Creator
Michel Chevalier
Title
Plate 1 from Histoire et Description des Voies de Communication aux États Unis et des Travaux d'art qui en Dépendent
Coverage
Paris
Publisher
C. Gosselin
Date
1840
Description
This plate shows the Allegheny Portage Railroad between Hollidaysburg and Johnstown, PA. This was part of the hybrid canal-rail system between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This system, along with other transportation developments caught the attention of Michel Chevalier, a French engineer who was advocating for similar improvements to transportation in France. Chevalier’s study of American Railroads was widely disseminated in France and helped promote civic and business investment in railroad technology.