|
Caption: Central Ave bridge - a location, somewhat classic - many of the photos taken and shared from Fort Erie on railpictures.ca have been from, or showing this classic structure, such as John Eull's Amtrak Niagara Rainbow shot, 1975 or Arnold Mooney's classic shots FROM the bridge, and lastly, Bill Thomson's New York Central E's under Central Ave, 1963 when the structure was not yet 10 years old. Built by the Bridge and Tank Company, Hamilton Bridge Division, Hamilton, Ontario, you can bet your stars the steel was made at Stelco or Dofasco, a connection that the Canadian industrial might the post 50's war boom could provide.
You'd think this is might be a eulogy, right? Well, it kinda is. This structure is about to come down, still in service, and I decided to spend some time documenting a bit more of the structure and incorporating it directly into a photo, and this is one of what I came up with, framed in the warped, rusting, and fading structure, likely to be replaced with something of far less charm, of contemporary design. For a structure built in 1952-1954 it sure seems much older. This bridge could last a few more months yet, maybe a year, tops. Also neat, the hydro wires that marred the shot a few months ago are now gone.
What about the train? NS H53 (on CN Rails - called CN M36931 by CN), the daily Buffalo to Fort Erie transfer, the last NS train operating into Ontario directly, is passing under Central Ave, only to sit at the border for a 2 to 3 hour wait before crossing.
|
Lots of great Fort Erie shots above ^^ have a look
A great spot to watch trains.. just don’t expect to see more than two or three trains in daylight 
I’m glad you pointed out the bridge will be coming down soon. If I see a construction worker around there soon, I’ll ask for a specific time frame. I wish Fort Erie would restore the bridge. I’ve seen enough truss bridges come down lately. I doubt it, but since CN no longer actively uses Fort Erie yard, could construction possibly detour CN trains over the Whirlpool Rapids bridge for a few days? Now that would be a sight to see.
I hope to get out to Fort Erie one last time before it happens. And Dan, if thats true you gotta let me know. Its been some time since a freight has crossed in Niagara Falls
Is the Whirlpool Rapids bridge the bridge in Arnold Mooney’s photo?http://www.railpictures.ca/?attachment_id=6669
No, JP, Whirlpool is at Niagara Falls. This is Fort Erie. Arnold was standing on this road bridge, for his photo.
OK, thanks.
Whirlpool is the one that also shares traffic with road traffic underneath the tracks
You were treading on hallowed “Mooney” ground Steve. A nice shot too.