Passengers on narrow gauge railways in the United States are used to traveling across mountains and, therefore, somewhat steep grades. However, few railroads get as steep as the Fenelon Place Elevator, a funicular operating in Dubuque, Iowa. Also known as the Fourth Street Elevator, it claims to be the world’s shortest and steepest scenic railroad, lifting passengers 189 feet on a 296-foot-long track - a 64% grade.

Funiculars are cable railways designed for extremely steep areas. They consist of two cars, linked by a cable that runs through a pulley at the top of the incline. The two cars counterbalance each other -- as one moves to the bottom, the other moves to the top, so all the motor at the top has to do is start it up and account for the varying weights of the passengers. Some funiculars have four rails, two for each car like a normal railway, and some have just two rails, with a small passing track in the exact center for one car to veer around the other. The Fenelon Place Elevator uses a three-rail system: the center rail is shared between the cars, with a split in the middle so the cars can go around each other.

One might not think of Iowa as a state in need of a funicular, but Dubuque, on the Mississippi River across from where Illinois and Wisconsin meet, is a geologically varied area, with lots of bluffs and hills. The downtown area is right on the river, but there were neighborhoods on the bluffs, and it could take quite a while to get between the two. One person who lived up there, J.K. Graves, a former mayor and state senator, enjoyed going home during his lunchtime, but it could take him 30 minutes to make his way all the way up to his home. He decided to find a way around this problem and had a private rail elevator built. It operated for the first time on July 25, 1882, and it cut his 30 minute travel time to virtually nothing. This first version of the elevator consisted only of two rails and one car, pulled up by a hemp rope. His gardener would operate it, as it was built for his own use.

The elevator was destroyed in a fire on July 19, 1884, and after Graves rebuilt it, he opened it up to the public, much to the delight of his neighbors on the bluffs. He charged 5 cents a ride. When the elevator burned again in 1893, he could not afford to rebuild it, but because it had become so vital to the daily lives of the residents who used it to get between home and work, church, school, and market, ten neighbors came together and formed the Fenelon Place Elevator Company, and Graves gave them the right of way to the track. This time, when they rebuilt it, they built a second car, making it a true funicular; a third rail, with a fourth for the central bypass; and replaced the hemp rope -- which burned easily, and would cause the car at the top to slide down to the bottom, destroying the car and house at the bottom -- with a steel cable. They also added a motor taken from a streetcar. In 1962, another fire and the costs of repair led to a price increase -- to ten cents. In 1977, the cars were rebuilt, and the 84-year-old motor was replaced with a modern DC motor and gearbox.

	The incline of the track and car is easily visible in this side view. Photo by Nikole Villanueva.
	Passing by a descending car as we ride to the top. Photo by Nikole Villanueva.
	The doors are automatically opened by tabs that extend below and are guided by extra rails at each stopping point. Photo by Nikole Villanueva.
	The steel cables are prevented from dragging along the ties by these old wooden drums. Note the deep grooves in the drums. Photo by Nikole Villanueva.