Saturday, September 12, 2026

Question: The Johnstown Inclined Plane, back in service this week, was built in 1891 for a very practical reason. What was it?

Answer: To give residents a quick way up to high ground after the 1889 Johnstown Flood, which killed more than 2,200 people. The Cambria Iron Company built it to carry people, horses, and wagons to the new hilltop community of Westmont, with flood escape in mind, and it proved its worth in 1936 when nearly 4,000 residents rode it to safety as the rivers rose again.