Cincinnati's Inclined Plane Railroads

Between 1872 and 1894, five inclined plane railroads were constructed in Cincinnati.  They provided easy access to the hilltops at a time when residents of the city were eager to escape the industrial smog and cramped living conditions of the basin. Prior to the incline’s construction, the hilltops and newly-built suburbs beyond were accessible only by horse-drawn carriage. The journey was slow, expensive, and generally impractical. Only the wealthy could afford it, and they built mansions in the wide-open spaces of Clifton and Mt. Auburn. The middle classes were eager to follow.      

The inclines themselves proved to be an integral part of the region's transit network for over 75 years. Hauling commuters, sightseers, and freight, they fed the rush to develop the surrounding hillsides. The city’s expansion was so rapid that by the 1920s, they were beginning to be looked upon as traffic bottlenecks. A far-flung suburban population, the introduction of the automobile, an improved road network, the Great Depression, lack of proper maintenance, and postwar indifference sealed their fate. One by one they were shut down as inspections revealed the need for expensive repairs. The era finally came to an end in 1948, with the closing of the Mt. Adams Incline.

The Mt. Auburn, or Main Street Incline, Cincinnati's first funicular, opened on May 12, 1872. The brainchild of soap maker Joseph Stacey Hill and real estate developer George A. Smith, the incline succeeded in transporting large numbers of Cincinnatians out of the City's basin to the growing suburbs. Smith and Hill set up the Cincinnati Inclined Plane Railway Company in the spring of 1871, having been impressed with the Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh, Pa., which opened in 1870. 

The technology used to pull cars uphill was quite simple. A platform carrying passengers, or later a  horsecar  or  streetcar , was pulled up the hillside tracks by a steel cable. The cables were attached to a winding mechanism and powered by a steam engine in the power house at the top of the hill. As one car came up, another made the journey down on a neighboring set of tracks, the weight of one car offsetting the other. 

Built by William Price with money borrowed from his father, General Rees E. Price, the real estate developer for whom the hill is named, the Price Hill Incline opened on July 17, 1875.  Thousands queued up for a ride on its two passengers’ cars, which were named for William Price's sisters: "Highland Mary" and "Lilly of the Valley." For over six decades, the route would take passengers from Eighth Street to the upper station on Matson Place.

This incline was unique in almost every way. An independently run family run business until the end, the Price Hill Incline opened a parallel line for freight in 1877, and in 1928, upgraded its steam powered engine for an electric one. For many years, the incline was the only reasonable way to haul freight and passengers up the hill, and it spurred massive development on what was then called "Price's Hill."

The Mt. Adams & Eden Park Inclined Railway opened on March 8, 1876. From its station on Lock Street, the journey took passengers over Kilgour, Baum, and Oregon Streets before reaching Ida Street (now Celestial) at the summit. The picturesque incline was the last to close, and would transport residents, tourists and merrymakers for 72 years.

Known officially as the "Cincinnati & Clifton Inclined Plane Railroad," the Bellevue Incline opened in 1876. Scaling the mighty Bellevue Hill and terminating at the base of Ohio Avenue by the current Bellevue Hill Park, the Bellevue or Elm Street Incline proudly advertised "The only direct route to Burnet Woods Park, Zoological Garden, and Clifton." Passengers on the funicular could expect stupendous views at the top, and many rode merely to spend an evening at the Bellevue House. Those more intent on travel could catch a horsecar to Corryville.

Connecting the Mill Creek basin with Clifton, the Fairview Incline was the fifth and final incline built in Cincinnati, and notably, the only incline to never feature a resort at the top. Fairview was the last of Cincinnati’s hillside neighborhoods to be developed. Prominent developers Isaac J. Miller and Christian Morelein lobbied hard to bring improved services to the west side of Fairview hill, where they had invested heavily and wished to sell lots. A new public school, water and gas lines, and other amenities were already in place when the Fairview Incline was built in 1894. 

View the rare and unique materials used within this exhibit by visiting the Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Cincinnati Room, adjacent to the Genealogy and Local History Department at the  Downtown Main Library  and through the  Digital Library .