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Caption: This image I guess would appeal mostly to the Niagara 'locals', of which there seem to be quite a few of on RP. I was a fan of this old 'dive' with great food, Simons, at the foot of Bridge St down by the river. Its days were numbered; the fly carcasses in the windows must have numbered in the thousands by the time it closed; and I had to catch a pic of it in case it was torn down to make way for some new 'dive'. But the building is still there as far as I know. Empty.
So I am on the embankment of the CN line that goes over the rail/auto bridge, watching for CPs #523 so I can catch it on the bridge of the old line that led thru the Clifton Hill downtown area. I had no idea the track would end up being gone (2001) before the restaurant was. CP 5577 and 5421 are the power.
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Nice catch of that Fiero.
Street View still has it there as of last summer. Looks like it became tourist info for a bit.
You certainly know the best ‘dives’ to eat in Arnold! I still owe you a lunch….so hope to see you soon, like in the fall! And speaking of dives….nicely done to think of including it within this photo. Helps capture ‘a time’…the history of not just the CP on the old Michigan Central, but the way the Falls used to be.
Nice to hear from you, Todd!!! The year 2020 sure has been messed up; but we will meet again, somehow, eventually. Does look like it will not be until the fall.
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Mr. Mooney, you don’t. need to be a “Falls local” to know about Simon’s. My Dad used to eat here on his customer road trips to the Falls in the 1940’s and ‘50’s. That’s how I was introduced to Simon’s decades ago, and I introduced my son Stephen on some of our railway trips to the Falls. Was a sad day when it closed. Most notable breakfast was a takeout – Sandy, myself and 2 young kids were returning (on a Sat morning) from New York City on the briefly run Amtrak Fri overnight sleeper in the mid-1990’s . During crew change Amtrak to VIA , ran to Simon’s from the station, got 4 large breakfast takeouts & coffee, ran back to the train with 5 minutes to spare before departure. We sat in our 2 double bedrooms opened up into a master room, and enjoyed our delicious breakfast , watching the vineyards and the Lake Ontario shoreline. Thank you Amtrak and Simon’s for a wonderful memory, and to you Albert for a great picture of Simon’s – oh, yes, a nice touch to see CP 5577 above River Road as well ! Thank you for this.
Awh, railwayguy….you must have a great memory for the fun things in life. I heartily guffawed over your story; running in for breakfast and rushing back to the train! I did not ever live in Niagara Falls, but I knew Simons well. It was that special eatery I fondly call a “dive” because of the decor; old license plates (which I love) over the hood of the counter; old magazines, papers and just neat junk all over the place. Not where you would take a society lady.
) One day many moons ago (the late) Reg Button and I were having a gab after shooting some trains in NY state and we got to talking restaurants. It was rather shocking we both picked the same place as our Number 1. It was The Barn in Retsof, NY, and it was incredibly similar to Simons, only it sported twice as many dead flies.
This is a really neat shot! I’m a big fan of what I like to call “whole scene” shots.