Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 49, 2008

The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge was the world's first working railway suspension bridge. It spanned 825 ft and stood 2.5 mi downstream of Niagara Falls from 1855 to 1897. Connecting Niagara Falls, Ontario, to Niagara Falls, New York (the two cities assimilated the towns at the ends of the bridge by 1892), the bridge carried mixed traffic on its two decks across the Niagara River; trains crossed over the river by way of the bridge's upper deck while pedestrians and carriages used the lower. By 1854 his bridge was nearly complete, and the lower deck was opened for pedestrian and carriage travel. On March 18, 1855, a fully-laden passenger train drove across the upper deck at 5 mph, and officially opened the completed bridge. 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 the gauges of their tracks; 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. Throughout its years of service, the Suspension Bridge stood strong and allowed thousands of passengers and trains to pass over it safely. Its success proved that, contrary to general opinion, a safe and operational railway suspension bridge was tenable, and allayed concerns induced by the 1854 collapse of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. Slowly decaying, the bridge's wooden structures were replaced with steel and iron versions by 1886, and the renovated bridge was stronger, capable of bearing a heavier load. By the end of the 19th century, the weight of trains had increased greatly and far exceeded the maximum capacity of the bridge. The Suspension Bridge was finally replaced by the Steel Arch Bridge, which was later renamed the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, on August 27, 1897. When the Suspension Bridge was dismantled, its wire cables were found not to have noticeably degraded, a testament to its strength and design.