John J. Endres was a civil engineer. Born in Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

, he later resided in Cincinnati, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. He designed the Monongahela Incline

Monongahela Incline

The Monongahela Incline, built by John Endres in 1870, islocated near the Smithfield Street Bridge in Pittsburgh. It is the oldest continuously operating funicular in the USA. It is also one of two surviving inclines from the original 17 passenger-carrying inclines built in Pittsburgh starting...

, the first passenger incline in the United States, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. The incline was originally steam powered and ran on wooden tracks. His daughter, Caroline Endres

Caroline Endres Diescher

Caroline Endres Diescher was the daughter of the Prussian-born engineer John Endres. She was one of the first female engineers in the United States, and with her father designed two inclines in the Pittsburgh area, the Monongahela Incline and the Mount Oliver Incline. She married another...

 assisted him on the project. While the two were in Pittsburgh, they met fellow engineer Samuel Diescher

Samuel Diescher

Samuel Diescher, a prominent civil and mechanical engineer, was born in Budapest, educated at Karlsruhe Polytechnique and at the University of Zurich. Coming to the United States in 1866, he settled in Cincinnati, where he built his first inclined plane. He came to Pittsburgh and was associated...

. Diescher and John Endres became friends and business partners. Samuel would later marry Caroline, and the two resided in Pittsburgh. Endres returned to Cincinnati after constructing the Monongahela Incline, but he returned to Pittsburgh in 1883 to help Diesher build the Monongahela Freight Incline

Monongahela Freight Incline

The Monongahela Freight Incline was a funicular railway that scaled Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.Designed by Samuel Diescher and John Endres, the incline was built in 1883 beside the smaller, original Monongahela Incline. The incline cost $125, 000 to build...

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Sources

• A Century of Inclines, The Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Incline.