Mill Mountain Incline

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mill Mountain Incline
Locale Roanoke, Virginia
Dates of operation 1910–1929
Track gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters Roanoke, Virginia

The Mill Mountain Incline was a 0.37 mi (0.60 km) funicular, or inclined plane, located on Mill Mountain in Roanoke, Virginia that operated between 1910-1929. Costing $40,000 to complete, the incline took visitors from the base of the mountain where the present-day Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital is located to the summit in the area where the Mill Mountain Star is now located.[1] Today, the former location of the incline is visible in the form of a cleft in the trees on Mill Mountain, immediately behind the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.[2]

[edit] History

The idea of an incline being developed for Mill Mountain was initially proposed in 1892, but was formally organized in November 1909 by a group of twenty-five local investors calling themselves the Mill Mountain Incline, Inc. For the investors, the incline was viewed as a major attraction for the burgeoning city.[3]

In late 1909, a pair of counterbalanced incline cars were ordered from the John Stevenson Company, and were delivered in summer 1910.[3] The incline celebrated its inaugural voyage on August 10, 1910, and saw 1,500 passengers on opening day.[1] The roundtrip ride cost $.25 and took four minutes to complete each way.[3]

To lure residents and tourists alike onto the incline, its owners installed walking paths, benches, a gift shop and telescopes on the summit.[4] Although the incline saw a profit in its first year, it would sustain significant loses over the following years.[4] Due to mounting losses, in 1919, the original investors sold the line to the local real estate magnate William Henritze. He would subsequently build a toll road to the summit which would open in the early 1920s, and effectively result in the closure of the incline in 1929.[3] The last remnants of the line were dismantled and sold off for scrap in 1934.[3]

A July 2007 proposal was introduced by Roanoke City Councilmen to revive the Incline as an economic redevelopment tool.[5] The new incline would be in the form of an automated people mover.[5]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Harris, Nelson [2002-09-18]. "Recreation and Leisure", Roanoke in Vintage Postcards (in English). South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 128. ISBN 073851439X. 
  2. ^ Deshpande, Amol [2003-08-28]. Design Process to Integrate Natural and Human Systems (in English), 98. 
  3. ^ a b c d e Dalmas, James E. [2006]. "Chapter 9: The Mill Mountain Incline", The Street Railways of Roanoke, Virginia 1887-1948 (in English). Roanoke, VA: Historical Society of Western Virginia, 152. ISBN 0971053162. 
  4. ^ a b Adams, Mason. "Will Development Work on Mill Mountain?", The Roanoke Times, 2007-10-10, p. 12A. (English) 
  5. ^ a b Adams, Mason; Matt Chittum. "Council inclined to study proposal", The Roanoke Times, July 17, 2007. (English) 


Rail stub icon  This United States rail-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.