 Inclines are common in Europe , and immigrants , like the German , Slavic , and Welsh people who settled near Johnstown , remembered them from their native lands and brought the concept to the United States . The earliest inclines in the United States were a series of 10 that were built in the 1830s as part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad . The portage railroad carried canal boats over the Allegheny Mountains to connect the canals from Pittsburgh to the ones from Philadelphia . Pittsburgh at one time also had " at least 17 " inclines — some carried passengers , others freight , while another two inclines ( like the Nunnery Hill Incline ) were curved . 
