June 5, 1882 – The City of Dubuque grants businessman J.K. Graves a license to build the Fenelon Place Elevator (Fourth Street Elevator).
In order to cut his commute time from a bluff top residence and an office below, banker and State Senator J.K. Graves decided a European-inspired incline railway might solve his conundrum. Upon the successful petition of the City Council in June of 1882, Graves contracted local engineer John Bell to design and construct the Fourth Street Elevator. The funicular cable railway rises 41 degrees along 296 ft. of the steepest railroad in the world on a 3’ narrow gauge. Initially a private way for Graves to avoid a nap-threatening buggy ride around the bluff, the original coal-fired steam engine pulled a wooden structure winched to a Swiss-style car up and down the track.
READ MORE ABOUT ANOTHER DUBUQUE BUSINESSMAN C.H. BOOTH HERE.
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