Rolli  (pronounced  raw lee or like the town Raleigh down south) is the official mascot of the Johnstown Inclined Plane. 

Rolli is a raccoon.  This is his story:

The Johnstown Inclined Plane had been operating on the hillside between Johnstown and Westmont for over one hundred years.  Its primary purpose was to shuttle passengers and goods up and down the steep hillside.  As automobile usage increased, the Inclines’ ridership declined, until finally the Incline became a mere novelty of the past. It was such a unique structure that time and again, various groups came to its rescue, with renovations, improvements and addition of safety features to keep it rolling on the hillside.

By the 1980s, the Incline emerged as the primary tourist attraction in Johnstown.  Visitors marveled at the novelty of a vertical railroad, delighting in the wonderful view at the top.  When the city commemorated the centennial of the Great Flood, the Inclined Plane became an even more attractive destination site with the development of a restaurant and observation deck 
Folks were able to purchase popcorn and other refreshments both at the souvenir and the ice cream shops at the top.  

Bits of these refreshments were sometimes dropped to the hillside below. Within a very short time, the delightful bits of food attracted the hillside’s natural inhabitants, raccoons, o’possums , rabbits, deer, and a variety of other little critters.  The most pervasive, and fun to watch were the raccoons.

Thus, when working with area students regarding making the Inclined Plane a more interesting site for visitors, the suggestion of a raccoon as a mascot was the unanimous decision.

Then came the process of naming the little fellow.  Many names were considered: Rocky and Rollo, and Robin, and Ricky.  Dozens and dozens of names were suggested.  And then the Director of the Cambria Transit Authority said, “When I was growing up, we had a raccoon named Rolli. That’s spelled R-O-L-L-I.” 

And that was it.

Rolli came to be.

The artist, Pat Greene, who created the character image of Rolli, also adapted the Rolli puppet and created life-size mascot costume.

In the gift shop, we offer a variety of stuffed animals–featuring primarily Rolli Raccoons.