The inclined plane of the citadel of quebec, sepia, james pattison cockburn, 1830, archives of the séminaire de québec. “well before the funicular entered service in november 1879, there existed in quebec a mechanical link between the lower town and the upper town. Indeed, during the construction of the quebec citadel, between 1820 and 1831, the british military had built an inclined plane between the government wharf, today the coast guard, and the top of the cliff, where the right flank of the mann bastion is now located. With a length of 500 feet, it consisted of a wooden staircase flanked by two railway tracks on which two wagons traveled in the opposite direction, as in the current funicular. It was thus possible to hoist the construction materials, in particular the enormous blocks of sillery sandstone. The mechanism was set in motion by a steam engine located on the quay. It is unknown when this installation was dismantled, but it no longer appears on plans and maps from 1840. Today, no visible trace of it remains. James pattison cockburn depicted it in a sepia drawing from 1830. " - société historique de québec. Date: 1830.
Loading...
