crossed the summit of the Allegheny Mountains, and over which canal boats had been reached. We travelled at least eighteen miles an hour, when at full speed, and made the whole distance attended the theatre, visited Girard College (which was then in course of construction), and got reprimanded from home afterwards, for dallying by the way so long. My sojourn in New York was shorter, but long enough to enable me to see the city very well. I reported at West Point on the 30th or 31st of May, and about two weeks later passed by examination for admission, without difficulty, very much to my surprise.

The Allegheny Portage Railroad scaled the 1,400-foot elevation of the Allegheny Mountains in west central Pennsylvania. Built as part of Pennsylvania's canal system, the Allegheny Portage Railroad allowed passengers and goods to be moved between Johnstown and Hollidaysburg while on their way from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. Completed in 1834, the Allegheny Portage Railroad boasted four massive stone viaducts, more than 72 stone culverts, the first railroad tunnel in the country, 10 stationary steam powered engine houses, and 36.65 miles of railway.

The Portage consisted of 11 relatively level horizontal passages that were linked by 10 'steep' inclined planes. The inclines were generally 0.5 mile in length, while the levels ranged from 0.15 mile to 14 miles. The gradient on the inclines could, by law, be no greater than 12%. The steepest of the inclines was Incline 8 at 9.9%

Railroad cars, or sometimes sectional canal boats, were pulled up or lowered down the inclines by stationary steam engines (30 to 35 horsepower), using a hemp rope approximately 7 inches in circumference. This rope was later replaced with wire cable. The ascending or descending cars were counterbalanced with other cars when possible. The stationary steam engines that drove the hoist mechanisms were at the top of the inclines; hitching sheds at the bottom.

At the head of each incline was an engine house built of wood. It contained the stationary steam engine, wheels, gears, hydraulic pistons, vertical 8-foot wheels, horizontal 9-foot by 7-inch sheaves, and wells approximately 3 feet wide and 8 feet deep.

The cast iron wheels or sheaves that drove the hoist mechanism were placed beneath the railway system. The use of these mechanical features helped make the most efficient use of power and reduced the strain on the steam engines. The well accommodated suspending weights and connecting chains that allowed the carriage to be drawn backward and forward.

No drawings or specifications for structures along the Allegheny Portage Railroad have been found despite repeated investigations. The numbering of the Allegheny Portage Railroad began with Level No. 1 in Johnstown and ended with Level No. 11 in Hollidaysburg.

On April 1, 1833, James Stackpole, William Woodburn, and H. Simsonton won a contract to build "An Engine House and Road Shed at the Head of the Plane [incline 6], and a Road Shed at the foot of the plane together with all the Masonry Excavation & Connected with the Same." The engine house at the head of incline 6 was completed by May 30, 1834.

On the morning of May 4, 1852, a boiler explosion at Plane No. 6 took the lives of three workers and made replacement of the north boiler and engine foundation mandatory. One piece of the boiler weighing 500 lbs. was thrown a distance of 100 feet down the plane. Owen Reilly & Mathew Purcell were severely scalded and died the afternoon of the accident. Felix Handlin died of scalds and injuries later that night. Abraham Westfall was injured on the hand. According to the Ebensburg Mountain Sentinel of 5/6/1852, “This sad accident casts a gloom over the community, and we can scarcely realize the fact that those industrious men, respected for their good qualities by all, have so suddenly been cut off in the midst of a life of labor and usefulness and taken from our midst. But so it is. The piercing sorrows which pervade the hearts of relations is shared in by hosts of friends.” It was said that the boiler was in a worn-out condition and had been leaking that morning. The other stationary engine at the plane was unharmed and trains passed as usual that evening. This accident cost $3,780.00 to repair. After the railroad was abandoned the engine house was converted to a barn. The foundations were recycled by the Pennsylvania Railroad for use in other buildings. Over time many other changes occurred. The current shelter helps to preserve what remains.

The stationary steam engine and gears exhibit in Engine House No. 6 were designed and produced by park volunteer Fred Connacher. He made many of the other models on display in the visitor center as well. A local history buff, Mr. Connacher did the research and study to design the exhibits as accurately as possible and built them as if they could be turned on and used immediately.

Hollidaysburg was a small backwoods village in the early 1820s. Founded in the years after the Revolution, the settlement's growth was hampered by its location in the rugged remoteness of the Allegheny foothills. The Huntingdon, Cambria, and Indiana Turnpike, a narrow dirt road really, ran through the heart of town, bringing an occasional pack train of horses or a Conestoga wagon. Its population in 1827 was about 76.

This all changed with the coming of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal. Within ten years, Hollidaysburg had a population of 3,000 and growing. From a tiny frontier village to an inland seaport, this all took place within a five-year period. It all happened because a farmer wouldn't sell his land to the Pennsylvania Canal Commission.

When the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania began letting contracts for the building of the state's canal system, work commenced on the two ends of the canal and progressed steadily toward the middle. No one was sure how they were going to lift canal boats over the Allegheny Ridge until the two divisions of the waterway were within just a few miles of the mountains.

After abandoning the idea of digging a four-mile tunnel through the mountains, the Allegheny Portage Railroad was accepted as the best method for getting the boats across the mountains. Once this course was set, it was necessary to find good locations for two canal basins -- one on the eastern side of the ridge to take the boats out of the canal and one on the western side to refloat them.

The western basin location was easy. The little town of Johnstown was at the confluence of the Stony Creek and Little Conemaugh rivers, which supposedly would ensure an adequate water supply for the basin.

On the eastern side, it was determined that the hamlet of Frankstown would be the ideal location for the second basin. However, the site selected by the canal engineers was located on the property of a farmer who either didn't like the idea of change or who was a little too greedy to accept the price he was offered for his land.

In any event, the canal engineers turned elsewhere, finally determining that Hollidaysburg was an acceptable alternative. Moreover, the site had the highest elevation that could possibly be used to construct the basin.

And so it began. Hundreds of workers were recruited from the surrounding countryside and from distant cities to begin digging the canal and cutting the stone for related structures. Their arrival alone mushroomed the population of the little town.

It is hard to imagine how they accomplished the task before them. There were no steam shovels, bulldozers, or even electricity to allow them to work through the night. Instead, there were merely men and their muscles --with a little help from wheelbarrows and horse-drawn wagons to haul away the excavated dirt.

When they were done, a gigantic artificial pool emerged from the bottomland along three branches of the Juniata River converging nearby. The water for these streams had their sources among the rocks and trees of the mountains in the distance. The main basin itself was six feet deep, 120 feet wide, and two miles long.

There were actually three interconnected basins in the port complex. The main basin was located where railroad yards are now. This was connected by a 600-foot canal segment to a smaller basin located just below present-day Juniata Street. The third pool was really a feeder reservoir for the other two. It was located near the modern intersection of Route 22 and Allegheny Street in Hollidaysburg.

Once the basins were filled with water, Hollidaysburg's transformation into a seaport was only a matter of time. At its height, the canal brought a boat into the port every 20 minutes. Boat slips and docks were built to handle the freight streaming into the area. Large warehouses and freight forwarding houses were erected near the docks. Hotels and taverns catering to boatmen and travelers arose among the modest houses in the town.

At first, canal boats were unloaded on the Hollidaysburg wharves, their freight and passengers transferred to railcars for the trip across the mountains on the Portage Railroad. A later innovation, the three- or four-section canal boat, could be hauled out of the water, disassembled, and placed on "trucks," small metal-wheeled undercarriages that ran on rails. After completing their journey over the mountains, the section boats were reassembled at the Johnstown canal basin and continued on their watery way.

The large freighters made frequent appearances in paintings from the time. However, the passenger packets appeared most frequently in books and essays. Their human cargo preserved the canal saga in words.

Philip Nicklin made a cross-state journey in 1835 that provided the subject matter for "A Pleasant Peregrination Through the Prettiest Parts of Pennsylvania, Performed by Peregrine Prolix." This is how Nicklin described Hollidaysburg at the time:

"Hallidaysburg [sic] has the air of a new clearing, and looks so unfinished, that one might suppose it to have been built within a year. Its site is good, rising gradually from the basin to a pleasant elevation. Many substantial buildings are going up, and it is evident that rapid increase is the destiny of the town."

The Allegheny Portage Railroad was constructed as a part of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal System. It consisted of a series of 10 inclined planes and connecting levels that were used to transport railroad cars and canal boats over the Allegheny Mountains between Hollidaysburg and Johnstown, a distance of 36.65 miles. The railroad was considered a major engineering accomplishment in its time and included the first railroad tunnel constructed in the United States. As technology grows and changes workers and resources must bend around new ideas and challenges. This same competition is seen in the story of the Skew Arch Bridge at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site.

On July 15, 1832, J. Fenlon, A. and J. Darlin and R. Kininmouth won the contract to build "A Stone Bridge which will be require for the passage of the Turnpike road over the Rail Way on Section No. 36 of the Portage." The bridge was to be built according to specifications attached to and considered part of the contract.

The bridge design was changed in 1833 to accommodate a bend in the Huntington, Cambria and Indiana Turnpike road, hence the skewed arch. The construction journal duly noted on May 21, 1833, the expense of "Taking up & relaying masonry in consequence of alteration in place."

The skew arch is 60 feet 5 inches long on the south elevation, 54 feet 11 inches long on the north elevation, and 22 feet 2 inches high. Broken stone and stone sleepers taken from a section of the railroad were perched, fitted, and laid diagonally by hand without mortar.

The top of the bridge was not tilted but the arch's imposts were offset and constructed directly across from each other. Rectangular stones were cut into an L shape and were placed to reinforce the external corners of the pilasters and walls. No historic specifications or drawings have been found.

The Skew Arch Bridge was the only road bridge purposely built along the portage. In 1979 the bridge was stabilized and repaired. Nearly the bridge's entire exterior has been repointed. Limited sealing was done and some of the facade was mortared. The continued existence of the Skew Arch Bridge is a testimony to compromise and competition. It tells the story of how two or more transportation systems can accommodate each other even as one may be slowly replacing the other. The story of the bridge is not only the story of the Allegheny Portage Railroad, but also the story of the changing views of efficiency and conservation.

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site is located between Johnstown and Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. It is situated in the Allegheny Mountains with elevations ranging from 1,135 feet to 2,408 feet above sea level.

The Allegheny Portage Railroad played a vital role in the nation's industrialization during the first half of the nineteenth century by linking the eastern United States to the west. Ten inclined planes allowed the railroad to overcome grades up to 5-6/8 degrees along the rugged terrain of the Allegheny Mountains, as the boats from the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal were portaged over the mountains.

Stretching across 36.6 miles, the park is narrow and linear. Natural resources common to the northeastern Appalachian region, such as oak forests and white-tailed deer, can be seen along the historic railroad trace and throughout the surrounding lands. Click the highlighted links to learn about: Natural Resource Monitoring at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site . Forest Health Monitoring in Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site .

The following types of vertebrates are found at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. Vertebrates are defined as having a backbone or spinal column. Warm-blooded vertebrates like birds and mammals, maintain a consistent body temperature regardless of the temperature in their surroundings. Cold-blooded vertebrates such as amphibians, fish, and reptiles, do not have the ability to control their temperature and can become sluggish in colder weather.

Mammals are animals with lungs. Most mammals have hair and birth live young. Mothers produce milk to feed their young. They can live in water or on land. Mammals have a more developed brain compared to other types of animals. There are 33 species of mammals at the park.

Reptiles include snakes, turtles, crocodiles, and lizards. Reptiles are characterized by the scales that cover part or all of their bodies. Some have short legs and some crawl on their bellies. Most reptiles lay soft shelled eggs on land. There are 12 species of reptiles at the park.

Hiking at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site is a unique way to get some great exercise and also learn the amazing history from this site. Park trails follow sections of the original route of the Allegheny Portage Railroad and allow hikers to see where important features of the railroad would have been located. Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site has over 15 miles of trails in different sections of the park.

Weather permitting, park grounds and trails are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Please note that winter trail maintenance and snow removal is not provided. Hiking Regulations: Trails are for pedestrian use only. No motorized equipment is permitted on trails. This includes ATV (All Terrain Vehicles) of any description, snowmobiles, and 4 x 4 off road vehicles. Bicycles are not permitted on the Summit area trails. Bicycles are permitted on part of the Incline 6 to 10 trail, please see the map below. Cross country ski use is welcome. Pets must be on a 6 foot (max) leash at all times. Pet owners are required to clean up after their pet. Hunting is not permitted on National Park Service land. Wear bright colors during hunting season. While hunting is not permitted on park land, State Game Lands will be busy during hunting seasons.

Skew Arch Bridge Trail NPS Skew Arch Bridge Trail The Skew Arch Bridge can be accessed by a trail at the end of the boardwalk. It is approximately 1/3 mile long each way. Please keep in mind that you are roughly walking alongside Incline 6 on your way down, so it is uphill on the way back! This trail is also the start of the Inclines 6 to 10 Trail system. Hikers can continue from the bridge down the eastern side of the Allegheny Mountain. The bridge is also accessible by vehicle from Old Route 22 where there is a small parking lot in front of the bridge!

A section of the 6-10 Trail. NPS Inclines 6 to 10 Trail The Inclines 6 to 10 Trail system of the park follows the route of the Allegheny Portage Railroad.

Trailheads are located at the park Visitor Center and along Dry Run Road. Parking is available at the trailheads as well as State Gamelands and parking lots.

The Inclines 6 to 10 Trail is over 8 miles long following the main section of the trail from start to finish. If you also hike the loop trails that follow the oldest sections of the railroad, the entire 6 to 10 Trail is over 12 miles. The trail section from the Visitor Center to Muleshoe is for hiking only. Sections of this upper portion are very steep and rugged. The section from Muleshoe to Foot of Ten has a limestone dust surface and can be used by bicyclists.

Please see the trail map below or the park tiles map. Additional information can be found on our Inclines 6 to 10 Trail page .

Summit Level NPS Summit Level Trail This trail starts at the head of Inclined Plane 6, at Engine House 6 and ends at the head of Inclined Plane 5. Hikers can follow the railroad trace for approximately one mile to the park boundary. A short distance from there, it turns into a paved road maintained by Cresson Township.

Round trip, this hike on nearly flat ground, is a little over 3 miles in length. The Summit Level was the highest point that the Allegheny Portage Railroad crossed the Allegheny Mountains.

Picnic Area Trail NPS Picnic Area Trail From the Summit Level, there is a trail to the left of the railroad trace to the picnic area. The distance from the Lemon House to the picnic area is 1/3 mile. If you are looking for a longer hike, the trail loops down to the railroad trace farther down on the Summit Level. The full section to the picnic area, looping down to the Summit Level and following the railroad trace back is about one mile. This trail contains mixed terrain; there are flat portions and parts with steeper slopes.

Nature Loop Trail NPS Nature Loop Trail The Nature Loop Trail starts off in the woods to the right of the railroad trace on the Summit Level. The beginning of the trail is marked with a sign on the service road a short distance up the hill from the Lemon House. The trail contains steep climbs as it goes to one of the higher points in the park. It then circles down to the railroad trace along the Summit Level. The entire trail is about one mile long.

The western portal of the Staple Bend Tunnel. NPS Staple Bend Tunnel Trail Since, 2001, the Staple Bend Tunnel has been open as a separate area of Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. It is not in the immediate area of the Summit Level Visitor Center. Rather, it is near the town of Mineral Point, 5 miles from Johnstown. Once you park your vehicle at the trail head, it is a two mile walk to the Staple Bend Tunnel (and, of course, a two mile return trip to your vehicle). You are welcome to bring bicycles, but no motorized transport for the limestone dust surfaced trail. Directions : Take US Route 22 to the Mundy's Corner/Nanty Glo exit. Turn right onto PA Route 271 South. Continue on Route 271 South approximately 5 miles until a (marked) left turn onto Mineral Point Road (PA 3030). After approximately 2 miles make a (marked) right turn onto Beech Hill Road and proceed over the bridge. Go through the railroad underpass (wait for the green light!); the paved parking lot for Staple Bend Tunnel will be located on the right. Please use the parking lot and do not block the emergency access road. This same parking area is used for the Path of the Flood trail.