A drawing of the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge.

The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge was a double-decker suspension bridge that carried railroad tracks and mixed traffic across the Niagara River north of Niagara Falls, running east from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York. It was replaced in 1897 by the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge.

History

The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company was chartered in both countries in 1846, and the first bridge, a 770-foot suspension footbridge designed by Charles Ellet, Jr., opened on August 1, 1848.

The second bridge, a double-decker bridge designed by John A. Roebling with rail on top, opened to trains on March 18, 1855. On the United States side it connected to the New York Central Railroad's Buffalo and Niagara Falls Railroad and the New York and Erie Rail Road's Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad. The Great Western Railway ran west from the Canadian approach. When the bridge opened, the railroads feeding into it had three different gauges — on the New York Central, on the Great Western, and on the Erie — and the track on the bridge had four rails to allow for all three. http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1855%20Mar%2005.pdf

A renovation was completed in 1886, completely replacing the bridge in sections. Construction began on another replacement in 1896, and the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, an arch bridge, replaced the suspension bridge in 1897.

See also

• Michigan Central Railway Bridge, a later bridge just to the south, also carrying rail tracks
• International Bridge, another bridge further south in Buffalo
• Suspension Bridge, New York, the locality on the east side of the bridge

References

• Bridges Over Niagara Falls
• Final report of John A. Roebling, civil engineer, to the presidents and directors of the Niagara Falls Suspension and Niagara Falls International Bridge Companies. (May 1, 1855)