Allegheny Portage Railroad: Developing Transportation Technology (Teaching with Historic Places)

This lesson is part of the National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) program.

Use this lesson plan to learn about the Allegheny Portage Railroad, which consisted of a series of 10 inclined planes connected by level sections of track, provided an innovative solution to this problem. Stationary steam engines towed railroad cars up the first five inclines and lowered them down the remaining five. This railroad was part of a much larger system, the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works, built by the state of Pennsylvania to compete with the Erie Canal in New York.

Essential Question

How have humans developed transportation to fit their surroundings?

Objective

1. To explain how the topography of Pennsylvania led to the building of the Allegheny Portage Railroad;
2. To describe the innovative technology used to build the railroad and explain how it was applied to other projects;
3. To compare the technology and level of success of the Pennsylvania Main Line of Public Works with contemporary transportation systems;
4. To discuss the effects of technological change and the future of transportation;
5. To investigate their area's transportation history.

Full Lesson Plan