1834
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landmark_node_/public/landmarks/images/Gosport_Naval_Dry_Docks.jpg?itok=lmYn9y-u)
![Ascutney Mill Dam](/sites/default/files/styles/landmark_node_/public/landmarks/images/Ascutney_Mill_Dam.jpg?itok=QgCwNcJd)
Ithamar A. Beard, an engineer of some prominence in New England, surveyed the mill brook and selected the best site for a storage dam. Contractor Simeon Cobb, knowledgeable of contemporary civil engineering practices, made major changes to the dam's original design, converting the linear dam into a gentle arch.
![Allegheny Portage Railroad](/sites/default/files/styles/landmark_node_/public/Allegheny_Portage_Railroad.jpg?itok=c8bBHP1X)
In an era when roads and canals were the most common means of overland transportation, the Allegheny Portage Railroad provided a novel alternative. The railway carried fully-loaded canal boats over the steep grades of the Allegheny Mountain. The 36-mile system rose almost 2,300 feet above sea level at its summit - the highest level to which canal boats had ever been carried. The project included ten double-tracked inclined planes, powered by steam engines. Its 900-foot Staple Bend Tunnel, cut from solid rock, was the first railroad tunnel constructed in America.
Innovations
![Allegheny Portage Railroad](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/Allegheny_Portage_Railroad.jpg?itok=JEoBwa_O)
In an era when roads and canals were the most common means of overland transportation, the Allegheny Portage Railroad provided a novel alternative. The railway carried fully-loaded canal boats over the steep grades of the Allegheny Mountain. The 36-mile system rose almost 2,300 feet above sea…
Read More![Ascutney Mill Dam](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/landmarks/images/Ascutney_Mill_Dam.jpg?itok=FfQYbFk_)
Ithamar A. Beard, an engineer of some prominence in New England, surveyed the mill brook and selected the best site for a storage dam. Contractor Simeon Cobb, knowledgeable of contemporary civil engineering practices, made major changes to the dam's original design, converting the linear dam…
Read More![](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/landmarks/images/Gosport_Naval_Dry_Docks.jpg?itok=QctrQjtP)