Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, c.1885

‘First Incline, Switchback Railroad, Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, U. S A.’

Keystone View Company

c.1885

 

 

The stereograph shows the view up the steep incline towards Mount Pisgah. This section of the railroad, originally built to transport coal, was created in 1846. Given the excitement of the ride and the beauty of the scenery the railroad soon became a tourist attraction. The ascent was powered by a ratchet system that later evolved into the mechanism used in rollercoasters. The descent was gravity-driven. The line closed in 1932 and the tracks were dismantled but parts of the route are now on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

Elevated Railway in New York, c.1875

Marsters & Clawson

c.1875

The first elevated railway constructed in New York opened in 1868: the IRT Ninth Avenue Line. I’m not sure which railway is shown on the stereocard but the engine has ‘Staten Island’ on the side. It was probably part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad which ran services on the Staten Island Railway from 1871.