Exploring the Allegheny Portage Railroad Near Altoona

Exploring the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona Pennsylvania.

The Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona is one of the most historic railroading sites in Pennsylvania!

The Allegheny Portage Railroad is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
The Allegheny Portage Railroad is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

This 36 mile-long track was the first railroad built across the Allegheny Mountains, allowing for canals on the eastern and western sides of the state to be connected, cutting the travel time between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia from weeks to just days.

What a canal boat hauling passengers would have looked like in the 1840s.
What a canal boat hauling passengers would have looked like in the 1840s (public domain image).

Using an ingenious system of 10 inclined planes, 10 stationary steam engines, and a series of rails, cables, and pulleys, canal boats carrying freight and/or passengers could be loaded on flatbed train cars and winched up and down over the mountains, similar to how a modern day ski lift operates.

Drawing of how Engine House Number 6 looked during the time the Allegheny Portage Railroad was in operation.
Drawing of how Engine House Number 6 looked during the time the Allegheny Portage Railroad was in operation (public domain image).

For 20 years, from 1834 until 1854, the Allegheny Portage Railroad was considered a technological marvel, playing a critical role in opening the lands west of the mountains to settlement and commerce.

Allegheny Portage Railroad Historical Marker.
PA Historical Marker near Incline 6, just west of Altoona.

With the completion of the nearby Horseshoe Curve in 1854, the Pennsylvania Railroad was able cross the Allegheny Mountains solely under the power of steam locomotives, cutting the travel time from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to just 13 hours, rendering the Allegheny Portage Railroad obsolete.

How the Allegheny Portage Railroad became obsolete.
How the Allegheny Portage Railroad became obsolete.

Today, the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site is maintained by the National Park Service, allowing visitors to learn about and explore first-hand the “glory days” of the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona.

A map showing the location of the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona.
How the Allegheny Portage Railroad connected canal systems in eastern and western Pennsylvania.

The Allegheny Portage Railroad Visitor Center

The Visitor Center is the best place to start your visit to the Allegheny Portage Railroad, and admission is FREE to this taxpayer-funded historic site.

Allegheny Portage Railroad Visitor Center.
The National Park Service Visitor Center.

Inside the Visitor Center you’ll find various exhibits and models, including a life-size replica of a canal boat, a locomotive, and artifacts from the Allegheny Portage Railroad.

A sectional canal boat display inside the Allegheny Portage Railroad Visitor Center near Altoona.
A life-size canal boat model on display inside the Visitor Center.

A small theatre in the Visitor Center plays a 20 minute movie, which depicts what it was like to work and travel on the Allegheny Portage Railroad.

Theatre inside the Allegheny Portage Railroad Visitor Center.
Theatre inside the Visitor Center.

There are plenty of hands-on and interactive exhibits inside the Visitor Center to interest young and old alike.

A locomotive that would have pulled train cars on the flat portions of the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona.
A locomotive that would have pulled train cars on the flat portions of the Allegheny Portage Railroad.

Engine House Number 6

A short walk along a beautiful boardwalk will take you from the Visitor Center to Engine House Number 6, a replica of what the original engine house here looked like, perched at the top of Incline Number 6.

Engine house Number 6 along the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona.
Engine house Number 6.

Inside Engine House Number 6, you’ll find replicas of the stationary steam engine, gears, brakes, and assorted levers and cables that kept the train cars and canal boats in motion.

The gear and rope mechanisms inside Engine House Number 6 on the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona.
The stationary steam engine, gears, and rope mechanisms inside Engine House Number 6.

You’ll also find a series of interpretive exhibits and models inside the engine house, giving you a better understanding of the technical aspects of the Allegheny Portage Railroad.

How Do Steam Engines Work exhibit inside Engine House Number 6 at the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona.
“How Do Steam Engines Work” exhibit.

The Lemon House

A short distance from Engine House Number 6, you’ll find the Lemon House, a historic tavern built by Samuel and Jean Lemon in 1834 to accommodate railroad travelers and workers with food, drink, and lodging.

Front of the Lemon House tavern at the Allegheny Portae Railroad National Historic Site near Altoona Pennsylvania.
Front of the Lemon House tavern.

The first floor of the Lemon House has been restored to what an 1840s tavern might have looked like.

Tavern area inside the Lemon House along the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona Pennsylvania.
Bar area inside the Lemon House.

In addition to the bar area, there is a beautifully-decorated formal parlor…

Parlor inside the Lemon House tavern at the Allegheny Portae Railroad National Historic Site near Altoona Pennsylvania.
Parlor inside the Lemon House tavern.

and a period-correct dining room.

Dining room inside the Lemon House at the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona Pennsylvania.
Dining room inside the Lemon House.

The Incline 6 Trail

If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you can hike down (and then back up) the 1/3 mile long Incline 6 Trail.

The Incline 6 Trail at the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona Pennsylvania.
The Incline 6 Trail.

A sign at the trailhead tips you off to the payoff for your efforts – a chance to explore the Skew Arch Bridge.

The Incline 6 Trailhead at the Allegheny Portage Railroad site near Altoona Pennsylvania.
Sign near the Incline 6 Trailhead.

The Skew Arch Bridge was built OVER the Allegheny Portage Railroad, so that wagons could still use the Huntingdon, Cambria, and Indiana Turnpike without interruption.

Diagram of how traffic passed over and under the Skew Arch Bridge along the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona.
Diagram of how traffic passed over and under the Skew Arch Bridge.

This masterwork of cut stone construction was built with the “skew” in it to accommodate a bend in the turnpike road.

The Skew Arch Bridge near the base of Incline 6 at the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona Pennsylvania.
The Skew Arch Bridge near the base of Incline 6.

Canal boats riding the rails up and down Incline Number 6 would have passed right under the Skew Arch Bridge.

Route the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona took beneath the Skew Arch Bridge.
Route the Allegheny Portage Railroad took beneath the Skew Arch Bridge.

A model back in the Visitor Center depicts what the Skew Arch Bridge would have looked like when the Allegheny Portage Railroad was still operational.

A model of the Skew Arch Bridge as it would have appeared when the Allegheny Portage Railroad was still in use.
A model of the Skew Arch Bridge as it would have appeared when the Allegheny Portage Railroad was still in use.

Standing at the bottom of Incline Number 6 also gives you an idea of the danger involved if the cables pulling the train cars/canal boats up and down the mountain broke, which they occasionally did.

Looking up Incline Number 6 towards Engine House Number 6 at the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site near Altoona Pennsylvania.
Looking up Incline Number 6 towards Engine House Number 6.

Visiting the Allegheny Portage Railroad Near Altoona

The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site is located just off Route 22 at the Gallitzin exit.

How to find the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site along Route 22 near Altoona Pennsylvania.
Map of the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona.

If navigating by GPS, use coordinates 40.4583206, -78.5497341 to reach the Visitor Center parking lot.

Reasons whey the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona was constructed.
Reasons whey the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona was constructed.

For the most up-to-date hours and to check on any potential closures or restrictions, please visit the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site’s OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

The flats area at the summit of the Allegheny Portage Railroad near Altoona Pennsylvania.
The flats area at the summit, in front of the Lemon House tavern.

Nearby Attractions

The Staple Bend Tunnel in Cambria County has the distinction of being the first railroad tunnel built in the United States!

The ornate western portal of the Staple Bend Tunnel.
The ornate western portal of the Staple Bend Tunnel.

Constructed as part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad (between the top of Incline 1 and the bottom of Incline 2 near Johnstown), the Staple Bend Tunnel is now operated as part of a rail trail by the National Park Service.

The brick lined entrance to the Staple Bend Tunnel along the former Allegheny Portage Railroad in Cambria County.
The brick lined entrance to the Staple Bend Tunnel.

The World-Famous Horseshoe Curve was considered one of the “engineering wonders of the world” at the time of its completion in 1854.

Westbound train passing through the viewing area at the Horseshoe Curve.
Westbound train passing through the viewing area at the Horseshoe Curve.

The Horseshoe Curve allowed steam locomotives to cross back and forth over the steep Allegheny Mountains, something that had been impossible before 1854 (and the reason the Allegheny Portage Railroad existed).

One of the many exhibits inside the Horseshoe Curve Museum and Visitor Center.
One of the many exhibits inside the Horseshoe Curve Museum and Visitor Center.

The Allegheny Tunnel (known originally as the Summit Tunnel) in nearby Gallitzin was the longest railroad tunnel in the world at the time of its completion, at 3,612 feet.

A westbound Norfolk-Southern train exiting the western portal of the Allegheny Tunnel in Gallitzin.
A westbound Norfolk-Southern train exiting the western portal of the Allegheny Tunnel in Gallitzin.

Completed at the same time as the Horseshoe Curve (1854), the Allegheny Tunnel is still in use to this day, and the Gallitzin Tunnels Park next to it is a popular spot for railfans to congregate and watch trains enter and exit the tunnel.

Tunnels Park and Museum in Gallitzin, PA.
Tunnels Park and Museum in Gallitzin, PA.

The Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum in Blair County celebrates the lives of both railroad workers and railroading communities in central Pennsylvania.

Exterior of the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum in Blair County Pennsylvania.
The Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona.

Unlike many “train museums” that focus primarily on engines and cars, the Railroaders Memorial Museum focuses primarily on the men and women who kept the engines running and the cars rolling.

Exhibit showing some of the various jobs performed by employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad at the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum.
Exhibit showing some of the various jobs performed by employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Prince Gallitzin’s crypt in Cambria County contains the remains of a former Russian prince turned trailblazing Catholic priest, Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin.

Prince Gallitzin's crypt in Cambria County, PA.
Prince Gallitzin’s crypt in Cambria County, PA.

 In 1899, on the centennial of the founding of Loretto, Father Gallitzin’s gravesite was capped by a pedestal of granite and a bronze statue, donated by former Loretto resident Charles M. Schwab, who also paid for the construction of the large stone church that stands there today.

Prince Gallitzin's crypt in the foreground, and the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel in the background.
Prince Gallitzin’s crypt in the foreground, and the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel in the background.

Fans of all things old, abandoned, and slightly creepy will find the nearby abandoned Cresson State Prison a thrill to explore!

Razorwire and Tudor-style architecture at the former Cresson STate Prison in Cambria County.
Razor wire and Tudor-style architecture at the former Cresson State Prison in Cambria County.

Exploring the Best National Park Sites in Pennsylvania is your guide to even more Keystone State attractions managed by or affiliated with the National Park Service.

The best National Park sites in Pennsylvania.
Some of the best National Park sites in Pennsylvania.

The Admiral Peary Monument in Cambria County honors U.S. Naval officer Robert Peary, a Cresson native credited with being the first explorer to reach the North Pole.

Close-up of the Admiral Peary Monument, portraying him in his fur parka.
Close-up of the Admiral Peary Monument, portraying him in his fur parka.

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Rusty Glessner
Rusty Glessner is a professional photographer, lifelong Pennsylvanian, and a frequently-cited authority on PA's best travel destinations.