December 20 – Spanning Niagara Falls

December 20, 2021

Posted on December 20, 2021

This is an update of my post published on December 20, 2010:

On this day in 1883, there was a “load test” and a ceremony for the opening of the Michigan Central Railway Bridge, a cantilever bridge that linked Niagara Falls, Canada, and Niagara Falls, New York.

There had already been a first crossing of this bridge, complete with dignitaries, on December 6, followed by a second train with newspaper reporters, and a plaque had already been erected. On the December 20, in front of a crowd of more than 10,000 people, ten locomotives pulling twelve loaded gravel cars crossed the bridge going one direction while ten locomotives pulling twelve more loaded gravel cars crossed the bridge going the opposite direction. At 12:08 p.m.—the appointed time for the test—the trains passed each other, and both sets of track were fully occupied. The bridge passed the load test without a hitch, and the trains blew their whistles in celebration.

A banquet for 4,000 invited guests was held on the American side, and the rest of the crowd was allowed to walk back and forth across the bridge. (Actually, this bridge was meant for rail travel only, not for pedestrians, but on this special day, pedestrians were allowed.)

For more on this and other bridges, here is a history of bridges over Niagara Falls.

When we say “a bridge over Niagara Falls,” we
mean a bridge over the Niagara River, near the falls.

What is a cantilever bridge?

A cantilever is a beam supported only on one end. Two such cantilevers meet at the center of a cantilever bridge. Note that different cantilever bridges can look quite…well, different!

Arguably the most famous cantilever bridge
is Scotland’s Firth of Forth Bridge.

Explore bridge types here.

Another way cantilevers are used is in architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous house design “Falling Water” uses cantilevers to create overhanging balconies.