 The Johnstown Inclined Plane was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 18 , 1973 . On July 20 , 1977 , the incline was again used as an escape route , evacuating residents from the valley amid rising floodwaters . It also carried " boats , emergency personnel , and equipment down to the valley to aid in rescue operations " . The incline was again sold for $ 1 by Westmont borough on March 8 , 1983 , to the Cambria County Transit Authority , now CamTran . CamTran initiated a $ 4 @.@ 2 million renovation on September 7 , 1983 , replacing " the incline 's foundation piers , structural steel , and track . " The renovations were completed on August 22 , 1984 , and the incline was rededicated on September 6 . It was designated an Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ( ASME ) in September 1994 . A footbridge spanning Pennsylvania Route 56 between the incline and Vine Street was opened around the same time . On September 1 , 2000 , the incline was closed when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation ( PennDOT ) undertook an $ 2 @.@ 3 million renovation of the bridge and the access road leading to the bridge . It was reopened in April 2001 , but again closed in September to allow PennDOT to finish repairs to the bridge deck . The repairs were completed on December 14 , 2001 . A strong thunderstorm disrupted power to the incline on April 16 , 2010 , stranding the cars and two passengers almost halfway down the slope ; the rescue took three hours and ended when firefighters rappelled down the tracks to reach the car . The Johnstown Inclined Plane was closed from September 9 to October 14 , 2010 , for the installation of a new 9 @,@ 000 @-@ pound ( 4 @,@ 100 kg ) " hoist brake shaft . " From October 29 to October 31 , 2012 , CamTran shut down the incline fearing power outages due to the passage of Hurricane Sandy . During the annual Thunder in the Valley motorcycle rally , two resistors failed and stopped the incline just outside the stations on June 28 , 2014 ; repairs took approximately a month after having experts brought in diagnose the failure . Sensor issues briefly disrupted service in August 2014 and , again , December 2014 forcing the incline to start its winter maintenance period early . 
