Originally built to carry coal from the Jacob Beltzhoover mine, it was sold by the Pittsburgh Coal Company to the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad in 1871.

[1] It was used only for coal as early as 1864;[2] passenger traffic was added in 1874 for the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad.

Emergency use of the plane for passengers and freight continued as late as 1900.

[3] Its use for the transport of passengers and freight other than coal was made obsolete by the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel.

[4] It was operated as a gravity plane, with returning empty cars being pulled to the mine mouth by the weight of the descending full coal cars.