Fenelon Place Elevator

The Fenelon Place Elevator (also known as the Fourth Street Elevator) is a Template:RailGauge narrow gauge<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> funicular railway located in Dubuque, Iowa, United States. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.<ref name="latimes">Stewart, Connie (2011-11-05). Railway not inclined to be a target. LA Times. Retrieved on 2011-11-07.</ref> It was included as a contributing property in the Cathedral Historic District in 1985,<ref name="Hawks">Template:Cite web with Template:NRHP url</ref> and in the Fenelon Place Residential Historic District in 2015.<ref name="Jacobsen">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Fenelon Place Elevator in 1940

A predecessor to the Fourth Street Elevator was built in 1882 for the private use of local banker and former state senator J.K. Graves, so he could go home, eat, and take a nap on his break, since he would be unable to do so when he commuted with horses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The funicular was opened to the public in 1884, charging 5 cents per ride. After several fires, the existing funicular was rebuilt in 1893 on the footprint of the 1882 incline; the 1893 funicular inaugurated the use of the cable car technology that continues in use.<ref name="Elevator">Template:Cite web</ref>

Location

The upper station of the elevator is located at 512 Fenelon Place, while the lower station is located at the western end of Fourth Street. At the top, there are two observation decks, which offer a commanding view of the downtown Dubuque area. The states of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin can all be seen from the observation decks.<ref name="fenplco">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Function

The funicular is Template:Convert long, and angles up at 41 degrees with a vertical elevation of Template:Convert. The two cars start at opposite ends, passing each other at the midpoint of the elevator. The two cars counterbalance each other, drawing motive power from an engine in the station house at the top of the hill. The engine only needs to overcome inertia and friction and compensate for the varying weight of the passengers in the cars.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Fourth Street Elevator is run from April 1 to November 30. The hours are from 8 am to 10 pm.<ref name="fenplco" />

Gallery

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Notability

The 4th Street Elevator is one of the few remaining funicular railways in the United States, making it a rare attraction.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The 4th Street Elevator is also known as the “World’s Shortest and Steepest Scenic Railway”,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though a more accurate claim would be that it is the shortest, steepest railroad in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See also

• List of funicular railways

External links

• Fenelon Place Elevator Company web site
• Easton's Article web site - production used the Fenelon Place Elevator as a featured movie location in December 2010