There's an effort underway to commemorate what was one of northeastern Minnesota's top tourist attractions.
Opening in 1891 and shutting down for good in 1939, the Duluth Incline Railway ran from Skyline Parkway along Seventh Street almost to the shores of Lake Superior.
All that's left in the West Hillside neighborhood are the stairs that were built alongside the tracks where a pair of cable cars would go up and down the half mile line. The view from the top included spectacular views of the Duluth Harbor and Lake Superior.
Nearly everyone who would've ridden the incline are gone now, and local preservationists are working to make sure it's not forgotten. They've started a fundraising effort to pay for a series of interpretive signs to be placed at different locations along Seventh Street.
They plan to install the markers sometime next year.
According to the Duluth News Tribune, the incline railway served hillside residents by stopping at five intermediate stations and connecting at the top with the isolated highland streetcar line. The original trolley cars could either transport four teams of horses with a wagon, or up to 250 people per car.
The trolleys ran every 15 minutes, with a one-way trip taking about the same amount of time. Once passengers were seated, the conductor would telephone the engineer at the top of the incline to start the trip. An overhead wire powered the brakes and lights for the cars.
The grade ranged from 15% to 25%. Riding along the ten-foot gauge track, the original pair of forty-one by fifteen-foot cars counterbalanced each other, one going up while the other one descended.
The path, while not a formal hiking trail, has become a popular walk for tourists exploring the old line. The signs would help make a more permanent path up the hillside to remember what once one of the biggest attractions in northern Minnesota.