On .Pittsburgh It's In-Cline; ne Still Thovimig
g.1
mm?
- " ;
during the quick plunge down
Mount Washington.
Little Car Idle
How could such a bargain
ever escape the public do
main? "Finance s," says
Schmidt. "We need passen
gers." The Monongahela incline
has the advantage of a south
ern, broadsidc-the-city loca
tion. The Duqucsne incline
slopes across from the west
ern end of Pittsburgh's
"point." While its private
owners pore over red inked
ledgers, the little car sits idle.
According to Schmidt, the
situation is only temporary
and the company hopes to re
sume operation in the near
future.
SECTION D
PAGES 1 to 8
MedfordWtribune
MEDFORD. OREGON. THURSDAY, JANUARY 10. 1963
On the other side of the
coin, however, is the Castle
Shannon incline run by the
Pittsburgh Railways company.
In a petition filed with the
state P.U.C., the company
seeks to discontinue service on
23 bus lines, curtail runs on
four others and send the
Castle Shannon incline into
oblivion. The reason: finan
cial. The request has created a
commuter uproar not just In
Pittsburgh but throughout Al
legheny county.
Castle Shannon Superin
tendent Robert Eaton says he
can sympathize with the In
cline's customers, but there's
nothing else his company can
do in the face of mounting
losses. Castle Shannon runs
from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.,
charging 30 cents for riders
and 50 cents for trucks and
cars. Neither one of the other
inclines has freight facilities.
Incline Practical
The incluines are practical.
Pittsburgh's Mount Washing
ton roads refy a car when the
weather turns icy. It is close
enough to the city proper to
make a commuter wonder if
driving is really worth the ef
fort. The inclines offer a con
venient skid-and-traffic avoid
cr. They are safe, with every
provision for passenger pro
tection. And there's an intangible
sort of fun to riding one.
From "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
to the suburban split level,
Pittsburgh's inclines have
stubbornly held their ground.
Tile key to their present en
durance Is not so much their
antique value as it is the sur
vival of their practicality as a
transportational method.
For although the immi
grants are gone, a good many
Pittsburghers still term them
selves "the city's cliff-dwell
ers" and rely on the old world
inclines for transit to modern
steel skyscrapers.
HELpO US!
We need clothing, shoes, dishes,
furniture, and bedding.
W. Pick Up.
HELP OTHERS!
The Salvation Army
30 N. Holly
773-7335
ONE IN-CLINE THRIVES - One of Pitts
burgh's three remaining "in-clincs" slides
down Mount Washington, overlooking the
city's skyline and the Monongahela River.
(UPI)
By KATHLEEN McDEVITT
United Press International
Pittsburgh IUPII- In Germany
it's "Steilbahn," in Italy it's
"Funicular," in Japan it's
"Kobi," in San Francisco it's
"Cable Car," and in Pitts
burgh it's "In' - Cline."
The word incline is a noun
which, according to the dic
tionary, means an ascent, a
descent or a slope.
Pittsburgh has three inclined
picturesque conveyances
operated on the order of the
mine lift or the elevator.
Three are all that remain of
an original 17.
Of the present three, one is
out of service, another is
heading that way, and the
third is doing a thriving busi
ness. First Incline
The first passenger incline
in the country, the Mononga
hela, serves 300.000 riders per
year plus an additional 200,
000 tourists. The Duqucsne in
cline, when it was in service,
carried 800 persons daily up
and down Pittsburgh's Mount
Washington.
The Pittsburgh Railways
Co. has asked the State Public
Utility Commission for per
mission to abandon the Castle
Shannon incline. The firm
says it is losing money be
cause the passenger rate drops
daily.
You can get an argument
from almost any Pittsburgher
as to whether the city sits
where the three rivers meet
the Allegheny, the Mononga
hela and the Ohio - or wheth
er it its where the first two
join to form the Ohio.
But there's no disputing the
fact that for the best view of
all three rivers - the city's
inclines fill the bill. They
perch about 500 feet above
the land-triangle formed by
the Allegheny and the Mon
ongahela. This triangle forms
the city's downtown area and
is often referred to as the
"Golden Triangle." The area
where the Ohio forms is
known as "the point."
The inclines have a mean
pitch of about 34 degrees.
Their function - just as it
was in ante-bellum days - is
to transport people, mostly
workers, from their homes
atop Mount Washington down
to one of the bridges spanning
the Monongahela.
Housing Problem
At the onset of the indus
trial revolution, Pittsburgh -like
Wheeling, W. Va., Du
luth, Minn., Cincinnati, Ohio,
and Johnstown, Pa. - found
itself faced with a housing
problem. Its main industry
had sprawled over the river
fronts composing the city
proper. The people, most of
them mill workers, had to
"take to the hills" along the
downtown district.
Daily, just before sunrise.
the immigrants who manned
the factories trudged down
"coal hill"-now Mount Wash
ington. At nightfall they
climbed back to their homes.
Those of Germanic origin
had reason to complain. Over
a mug of beer, the men often
met to reminisce about the
"steilbahns" which dotted the
hillsides of their homeland.
Talk of the simplicity and
convenience of the German
hoist cars would end with a
typically American "w h y
doesn't somebody do some
thing about it? The immi
grants themselves were in no
position to finance a transit
company.
But after the civil war,
Andrew H. Mellon, George
Westinghouse and Andrew
Carnegie were. The three -along
with other financial in
terests - helped to form the
Monongahela Inclined Plane
Co., the first passenger service
of its kind in the United
States. Chartered in 1867, the
firm launched on - schedule
transportation in May of 1870.
Trend Begins
The trend had begun.
By the turn of the century,
steel city residents had their
choice of 17 inclines. Cities
whose physical features par
alleled those of Pittsburgh
adapted the lifts to their own
needs.
Italian immigrants remem
bered the "funicular." This
was the musical name for a
version of the incline used
in the Piedmont. Somewhat
later the Japanese came up
with an Oriental brand of the
incline and labeled it "kobi."
The bleak years that follow
ed 1929 proved equally diffi
cult for Pittsburgh's inclines.
The auto market and a high
way system built to carry an
increasing number of cars
spelled financial disaster for
many of the incline firms. In
the mid-30 s when the sur
viving companies switched
from steam to electrically
driven engines, Monongahela
signed with the Otis Elevator
Co. for a complete rebuilding
and electrification.
Oldest and Newest
According to Monongahela
Superintendent P. G. Eisen
hafer, Otis has not built an
incline since then. Thus, he
says. Monongahela has the dis
tinction of being the "oldest
company and newest incline."
Eisenhafer can list the rea
sons for his company's success
without even pausing for a
breath, since he's called upon
so frequently to do so. The
singularity of the firm's
healthy finances in Itself
makes the incline something
of a curiosity. He says:
"The reasons are simple:
location, modern machinery,
safety and advertising."
Eisenhafer might have add
ed cost (15 cents), service
(every 10 minutes from 5:30
a.m. until 1:00 a.m.), and at
mosphere. There is a certain charm
about the Monongahela in
cline's terminal building. It
is 92 years old and the office
safe still retains the city's old
spelling - "Pittsburg."
The walls are decorated
with plaques exhibiting tick
ets from 1902 (horse and bug
gy 15 cents; hearse $2) and
daily weather records dating
back to 1870,
George Laray, the Monon
gahela maintenance engineer
who spent many, many years
in vaudeville, says nearly
every day some one from out
of the state rides the incline.
What A Ride
The ride's the thing though
- and what a ride. Up 640 feet
in two minutes while the city
spreads out like a fan. Once
aloft, the rider with some
spare time can chat with
Eisenhafer or Laray and re
ceive what amounts to a most
comprehensive account of the
incline's "ups and downs"
both historical and mechani
cal. The lore available from the
superintendent of the Du
qucsne incline, Henry W.
Schmidt, would put any his
tory book to shame not for
accuracy but for creative in
terpretation. The Duqucsne incline be
gan daily service in 1876,
and Schmidt maintains that
Abe Lincoln split the logs for
the wooden teeth of the mo
tor's main pinion gear. He'll
add - with a straight face -"I
was shot at the battle of
of Bull Run, that's how I
know."
Before Duqucsne suspend
ed operations, Schmidt gave
the passengers their rides, a
quote or two from Byron, gen
eral songs and patter plus all
the history he could slaughter
(advertisement)
FAT
OVERWEIGHT
Available to you without a doctor's
prescription, our drug called OD
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7 days or your money back. No
strenuous exercise, laxatives, mas
sage or taking so-called reducing
candies, crackers or cookies, or
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Your weight must come down be
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longer ODRINEX costs $3 00 and
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satisfied tor any reason just return
the package to vour druggut and
get your full money back. No ques
tions asked. ODRINEX is sold with
this guarantee by: Western Thrift
Store, 30 N. Central. Mail orders
filled.
Al Least 10,000
View Mona Lisa
Washington -HJPIl- Al least
10,000 persons came to the
National Art Gallery Wednes
day to view the Mona Lisa on
its first public display in
America, but most got only a
12 -second glimpse of the
famous smile.
During the seven hours the
gallery was open, officials
counted 10,235 visitors who
looked at the painting at the
rate of 40 a minute. Most
probably got their best view
of the Leonardo da Vinci
masterpiece from prints and
postcards on sale at the gallery.
Those viewing the vener
able painting had to crane
their necks and squint their
eyes because of its unusual
height on the gallery wall and
the protective glass which re
flected the glare of lighting.
Portland Man Found
Guilty of Murder
Portland-WH-Bcrnard Hei
delberg, 37, Portland, was
found guilty of first degree
murder by a Circuit Court
jury here Wednesday night.
The jury of eight women and
four men recommended life
imprisonment.
Heidelberg was charged in
the fatal shooting of Walter
Jackson, 41, Portland, at
Jackon's home last Aug. 26.
STEPHEN BOYD:
te&tC J I
IRISHMAN IN A TOGA
The handsome villian of "Ben
Hur"is slated for o second Roman
epic but he's proving he tan
handle other kinds of roles, too.
Handsome actor Stephen
Boyd has appeared in
movies ranging from the
spectacular to the very un
spectacular. He's been
equally good as a song-and-dance
man as well as a
straight dramatic actor.
Read of This Unusual Career in a
Profit by Peer J. Oppenheimer
In the JANUARY 131H Issue of
Family
IVeeJcIy
with your copy of the
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