By Denise Doring VanBuren, Beacon Historical Society President

Travel east on Interstate 84 along the Hudson River and you will spy Mount Beacon—the tallest peak in the Hudson Highlands. While it is today marked by several tall towers, its summit was once a popular tourist attraction (complete with a hotel, a casino, and a cottage colony), accessed by the steepest funicular in the world at the time: the Mount Beacon Incline Railway. It rose as much as 68 feet in a 100-foot length—earning it the advertised claim of “The Eighth Wonder of the World.” 

The railway, built by Otis Elevator Company, opened on Memorial Day 1902, when more than 1,400 25-cent fares were sold. About 60,000 people rode it that first season, as did approximately 3 million by the time of its demise. The incline extended about 2,000 feet on a single track using a counterbalanced-car system. The final destination was 1,539 feet above sea level, making it about 10 degrees cooler than the valley below. 

The incline railway was used to carry all supplies to the top of the mountain, including those that would build the 75-room Beaconcrest and original casino that featured 10-foot tall MT BEACON signage (all of which burned in 1927), and a replacement casino that featured live orchestras into the 1950s.

It was used sporadically, and made its last run to bring hang gliders to the top of the mountain in 1978. Wildfires in 1981 and 1983 destroyed the abandoned structures. Today, environmental advocacy group Scenic Hudson owns the property and operates it as a hiking destination.