Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 7, 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 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. The Suspension Bridge was part of Canadian politician William Hamilton Merritt's vision to promote trade within his country and with its neighbor the United States. On March 18, 1855, a fully-laden passenger train drove across the upper deck at 5 mph, and officially opened the completed bridge. 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. The Suspension Bridge was finally replaced by the Steel Arch Bridge, which was later renamed the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, on August 27, 1897. (more...)

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