Fenelon Place Elevator

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Fenelon Place Elevator

Overview
Locale Dubuque, Iowa
Transit type Funicular
Website www.fenelonplaceelevator.com
Operation
Began operation July 25, 1882
Operator(s) Fenelon Place Elevator Company
Technical
System length 296 feet (90 m)
Fenelon Place Elevator
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Contributing property
422946.7N
Coordinates 90409.7WCoordinates:
422946.7N 90409.7W
Built by J.K. Graves, C.B. Terwin
Part of Cathedral Historic District
 (#85002501)
NRHP reference # 78001215[1]
Added to NRHP August 3, 1978

The Fenelon Place Elevator is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[2] funicular railway located in
Dubuque, Iowa. Also known as the Fourth Street Elevator, it is claimed to be the shortest
and steepest railroad in the world (although several other funiculars also make this claim). It
was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[3] It was included
as a contributing property in the Cathedral Historic District in 1985,[4] and in the Fenelon
Place Residential Historic District in 2015.[5]

Contents
1 History
2 Location
3 Function
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
7 Other images

History

Fenlon 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. The funicular was opened to the public in 1884,
charging 5 cents per ride. After several fires, the current funicular was built in 1893 on the
footprint of the 1882 incline; the 1893 funicular inaugurated the use of the cable car
technology that continues in use today.[6]

Location
The upper station of the elevator is located at 512 Fenelon Place, whilst 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.[7][8]

Function
The funicular is 296 feet (90 m) long, and angles up at 41 degrees with a vertical elevation of
189[9] feet (57.6 m). 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.[citation needed]

The Fourth Street Elevator is run from April 1 to November 30. The hours are from 8 am to
10 pm.[7]