International Railway Bridge - Buffalo, NY
Posted by: 
Rayman
N 42° 55.765 W 078° 54.340
17T E 670903 N 4755104
The International Railway Bridge crosses the Niagara River and connects Buffalo, NY to Fort Erie, Ontario.
Waymark Code: WMJVT
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 07/31/2006
Views: 99
In 1857, the Grand Trunk Railway (Canadian Rail Corporation) proposed the construction of a railway bridge spanning the Upper Niagara River. The Dominion Parliament and the New York State Legislature drafted an agreement for the construction of the "International Bridge". Funding was delayed because of war reconstruction. In 1870, funding amounting to $1.5 million became available. A charter was granted to the International Bridge Commission to begin construction.
On May 19th 1870, a contract was signed between the International Bridge Company and Casimir Stanislaus Gzowski and D.L. MacPherson of the engineering firm of Gzowski-MacPherson for the construction of a single track iron railway bridge to span the Niagara River from Fort Erie to Buffalo. Assistants on this project included chief engineers, Edmund P. Hannaford, Joseph Hobson and George Hughs.
On July 13, 1873, work on the last of the water tight caissons which would support the bridge was completed. The steel superstructure was built soon afterwards.
The International Railway Bridge was opened on November 3, 1873. The bridge was officially opened by Mr. Richard Potter, president of the Grand Trunk Railroad and Mr. C.J. Brydges, president of the International Bridge Company. The first locomotive across the new bridge was the diamond stacked wood burner, Scotia piloted by engineer Enoch Bown. The original bridge was designed to included plans for a combination rail line, roadway and sidewalk. Economics finally dictated that the bridge include a only rail line and pedestrian walk way.
In 1900, the superstructure of the bridge was redesigned. The pedestrian walkway was removed to allow room for another rail bed.
The total length of this bridge is 3,651.5 feet (1113m) in three distinct sections:
Canadian shoreline across Niagara River to Squaw Island - 1,967.5 feet (599.6m)
the width of Squaw Island - 1,167 feet (355.7m)
across the Black Rock Canal - 517 feet (157.5m)
On July 10th 1916, 264 trains crossed the bridge in a twenty four hour period. Today the bridge remains in use averaging ten to fifteen trains per day.
In February of 1993, the International Railway Bridge was closed temporarily because of structural problems. As a result, the Canadian National Railway spent $2 million dollars in refurbishing and reinforcing the piers (caissons) on which the superstructure rests.
The coordinates listed are for a nearby parking lot on Squaw Island. You can get to the parking lot by crossing the railroad swing bridge from Niagara Street. Most mapping programs list it as Squaw Island Bridge, and shows it ending just as you get onto the island, but in reality it goes much further. There are plenty of viewing points along the bike bath.
Bridge Type: Truss
Bridge Usage: Railroad
Moving Bridge: Not listed
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