Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-03-27
The Suspension Bridge at Niagara.

The Suspension Bridge at Niagara.
On Wednesday afternoon, the 18th instant
the new suspension bridge at Niagara Falls
was crossed by a locomotive and train of cars
The directors of the Bridge Company, several
directors and officers of the New York Central
and Great Western railroads, and many others
were present and participated in the brief ex-
cursion ride. The locomotive Milo, weighing
thirty.two tons, and three open freight cars,
crowded with men, made two trips each way.
The Niagara Falls International Bridge Com
pany exists by virtue of charters given it by
the Canadian Parliament and the New York
Legislature. The first wire suspension bridge
was finished in l848, and was built by Charles
Ellet. 1t was a light and airy structure, o
mere spiderweb, compared with the present
substantial railroad bridge. The first one cost
less than $4,000 For several years it an
swered every purpose and formed the common
highway between New York and the Provinces
The tolls of the bridge constantly increased,
and last year amounted to over $4O,0 900. The
stock was the best in the country. and was not
to be had at any price. The completion and
opening of the Great Western Railroad to the
Falls rendered necessary new suspension
bridge for railroad purposes. New stock was
issued and the bridge, under the control Of
John A. Roebling, as engineer and architect,
is now nearly finished, at a cost of about
100000.
1t is entirely impossible by words, without
diagrams, to convey very correct idea of the
suspension bridge; but we will give few Of
the figures relating to it, and attempt brief
general description:
Length ofspan from centre to,cen-
ire OF towers. 500 feet
Height flower above the rock on
the American side. ............~ IS II"
Canadian slde.. IS
floor oil railway...... 60 g
Height OF track above the rock on
water. ................... 25s
Number of wire cables.
Diameter of each cable. .......... 101 inches
Number OF No. wires in each ca
bic. ............,.... 1868
Ultimate aggregate strength Of ca
bles. l2,4OO tons
Weight Of superstructure. 500
4" and maximum loads ,250
Maximum weight the cable and
stays will support. :........ 1900 "
Base OF towers. ................. 10 II. So
II op OF tower r.................... +"
Length Of each upper cabe.. 1856! feet
: lower cable. ........... 100 F"
Depth of anchor pits below the
face of the rock. ...........-.... 20 10 80 F"
Outside width of railroad hoor..... 81 !"
Inside. .................... %
Total length Of wire in miles. 1000
1t will be remembered that the old suspen.
sion bridge was hung by cables passing over
wooden towers, and the whole affair was lgh,
and apparently frail structure This, however,
has stood all the blasts that rage through the
river gorge for eight or nine years, light as il
was. The present bridge is, however, much
heavier, and has every appearance of stability
1t does not vibrate to the foot fall it gives no
oscillation under a heavy-loaded wagon, and
ha fba ,s
ceptible than upon any of the strongest truss
bridges. We stood upon the bridge once when
the train passed and we rode over once, and
each time were astonished at the frmness aud
immobility Of the structure.
In building the new bridge the old one was
used as platform. The wooden towers have
given place TO solid stone towers, and the airy
old bridge to a firm smooth carriage way.
The immense cables, lO3 inches in diameter
formed of wires, bound together by wrapping
also of wire, are deeply imbedded in the rock
on each shore, and securely fastened into great
anchor plates. They pass then to the tops OF
the towers and fall away in inexpressbe beau
tful. curves, and, rising again to the tower on
the other shore, pass to their secure anchorage
in the solid rock. These cables, are painted
white, and resemble in appearance a white
birch log as it lies in the woods. From the
cables at distances of eight or ten feet other
smaller iron ropes drop, on which the wooden
and iron truss work of the bridge is suspended.
Cables cross and recross in every direction
essential to give strength and to obviate lateral
or vertical oscillation, and to equalize as far as
may be the pressure over the whole bridge
The railway is laid on the top of the bridge:
and is made of heavy iron castings, fastened to
timbers of great length and size This track
is about twenty-eight feet above the carriage
floor. The carriage floor is therefore an encio
sure. 1t is the bottom of tabular structure.
on the top of which is the railway. This upper
track is securely rallied in, and, though on
larger and more magnificent scale, resembles
the old bridge, familiar to most Of our readers
The carriage floor is nineteen feet wide. The
inside width of the upper floor is about twenty.
two feet. In the centre of this is the iron
trackway. The track-way is arranged for three
guages, while in fact it occupies only the space
of one. 1t is in this wise: An ordinary track
is laid, the rails six feet apart This is the
Erie guage Between these rails are two 9th.
ers four feet eight-and a-half inches apart. This
is the New York central guage; and from the
south inside rail to the north outside rail IS five
feet six inches, or the Canada ruage. The ar
rangement is simple but ingenious. The
switches are distant from the bridge on land.
and unless the trains that are to pass over the
bridge are switched upon their proper guages,
of course they come to stand-still remote from
the bridge. Thus there is no possible danger
from this source. 1t is proper to say that there
are three tracks upon the bridge. At the same
time only one train can occupy them at once,
as they are all in the compass Of single six.
foot track 1t is this track-way, and this alone,
that is leased TO the Canada road for forty five
thousand dollars a year, which they underlet
to the New York Central and such other roads
as may desire to use it. All the rest Of the
bridge, the carriage. way and the footways that
are beside the track-way, are reserved by the
Bridge Company. These last will give an in
come Of many thousand dollars above the forty