Christine Whelan FEO, April 27, 2023, VOL. 4 ISSUE 18
The Bridgeburg Train Bridge turns 150 years old this year — the original bridge, that is.
The International Railway Bridge, as it’s more officially known, is a two-span swing bridge carrying the Stamford Subdivision of the Canadian National Railway across the Niagara River between Fort Erie and Buffalo, New York.
Before bridges crossed the Upper Niagara River, it was crossed by several ferries running between Fort Erie and Buffalo. Because of unpredictable currents and issues with ice several months out of the year, this method of travel proved to be quite challenging and proposals for a bridge began to surface.
On May 18, 1870, The American and Dominion International Bridge Companies met to merge into one corporation for the purpose of building this bridge.
Building an Enduring Bridge
C.S. Gzowski & Co. won the contract to complete the main piers and final assembly construction. At the same time, the bridge steel and sections went to Phoenix Iron Works in Pennsylvania.
The construction of the bridge was recognized as a major technological challenge.
The bridge would span the shortest section of the river but far from ideal. At this point, the river depth stood at 14 meters, and the current flowed at 19 kilometres per hour. The continued damage from the ice could prove dangerous to the piers.
Construction began in 1871 with dredging three metres of gravel from the river bed. The eight piers that secured the bridge across the river were constructed from locally quarried limestone and designed to break up ice flows rather than have them dashed against them. Phoenix Ironworks constructed the bridge portions in twelve sections using a standard Baldwin Truss pattern. Each section was floated in, raised on special pontoons, and secured in place.
While the Canadian side of the bridge was fixed, the American side featured two swing sections. The sections were around Unity Island, allowing ships to still access the harbours at Black Rock and Buffalo. A single railway track crossed the bridge, and a separate section allowed for pedestrian traffic.
The bridge was opened on November 3, 1873, almost two years after the date originally envisioned. Construction cost $1.5 million and spanned 1113 metres. It was constructed without the loss of any lives, which, according to Wikipedia, was uncommon for a major construction project in that era.
Bridgeburg Station came into existence in 1873 when the bridge was created. This was the beginning of the downtown Fort Erie area or the Bridgeburg District.
Winds of Change
In 1901, a completely new superstructure replaced the 1873 bridge. The original 1873 piers were reused to support this new bridge, and these piers are the only thing that survives from the 1873 bridge, according to HistoricBridges.org.
The pedestrian walkway was removed from the main span.
Almost a decade later, operations on the bridge were suddenly suspended in February 1993 due to problems with some of the stone piers. Canadian National spent $2 million to refurbish these and get the bridge back into operation.
Despite a number of alterations that took place in 2000, this bridge remains a significant example of its type, noteworthy for its length and use of pinned connections. The bridge also has an attractive portal bracing with decorative knee bracing and a portal cresting with the name International Bridge on it, according to HistoricBridges.org.
100 Years
A plaque commemorating the bridge’s 100th anniversary sits next to the bridge. It reads, “Erected by the Association of Professional Engineers of the Province of Ontario and the Engineering Institute of Canada in honour of an outstanding Canadian Engineer, Sir Casimir Gzowski on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the International Railway Bridge across the Niagara River between Canada and the United States of America. July 1973.
The Bridge Could Tell Stories
Over its 150 years, the train bridge, if it could talk, could share some wild and rare stories of the comings and goings and hangings out for the Canadian-American border. Only a handful have been captured by newspaper clippings, social media posts, and online documentation.
Among those are, according to Wikipedia, in 1903, baseball superstar “Big” Ed Delahanty, age 35, died in an attempted crossing after being removed from a passenger train for being too drunk and abusive to passengers, threatening some with a razor after “five whiskies”.
The bridge’s busiest day ever was July 10, 1916, when 264 trains crossed. Imagine that?
According to an old newspaper clipping from 1965 with the headline, “Bridge Suicide Attempt Is Prevented by Priest”, Father Endres climbed a 35-foot fireman’s ladder to get near the 23-year-old ex-marine who was perched 60 feet above the water. After 30 minutes of pleading by the priest, he finally persuaded the man to climb to safety
Generations of youth of the past spent many hot days jumping from the bridge and terrifying their elders. The headline for an article in a 1967 newspaper read, “Children Toy with Death in The Bridge.”
As told in the write-up, “Young swimmers who are using the International Railroad Bridge as a high diving board into the Niagara River are causing concern for the Fort Erie Police Department and the investigative division of the Canadian National Railways.”
The article described the safety issues “There was a danger to the children, not only from the leap into the rock-studded water but from electrocution from power lines.”
A posted 1984 newspaper clipping shows a few kids diving into the water with one of the bridge’s stone piers in the background, signed by many kids. The caption continues the message, “However, what these boys are doing is very illegal as CN Police and Niagara Regional Police chase them off the train bridge regularly.”
Officials urged parents to warn their children of the many dangers that accompanied the thrill of jumping off the train bridge.
Today, resulting memories are expressed in the comment threads of these posts, with several sharing their sense of relief that they survived, now thinking back on the risk factors, both physical and legal.
Comments on Facebook posts reveal that school projects, essays, and speeches were written and recited about the history of the bridge as part of the 1970s-1980s public school curriculum.
And how many times has this bridge felt the crunch at its underbelly when trucks have attempted to fit under the 3.3M height only to rip the top open like a can opener to a can, as one social media comment described?
Allan Hackett posted on his Facebook Group, Fort Erie – “Our Town”, that on November 13, 2020 — Friday the 13th — he was directing traffic at the underpass. Two vehicles hit the bridge that day.
With Respect
This bridge is part of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark for the “Bridges of Niagara Falls, New York – Ontario, United States – Canada
The ASCE Landmark designation states: “Through 150 years, a system of bridges has been built across the Niagara River near the famous falls that cross the American-Canadian border. The effort to bridge the two nations began in the mid-1800s. In total, 15 structures have been created, though some did not stand the test of time. Collapses caused by natural forces plagued many of the early structures.
Others that stand today include the Peace Bridge (steel arch), the Rainbow Bridge (steel arch), the Railway Steel Arch Bridge, the Whirlpool Bridge (spandrel-braced arch), and the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge (steel arch).
Photo Train crossing the bridge – provided by Sherry Dixon
