#john roebling

Replacing the International Railway Bridge, 1896-7, Niagara Falls New York.

John Roeblings famous rail suspension bridge, had become too small for the increasing size of train engines and length of trains by the 1890s. Yet it was too important to take out of service while being replaced, so engineer Leffert L Buck, who had been hired to build the new span, built the new bridge around the old. one, a feat made possible  by the the new bridge was an arch design, and would not interfere with the towers and cable of Mr Roeblings bridge.

When the new bridge was completed, the old bridge was dismantled, the last bits removed by August 27, 1897. The New Bridge took the uninspiring name of The Lower Steel Arch Bridge until 1937 when it was renamed the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge. 

Picnicing by the Niagara Railroad Bridge, Niagara Falls, New York.

Built by engineer John Roebling of Brooklyn Bridge Fame in 1855, The International Suspension Bridge, Its official name,  brought rail traffic across the Niagara River and the border of the United States and Canada until 1897. The bridge was considered an engineering marvel and attracted tourists who also came to view the Falls, which can be seen in the distance in the second photo.

It had finally become too small for the amount of traffic from the New York Central, the New York and Erie Railroad and Canada’s Great Western Railway, and was replaced by an arch bridge.