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The Niagara Cantilever Bridge or Michigan Central Railway Cantilever Bridge was a
cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed ...
across 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 ...
. An international
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
-only bridge between
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, it connected
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...
, New York, and
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
, located just south of the
Whirlpool 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 ...
, and opened to traffic in 1883, it was replaced by the Michigan Central Railway Steel Arch Bridge in 1925.


Background

Although British engineers suggested using the cantilever form as a replacement for non- statically determinate trusses as early as 1846, the first modern cantilever actually built was Heinrich Gerber's Hassfurt Bridge over the
Main River Main rivers () are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also some smaller watercourses. A main river is designated by being marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure o ...
in Germany (1867), with a central span of 38 m. The next important cantilever was built by American engineer C. Shaler Smith, ten years later in 1877. It provided the first practical test of the application of the cantilever principle to long-span bridge design. He built what was then the world's longest cantilever for the Cincinnati Southern Railway over a 366 m wide and 84 m deep gorge of the
Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The river and its tri ...
near Dixville, Kentucky. Other important counterbalanced spans are the Michigan Central Railroad bridge over the Niagara Gorge (this bridge), designed by
Charles Conrad Schneider Charles Conrad Schneider (german: Carl Conrad Schneider, links=no; April 24, 1843 – January 8, 1916), often referred to as C. C. Schneider, was an American civil engineer and bridge designer. Schneider was also a member and president of the Am ...
/
Apolda Apolda () is a town in central Thuringia, Germany, the capital of the Weimarer Land district. It is situated in the center of the triangle Weimar–Jena– Naumburg near the river Ilm, c. east by north from Weimar. Apolda station lies on the Hal ...
in 1883. With cantilever arms supporting a simple suspended truss, this 151 m span and, the nearly identical Fraser River Bridge in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, directed the attention of the engineering world to this new bridge form. These two were the prototypes for subsequent cantilevers, the
Poughkeepsie Bridge The Walkway over the Hudson (also known as the Poughkeepsie Bridge, Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge, Poughkeepsie–Highland Railroad Bridge, and High Bridge) is a steel cantilever bridge spanning the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie, New York ...
over the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
in New York,
Young's High Bridge Young's High Bridge, also known as the Jo Blackburn Bridge, is a former railroad bridge near Tyrone, Kentucky, USA, that spans the Kentucky River between Anderson County, Kentucky and Woodford County, Kentucky for the Louisville Southern Railro ...
over the Kentucky River, the
Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...
in Scotland, and the
Quebec Bridge The Quebec Bridge (french: pont de Québec) is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy (a former suburb that in 2002 became a western area of Quebec City) and Lévis, in Quebec, Canada. The p ...
in Canada.


Construction history

The Michigan Central Railway Bridge was the dream of financier and railway developer
Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
. Vanderbilt needed a rail link between Canada and the USA, but was not prepared to pay the high rental price which the owners of the Lower Arch Bridge (the first railway bridge across the gorge) were asking. Mr. Vanderbilt owned the
Michigan Central Railway The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in ...
and had controlling interest in the
Canada Southern Railway The Canada Southern Railway , also known as CSR, was a railway in southwestern Ontario, Canada, founded on February 28, 1868 as the Erie and Niagara Extension Railway. Its name was changed to Canada Southern Railway on December 24, 1869. The 1868 ...
. In lieu of paying rent, he decided to build a new bridge. Vanderbilt formed the Niagara River Bridge Company and received a charter to build a new bridge from both the Canadian and US authorities. On April 9, 1883, the Niagara River Bridge Company signed a contract with the Central Bridge Works Company of Buffalo New York to build this bridge. The chief engineer was Charles C. Schneider. This first bridge of cantilever design at Niagara, was built across the Niagara Gorge by engineer Edmund Hayes, of the Central Bridge Works Company, at a site just south of the Lower Arch Bridge. (the
Whirlpool 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 ...
) Construction of this bridge began on April 15, 1883. The contractors were working against a deadline of November 1. Every day afterwards, the contractor had to pay a penalty of $500 per day. The 40.3 meter (132.6 ft) high towers were completed on October 11. The contractor soon realized that it would not be possible to complete the bridge and railway tracks by November 1. They anticipated they could put 25 foot (7.6 m) sections onto each side of the bridge every two days and connect the center span in five days. Each cantilever measuring 99 meters (325 ft) long and 7.9 meters (26 ft) high where they were anchored were in place by November 18. Two 7.5 meter (25 ft) long sections were attached and extended from each cantilever. The center span was measured and sent to the company's Buffalo, New York plant for fabrication. Each end was made of a section constructed of steel extending from each shoreline nearly half way across the gorge. Each section was supported near its center by a steel tower from which extended two lever arms, one reaching the shore while the other extended over the river 175 feet (53 m) beyond the towers. By the outer arm having no support and being subjected the same as the shore arm to the weight of the trains, a counter advantage is given to the shore arm being firmly anchored to the rock on shore. The towers on each side rose from the water level below. The bridge span was 495 feet (151 m). The ends of the cantilevers extended 395 feet (120 m) from the abutments leaving a gap of 120 feet (37 m) which was filled by an ordinary truss type bridge hung form the ends of the cantilever. Provisions had been built into this bridge to allow for expansion and contraction, allowing the ends to move freely as the temperature changed. The total length of the bridge was 906 feet (276 m). It had a double track and had the capacity to bear the weight of two trains crossing at the same time producing a side pressure equal to a 75-mile per hour (120 km/h) wind. The railway was 240 feet (73 m) above the Niagara River. On November 21, media reports indicated that the bridge had been completed, linking Canada and the USA together. On December 1, 1883, the bridge was officially completed. The bridge had cost $700,000 US dollars. On December 6, 1883 at 11:41 a.m., the first crossing of this new bridge was made. It consisted of an engine pulling a tender and passenger car. The passenger car carried a number of dignitaries including railway Superintendent G. H. Burrows. Schneider's bridge had a useful life of over 40 years during a period when rolling stock on the
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s grew much heavier. The speed of erection of a new style bridge coupled with its performance made it one of the most innovative and significant bridges built in the world up to that time.


List of bridges across the Niagara River

The Niagara River saw the following crossings in the 19th century (in chronological order): *
John Roebling John Augustus Roebling (born Johann August Röbling; June 12, 1806 – July 22, 1869) was a German-born American civil engineer. He designed and built wire rope suspension bridges, in particular the Brooklyn Bridge, which has been designated ...
's
Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge stood from 1855 to 1897 across the Niagara River and was the world's first working railway suspension bridge. It spanned and stood downstream of Niagara Falls, where it connected Niagara Falls, Ontario to ...
, * Samuel Keefer's Honeymoon Bridge, *
Edward Serrell Edward Wellman Serrell (November 5, 1826 – April 25, 1906) was an American civil engineer during the mid 19th century. In 1861, during the American Civil War he helped raise a regiment of engineers from New York state, the 1st New York Volunteer ...
's Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, *Schneider's cantilever (this bridge), * Leffert Buck's arch bridge at the falls *Buck's Niagara Railway Arch Bridge, built under and into the Roebling's suspension bridge.


See also

*
Michigan Central Railway Bridge The Michigan Central Railway Bridge is an out-of-service steel arch bridge spanning the Niagara Gorge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. The bridge is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, which purchased the single track str ...
— 1925 arch bridge that replaced the Niagara Cantilever Bridge


Image links


From niagara.edu library collection
construction image showing tower bent, shoreside falsework, and cantilever section with traveling cantilever crane
from niagara.edu library collection
operation image showing two trains crossing
small image
showing stabilising guy wires * Samuel J. Dixonbr>crossing the Gorge on a high-wire on July 17, 1891

The Bridge in 1894

Testing the Cantilever Bridge with 20 locomotives
Niagarapoetry.ca
Cantilever Bridge in front of Whirlpool Bridge arch railway bridge

other way round
both from Niagara Falls Railway Museum


Notes and references


External links

{{commons category, Niagara Cantilever Bridge * Francis E. Griggs, Jr.
''Niagara Cantilever''
Journal of Bridge Engineering, Volume 8, Issue 1, pp. 2–11 (January/February 2003)

on Michigan Central Cantilever Bridge
"The Test of Cantilever"
poem by James Walton Jackson Cantilever bridges Bridges completed in 1883 International railway lines Bridges in Niagara Falls, Ontario Bridges in Niagara Falls, New York Michigan Central Railroad bridges Bridges over the Niagara River Railroad bridges in New York (state) Railway bridges in the Regional Municipality of Niagara Steel bridges in the United States Steel bridges in Canada Cantilever bridges in Canada Cantilever bridges in the United States Truss bridges in Canada Truss bridges in the United States