Mill Mountain Incline

Mill Mountain Incline
Locale	Roanoke, Virginia
Dates of operation	1910–1929
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Roanoke, Virginia

The Mill Mountain Incline was a 0.37 mi (0.60 km) funicular, or inclined plane, located on Mill Mountain in Roanoke, Virginia that operated between 1910-1929. Costing $40,000 to complete, the incline took visitors from the base of the mountain where the present-day Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital is located to the summit in the area where the Mill Mountain Star is now located.^[1] Today, the former location of the incline is visible in the form of a cleft in the trees on Mill Mountain, immediately behind the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.^[2]

History

The idea of an incline being developed for Mill Mountain was initially proposed in 1892, but was formally organized in November 1909 by a group of twenty-five local investors calling themselves the Mill Mountain Incline, Inc. For the investors, the incline was viewed as a major attraction for the burgeoning city.^[3]

In late 1909, a pair of counterbalanced incline cars were ordered from the John Stevenson Company, and were delivered in summer 1910.^[3] The incline celebrated its inaugural voyage on August 10, 1910, and saw 1,500 passengers on opening day.^[1] The roundtrip ride cost $.25 and took four minutes to complete each way.^[3]

To lure residents and tourists alike onto the incline, its owners installed walking paths, benches, a gift shop and telescopes on the summit.^[4] Although the incline saw a profit in its first year, it would sustain significant loses over the following years.^[4] Due to mounting losses, in 1919, the original investors sold the line to the local real estate magnate William Henritze. He would subsequently build a toll road to the summit which would open in the early 1920s, and effectively result in the closure of the incline in 1929.^[3] The last remnants of the line were dismantled and sold off for scrap in 1934.^[3]

A July 2007 proposal was introduced by Roanoke City Councilmen to revive the Incline as an economic redevelopment tool.^[5] The new incline would be in the form of an automated people mover.^[5]

See also

• Funicular railway
• List of funicular railways

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Harris, Nelson. "Recreation and Leisure" (in English). Roanoke in Vintage Postcards. South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 128. ISBN 073851439X. 
2. ^ Deshpande, Amol (in English). Design Process to Integrate Natural and Human Systems. Blacksburg, VA. pp. 98. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12292003-105417/unrestricted/ThesisDocument.pdf. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Dalmas, James E.. "Chapter 9: The Mill Mountain Incline" (in English). The Street Railways of Roanoke, Virginia 1887-1948. Roanoke, VA: Historical Society of Western Virginia. pp. 152. ISBN 0971053162. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Adams, Mason (2007-10-10). "Will Development Work on Mill Mountain?" (in English). The Roanoke Times. p. 12A. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Adams, Mason; Matt Chittum (July 17, 2007). "Council inclined to study proposal" (in English). The Roanoke Times.