LwS S1, E6: New York Central's Tower 65 in Niagara Falls, NY
Episode 6 of Living With Steam features recordings made at New York Central's Tower 65 in December of 1948. This area was known as "Suspension Bridge" on all New York Central timetables due to its history as the location where the first railroad suspension bridge was built back in 1855. The trackage around Tower 65 was extremely complicated and confusing. Please refer to these photos to help better explain the train movements you'll be hearing in this episode.
Below are some views of the original Union Station; built in 1887 and demolished in 1964.
This Erie engine may be coming off their tracks which were located northwest of the Union Station. You can see the very end of the station's platform and a baggage cart.
Here are some views of the original Suspension Bridge towers.
In Episode 6, I say that "Deep trusses—never before seen on a large suspension bridge - lined the sides of the bridge and joined the two decks so that the structure looked like a cage. The trussed sides and the upper and lower decks, which spanned 825 feet formed a "hollow straight beam," reinforcing the rigidity of the bridge." Here are some views of the interior and side of the bridge which gave it the appearance of being a "hollow beam."
Below is an incredible view of Tower 65 from just outside of Union Station. The same baggage cart is shown in this picture as in the earlier picture with the Erie engine in the shot.
Thanks to the Abandoned Rails Buffalo & Western New York Facebook group for making many of these images available.
Here are some shots of Tower 65. John Prophet may have sat in this exact spot to make his recordings from the Tower. Given the fact that he hated the cold, he never would have stood outside the tower to make a recording in December... even if the temperature was around 48 degrees.
This fantastic image shows a Lehigh Valley engine pulling a freight out of their yard just north of Tower 65; which you can see in this picture. The train is heading south on their tracks... or really, New York Central tracks which the LV leased.
Although the Erie Railroad had a passenger station in Niagara Falls, NY on 4th street, it was demolished in 1930 and all trains on the Erie would then stop at Union Station. The Erie also had a small station in the Lasalle section of Niagara Falls.
After the original Suspension Bridge was completely demolished in 1897, the new Whirlpool Rapids Bridge took its place for trains on the Michigan Central (and New York Central) to get into Canada. Here are some views of the newer bridge.
Here is a shot of a NYC 0-6-0 switching engine sitting in front of Union Station. The date of this photograph is unknown.
Here is a NYC 2-8-0 Consolidation-type engine similar to the one heard in Episode 6 of Living With Steam. The 2-8-0 engines were VERY heavy, and their wheel configuration allowed them to navigate very tight turns.
Below is a system map of the Pere Marquette Railway. You can see St. Thomas on the map as well as "Suspension Bridge", Niagara Falls and Buffalo.
It may be confusing to follow the movements of the Pere Marquette train that John Prophet recorded as featured in episode 6. Below is a map where I've drawn out the possible route of the train to better explain what may have happened. Click on the image below to open it in a light box, then zoom in on the map to read the details more clearly.
Suspension Bridge was truly an engineering marvel. Here are some additional images of Charles Roebling's original bridge.
I visited the site where the original Suspension Bridge was located. Obviously, the bridge designed by John Roebling in 1855 was removed in 1897, and the current Michigan Central/Whirlpool Rapids Bridge took it's place. Sadly, that bridge is now abandoned and cut off from any railroad roadbed that may still exist in some small form or another. But if you look carefully, you may still find traces of the supports that were used in the original Suspension Bridge down in the gorge.
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