Laurel Hill Quarry, Incline Plane, Both sides of State Route 56, 2.4 miles East of State Route 711, Seward, Westmoreland County, PA
Summary
Significance: This inclined plane was constructed by the Conemaugh Stone Company to carry sandstone from its quarry at the crest of Laurel Hill to the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks at the base of the mountain. It represents a common but ingenious engineering solution to the problem of transporting stone from quarries that frequently were remote and at high elevations. Similar structures were used at quarries throughout this mountainous region. While associated machinery, equipment and tracks have not survived, the bed of this incline is very well preserved west of the highway.
Survey number: HAER PA-222-A
Building/structure dates: 1902 Initial Construction
Tags
Date
1969 - 1980
Contributors
Historic American Engineering Record, creator
Location
Seward, 40.40789, -79.02186
Source
Library of Congress
Copyright info
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html