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Lookout Mountain Incline Railway"America's Most Amazing Mile" |
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
During the railroad boom of the 1880's, speculators decided to develop a hotel on the mountaintop serviced by a narrow gauge railroad that would run up the mountain. A second, broad-gauge line and an earlier incline were also competing for passengers. On November 16, 1895 the railroad known today simply as "The Incline" opened, rising up the steepest part of Lookout Mountain. Built by John Crass and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway Company this technical marvel boasted an incline of 72.7% at one point, making it the steepest passenger Incline in the world. By 1900 the success of this railway closed down all of its competitors.
The Lookout Mountain Incline Railway operates electrically-powered cable-drawn railcars from the Chattanooga, Tennessee, neighborhood of St. Elmo, at the base of the mountain, up to the summit. Dubbed "America's most amazing mile," this modern incline is the successor to the second original incline installed up the mountain, in 1895. The cars of this original operation were operated by coal-burning steam engines, but were upgraded to two 100-horsepower electric motors in 1911. The railway is now operated by the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority, the area's public transit agency. Two cars operate regularly throughout the day, counterbalanced on a propulsion cable system as they travel from lower to upper stations, and vice versa. The Incline’s home, Lookout Mountain, played a pivotal role in the American Civil War. Union forces suffered one of their greatest defeats by Confederates in the shadow of Lookout Mountain at Chickamauga, GA.
Click to see Lookout Mountain Incline station plotted on a Google Maps page
Aug 2026 / RWH
Chattanooga area map / collection / adapted RWH
collection
postcard / collection
2019 brochure / collection
Aug 2026 / RWH
postcard / collection
Incline overhead view / Google Maps
Aug 2026 / RWH
Equipment
from History of the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway / collection
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 1986 / JCH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 1986 / JCH
postcard / collection
postcard / collection
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
postcard / collection
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
collection
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lower Station
Aug 2026 / RWH
postcard / collection
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Click to see the Lower Station plotted on a Google Maps page
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
1985 station brochure / collection
Aug 2026 / RWH
Upper Station
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Click to see the Upper Station plotted on a Google Maps page
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
collection
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Ride
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
postcard / collection
RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
postcard / collection
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
Jun 2019 / RWH
postcard / collection
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Publications
postcard / collection
postcard / collection
1985 brochure / collection
1986 brochure / collection
2019 brochure / collection
Point Park
postcard / collection
Point Park is a ten acre memorial park that overlooks the Lookout Mountain Battlefield and the city of Chattanooga. There is a paved walking path around the park that takes visitors by several historic tablets, monuments. Confederate artillery positions, and scenic overlook. The largest monuments in Point Park is the New York Peace Memorial, which was erected by the state of New York as a tribute to peace and reconciliation between Union and Confederate veterans after the war. Inside Point Park, at the point of the mountain, is the Ochs Memorial Observatory.
Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Click to see Point Park plotted on a Google Maps page
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
postcard / collection
Aug 2026 / RWH
postcard / collection
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Lagniappe
collection
Through the Looking Glass
Jun 2019 / RWH
Worth the Ride Up
Jun 2019 / RWH
Under the Hood
Jun 2019 / RWH
Catch Your Breath
Jun 2019 / RWH
They Have the High Ground
Jun 2019 / RWH
River Bend Blessing
Jun 2019 / RWH
Sit Back and Relax
Jun 2019 / RWH
Lift Up Your Eyes to the Hills
Jun 2019 / RWH
collection
Snapshots
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Jun 2019 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Aug 2026 / RWH
Lookout Mountain, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
St Elmo, Tn / Aug 2026 / RWH
Links / Sources
- Lookout Mountain Incline Railway website
- Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority
- Wikipedia article for Incline Railway
- National Park Service Lookout Mountain page