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Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site

about 12 miles (19.3 km) west of Altoona
Cresson, Pennsylvania, 16630

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
Photo: License: Public Domain
The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania. It was approximately 36 miles (58 km) long, and operated from 1834 to 1854.

The railroad connected two sections of the Pennsylvania Canal from Johnstown on the west to Hollidaysburg on the east, thus allowing continuous barge traffic between the Ohio and the Susquehanna rivers.

The line included the first railroad tunnel in the United States, the Staple Bend Tunnel.

The site was established in 1964 and is operated by the National Park Service.

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Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site