The Michigan Central Railway Bridge is an out-of-service steel

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

spanning the

Niagara Gorge Niagara Gorge is an long canyon carved by the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border, between the U.S. state of New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at the base of Niagara Falls and ends downriver at the ed ...

between

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

and

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara ...

. The bridge is owned by

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

, which purchased the single track structure in 1990. The Canadian corridor and bridge are owned by the City of

. The bridge is located just upstream from the older arch-style

Whirlpool Rapids Bridge The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, commonly known as the Whirlpool Bridge or the Lower Steel Arch Bridge (before 1937), is a spandrel braced, riveted, two-hinged arch bridge that crosses the international border between Canada and the United States, con ...

used by ''

Maple Leaf The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the ...

'' Amtrak passenger trains.

History

Michigan Central Railway Bridge National Map

The bridge was designed by William Perry Taylor, Chief Engineer J.L. Delming and consulting Norwegian-born engineer Olaf Hoff. Construction on the bridge began in 1924, and the bridge opened in 1925. This bridge replaced the

Niagara Cantilever Bridge The Niagara Cantilever Bridge or Michigan Central Railway Cantilever Bridge was a cantilever bridge across the Niagara Gorge. An international railway-only bridge between Canada and the United States, it connected Niagara Falls, New York, and Nia ...

that crossed in the same area from 1883 to 1925. The main traffic across the bridge were trains operated by the

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

, and

. It was also used briefly from October 1978 to January 31, 1979 by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's former ''

Niagara Rainbow The ''Niagara Rainbow'', known as the ''Empire State Express'' before 1976, was an American passenger train service operated by Amtrak between New York City and Detroit via Buffalo and Southwestern Ontario in Canada. The service ran between Oc ...

'' service which ran between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

via Niagara Falls and

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

. The bridge was abandoned in 2001 after a deal was reached between the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Canadian Pacific to stop service on the line that the bridge was part of because the line ran through the tourist district of the city and was considered a nuisance and safety issue. Today the bridge no longer carries train traffic and the tracks have been removed both on the bridge and on the line leading to it. There is currently a wall across the centre of the bridge that is topped with

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is t ...

to prevent people from walking across it. Additional barrier and barbed wire is located on the sides to prevent climbing on the steel arch sections. A wired fence blocks the east side (American) and another wall blocks the west side (in Canada). The line leading to the bridge on the Canadian side is now partially a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort The Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort (commonly known as ''Fallsview Casino'') is a resort casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened publicly on June 10, 2004. The $1 billion complex overlooks the Horseshoe Falls and is one of the most ...

was also built on part of the line in 2004. On the American side, most traces of the line leading to the bridge from the

Niagara Subdivision The Niagara Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs from Buffalo north and west to Niagara Falls along former New York Central Railroad and Lehigh Valley Railroad lines. I ...

are gone completely. Construction of a new

Amtrak station This is a list of train stations and Thruway Motorcoach stops used by Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation in the United States). This list is in alphabetical order by station or stop name, which mostly corresponds to the city ...

in 2016 removed the bridge over Main Street that connected the line to the subdivision and fenced in a portion of the former line across from the new station for security purposes, making it into a gravel lot area for

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

. A New York State project in 2019 that removed the

Niagara Scenic Parkway The Niagara Scenic Parkway (known as the Robert Moses State Parkway until 2016) is a long north–south highway in western Niagara County, New York, in the United States. Its southern terminus is at the LaSalle Expressway on the east bank of the ...

viaduct and created park space in its place also removed the bridge over Whirlpool Street and the trestle connector leaving the bridge with no connection on the American side.

References

External links

Bridges Over The Niagara River

Detailed information on the construction of this bridge
{{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place =

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

, bridge = Michigan Central Railway Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream = Rainbow Bridge , upstream signs = , downstream =

, downstream signs = ''Amtrak'' Bridges completed in 1925 Bridges in Niagara Falls, New York Bridges in Niagara Falls, Ontario Railway bridges in the Regional Municipality of Niagara Bridges over the Niagara River Canadian Pacific Railway bridges in Ontario Canadian Pacific Railway bridges in the United States Former railway bridges in Canada Former railway bridges in the United States Michigan Central Railroad bridges Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in Canada Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Railroad bridges in New York (state) Steel bridges in Canada Steel bridges in the United States Truss arch bridges in Canada Truss arch bridges in the United States

History

See also

References

External links