Rope
Object number2008.91.1
Date2006
MediumIron
Credit LineGift of Loos & Co. Inc.
DescriptionReplica piece of iron wire rope. Made up of seven twisted larger "threads."Dimensions1.375 x 1.375 x 12.25 in. (3.5 x 3.5 x 31.1 cm)Historical NotesDisplay replica section of John Roebling's first successful wire rope, manufactured for the bicentennial of his birthday. It was presented to the Allegheny Portage Railroad Museum at Cresson, Pa.: several hundred feet of the replica wire rope was produced for the museum while a number of smaller length-sized display sections, like this one, were also created.Label TextIn 1842 designers for the Pennsylvania Canal faced a major challenge, how to lift or portage canal boats up and over the Allegheny Mountains. The hemp rope used to pull the boats got wet, frayed, and broke. Engineer John Roebling came up with the solution – he developed a wire rope cable that was stronger and more durable, but retained the flexibility of the hemp rope. To commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1806, one of the few remaining U.S. steel wire rope makers fabricated a 225 foot long piece of stainless steel rope. This piece of that rope shows what the wire rope cable that Roebling invented looked like.
Related person
John Roebling
On View
On view
1941-1953
Flannery Bolt Company
1861