Rockwood, Pennsylvania
The GPS sent us on an adventurous route to the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. The road was barely wide enough for the truck with many sharp curves. I was thinking about turning around when we came to Big Bad Ass Truck Road. There must be a story about how that street got that name.
This was a gorgeous park but I think it must be missed by a lot of people since there were only a few people there on the weekend. The rangers seemed lonely and were very excited to talk to visitors from Arizona.
This site commemorates a 36 mile railroad built to portage canal boats over the mountains. The canal boats were designed in sections to fit on the rail cars. When they reached the other side, the boats were hooked together again and continued their trip to Pittsburgh. Reminds me of container ships and semi trailer trucks.
The train cars were pulled up the grade, through the tunnels and down the other side by a large steam engine at the top of the mountain connected to the rail cars by a hemp rope. Needless to say there were numerous accidents when the rope broke.
The rail bed and engine house were located in a ravine behind the visitor center. Lovely walk.
We also visited the Johnstown Flood National Memorial on a hill overlooking the site of the South Fork Lake and Dam. In town we stopped at the Johnstown Flood Museum to learn about the 1899 flood. Over 2,200 people died during this disaster.
We ended our day with a ride on the Johnstown Incline Plane. This is the steepest (71% grade) vehicular incline in the world. It was built the year after the 1899 flood. Do you think there was an increased demand for property above the high water line? Love those fares - old people are FREE!
The original cars were two level structures. The horses and wagons went on the top level and people were on the bottom level. Would you want to ride underneath the horses?
When we got to the top a downpour started. A wedding party was having photographs taken from the observation deck as the wind and rain hit.
Three Model T cars used to fit in here, but we only had one vehicle with us on the trip back down.
The rain cooled things off quite a bit. Notice the steam rising from the concrete.
I needed a bathroom stop before we drove back to the campsite. I was a little surprised when I was handed a key and told the bathroom was outside. Attached to the key was a piece of steel large enough to bring down a bull. Even though this is a small community in rural Pennsylvania, they are socially very progressive. It was a unisex bathroom. There were four signs inside each saying "Flush everybody please". I'm not sure if that meant everyone should flush the toilet or if all people were supposed to be flushed down the sewer.
The fares are posted in Pittsburgh exactly like those fares.
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