Bridges of Niagara

International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark

Photographed By Anton Schwarzmueller, March 17, 2014

1. Bridges of Niagara Marker

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Photographed By Anton Schwarzmueller, March 17, 2014

2. Northward View Bridges of Niagara Marker

The marker is on the boulder left of the railing just beyond the shade. The gorge is immediately left of the boulder. To the right is the decommissioned section of the Robert Moses Parkway and the maintenence and operations area of the Rainbow Bridge owner, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. It is also the back side of the Duty Free store. The orange girder structure in the distance is a heliopad for a seasonal tourist operation.

this marker.

Trains used the upper of its two decks, while pedestrians and carriages used the lower. The bridge was part of Canadian politician William Hamilton Merritt's vision to promote trade within his country and with its neighbor the United States. Many argued that a suspension bridge could not support the safe passage of trains, including bridge builders.

The Suspension Bridge was a border crossing between Canada and the United States, and it played significant roles in the histories

Photographed By Anton Schwarzmueller, March 17, 2014

3. Southward View Bridges of Niagara Marker

Marker is on the boulder to the right. The decommissioned section of the Robert Moses Parkway is to the left. Ahead is the Rainbow Bridge apron. Beyond the apron and unseen is the Falls View Bridges marker. See the security camera in this picture?

of the Niagara region and the two countries. Three railway lines crossed over the bridge, connecting cities on both sides of the border. The Great Western Railway, New York Central Railroad, and New York and Erie Rail Road differed in track gauge; the bridge used a triple gauge system to conserve space, overlapping two tracks on top of each other and using a rail of each to form the third track. The railroads brought a large influx of trade and tourists into the region around the Niagara Falls. In the time leading to the American Civil War, the Underground Railroad helped slaves in the United States escape across the Suspension Bridge to freedom in Canada. After the war, the bridge became a symbol of inspiration to Americans, encouraging them to rebuild their country and pushing them to quickly industrialize their nation.

The bridge's success proved that a railway suspension bridge could be safe and operational. Its wooden structures began to decay and were replaced with stronger steel and iron versions by 1886. Heavier trains required it to be replaced by the Steel Arch Bridge, later renamed the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, on August 27, 1897.

Photographed By Anton Schwarzmueller, March 17, 2014

4. Rainbow Bridge to Canada and Bridges of Niagara Marker

Photographed By Anton Schwarzmueller, March 17, 2014

5. Overview of Bridges of Niagara Marker

Photographed By Anton Schwarzmueller, March 17, 2014

6. Northward View of Gorge and Bridges of Niagara Marker Boulder at Extreme Right

There are actually two bridges next to each other in the distance, downriver. The rust colored bridge is the Michigan Central Bridge. Since the dedication of the marker, the Michigan Central Bridge is no longer in use. It was built wide enough to carry two tracks. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) sold their active right of way to the bridge to the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario, which had long sought to banish the CP from running freight trains through the dense tourist area. The gray colored bridge behind the Michigan Central is the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, owned by the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, and restricted to NEXUS member travelers. The upper deck of the Whirlpool Bridge is a rail crossing recently bought by Amtrak from Canadian National Railway (CN) which had filed to abandon it. CN uses the International Railway Bridge in Buffalo to cross the Niagara River, and CP negotiated trackage rights over the International Railway Bridge before it could abandon the Michigan Central Bridge and sell the right of way on the Canadian side.

Lithograph by Charles Parsons, via US Library of Congress, 1856

7. The 1855 Suspension Bridge

This hand-colored lithograph of the Niagara Suspension Bridge shows the Niagara Falls in the background and the Maid of the Mist in the waters below. The architecture of the bridge is clearly visible. The 822 foot bridge, 240 feet above water level, stood until 1897. Three railway lines used the bridge: The Great Western Railway (Canadian), The New York Central Railroad (U.S.), and the New York and Erie Railroad (U.S). Click on image to enlarge.