Qualla: The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars https://qualla.com/pittsburgh-inclines en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/n/pittsburgh-wk/aerial-view-pittsburgh.jpg Qualla: The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars https://qualla.com/pittsburgh-inclines The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars: Introduction https://qualla.com/pittsburgh-inclines/ Photo credit Cbaile19, CC0. Pittsburgh is a city built on impossible topography - three rivers meeting in a bowl surrounded by 500-foot bluffs. In the 19th century, those bluffs were covered with workers' housing; getting there meant climbing. The solution was inclines: funicular railways that hauled cable cars up cliffs too steep for roads. At peak, Pittsburgh had seventeen inclines, more than any city except perhaps Lisbon. Today two survive: the Duquesne Incline (1877) and the Monongahela Incline (1870), climbing Mount Washington to offer the best view of downtown from the overlooks above. They're tourist attractions now, but they're also working transit - residents still ride them to work, commuting the way their great-grandparents did, tilted toward the sky.

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/n/pittsburgh-inclines-wk/dppn-the-pittsburgh-inclines-the-last-of-the-great-funi-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars: The Necessity https://qualla.com/pittsburgh-inclines/ Photo credit Derek Jensen (Tysto), Public domain. Pittsburgh's topography created the inclines. The city center occupies the Golden Triangle where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio. Surrounding the Triangle, steep bluffs rise 500 feet to plateaus above. Workers at the steel mills and glass factories coul...

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Image: Derek Jensen (Tysto) | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/n/pittsburgh-inclines-wk/dppn-the-pittsburgh-inclines-the-last-of-the-great-funi-the-necessity.mp3 0:06 2 full The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars: The Fleet https://qualla.com/pittsburgh-inclines/ Photo credit Crazypaco at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5. Seventeen inclines operated in Pittsburgh at various times, connecting hilltop neighborhoods to the flats below. The Knoxville Incline, the Penn Incline, the Castle Shannon Incline - each served a different bluff, each carried workers to jobs that built America's industrial might...

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Image: Crazypaco at English Wikipedia | CC BY 2.5

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/n/pittsburgh-inclines-wk/dppn-the-pittsburgh-inclines-the-last-of-the-great-funi-the-fleet.mp3 0:06 3 full The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars: The Survivors https://qualla.com/pittsburgh-inclines/ Photo credit Cbaile19, CC0. The Monongahela Incline (1870) and Duquesne Incline (1877) survive because communities fought to save them. The Monongahela, the nation's oldest continuously operating funicular, was nearly closed in 1967; public outcry saved it. The Duquesne was slated for demolition in 1962; ci...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/n/pittsburgh-inclines-wk/dppn-the-pittsburgh-inclines-the-last-of-the-great-funi-the-survivors.mp3 0:06 4 full The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars: The View https://qualla.com/pittsburgh-inclines/ Photo credit ChubbyWimbus, CC BY-SA 3.0. Mount Washington's overlooks offer what's often called the best urban view in America. The Golden Triangle spreads below: three rivers, Point State Park's fountain, the glittering towers of downtown. At night, the bridges glow. Both inclines connect to these overlooks; riding up ...

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Image: ChubbyWimbus | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/n/pittsburgh-inclines-wk/dppn-the-pittsburgh-inclines-the-last-of-the-great-funi-the-view.mp3 0:06 5 full The Pittsburgh Inclines: The Last of the Great Funiculars: Visiting the Inclines https://qualla.com/pittsburgh-inclines/ Photo credit CUNNINGHAMDD, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Duquesne Incline is located at 1197 West Carson Street (lower station) and 1220 Grandview Avenue (upper station). The Monongahela Incline runs from Station Square to Grandview Avenue. Both operate daily; tickets are cheap. The Duquesne has a museum at the upper station showin...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/p/p/n/pittsburgh-inclines-wk/dppn-the-pittsburgh-inclines-the-last-of-the-great-funi-visiting-the-inclines.mp3 0:06 6 full