Railfan.net - Dan Syrcher's Remnants of the Niagara Falls Gorge Railway

Dan Syrcher's Remnants of the Niagara Falls Gorge Railway
Also see more of Dan's Railfan Photos Here and
West Shore Dismantlement page and
Buffalo Central Terminal Aerial Photos

It has been a number of years since I found out about the Gorge Railway that once operated along the lower Niagara River. I've read short stories in books and have seen a few websites from people that have hiked the gorge. But I have never seen anything significant about what remains of the Gorge Railway. So that's why I decided to hike the former Right-of-Way and to photograph what I found, which is surprisingly a lot. The view of the gorge along the way is inspiring.

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All photos © Dan Syrcher unless otherwise noted.
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Photos 1 through 25 of 49 total [Next (26 to 49)] [All]

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1/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Sep 19 15:23:16 2006
Subject: This photo was taken at the beginning [top] of the Gorge Railway in Niagara Falls, NY. The ROW is not viewable due to heavy growth over the years. The row goes down the side of the gorge and goes underneath the Suspension Bridges before coming to an end at the final rock fall which is the treed in area on the immediate north side of the bridges. Not the viewable rock face.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
01-MCR-Susp_Bridge.jpg 166547 bytes

2/49	From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net Date: Tue Sep 19 15:29:30 2006 Subject: This is the row along the rock face looking back up towards Niagara Falls. [South] image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit) 05-row-cliff_face.jpg 368737 bytes

3/49	From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net Date: Tue Sep 19 15:35:54 2006 Subject: Same position as above but looking down the row [North] image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit) 06-ROW-cliff_face.jpg 383176 bytes

4/49	From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net Date: Tue Sep 19 15:52:00 2006 Subject: Remains of the original Suspension Bridge image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit) 07-abutment_remains1.jpg 359371 bytes

5/49	From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net Date: Tue Sep 19 15:58:11 2006 Subject: Remains of a drainage pipe that has collapsed. image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit) 09-Gorge_Railway_remains2.jpg 273658 bytes

6/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Sep 19 16:06:47 2006
Subject: While doing this hike I really didn’t expect to see anything left of the Railway. So I was excited to see some rails still around. This set of rails is part of the washout that put the railway out of business. This is the end of the path from Niagara Falls. I had to enter the Whirlpool State Park and explore from the other side of this rock fall. This rockfall was much to steep for me to attempt to cross.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
10-Gorge_Railway_remains.jpg 466688 bytes

7/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Sep 19 16:18:07 2006
Subject: These are the steps at the Whirlpool State Park looking down. Going down is easy. The steps enter the railways row a little more than halfway between Suspension bridge and the power vista. To explore the line you’ll have to hike in both directions. Both directions offer something to see.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
13-Whirlpool_stairs-down.jpg 355634 bytes

8/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Sep 19 16:40:27 2006
Subject: This is a view from Whirlpool State Park looking north towards the Power Vista. The railways row is about ľ down from the top of the gorge, goes around the bend and ends just before the power vista.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
14-powervista.jpg 113632 bytes

9/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Sep 19 17:04:45 2006
Subject: This is along the row at the whirlpool. A large rock slide is just around the corner. The aerial tramway is also in view. I headed south from the Whirlpool stairs first.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
15-whirlpool_view.jpg 230322 bytes

10/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Sep 19 17:20:41 2006
Subject: This photo was taken while standing on a stone block wall looking straight down about 50 feet. Notice how the wall is stepped. There is stenciling in several areas along the row that indicate work was done to these walls around 1918.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
16-stoneblock_wall.jpg 345567 bytes

11/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 10:47:04 2006
Subject: A view from the path showing the jet boats that cruise up and down the Niagara River.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
18-pwrboat.jpg 229158 bytes

12/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 10:52:46 2006
Subject: An I Beam that didn’t survive the rock fall. There are several I Beams along the row. All of them bent in some way.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
19-I_Beam.jpg 337288 bytes

13/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:00:34 2006
Subject: A view looking North along the river. A view the passengers of the Gorge Railway no doubt enjoyed as much as I did.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
20-pwrboat.jpg 192118 bytes

14/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:06:28 2006
Subject: This is Giant Rock. I have seen many historical photos of this rock and I was watching for it along the way. In the historical photos there is no overgrowth at all. I almost walked past it. It is located to the north of the Whirlpool steps and before the Power Vista.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
22-giant_rock.jpg 310250 bytes

15/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:12:31 2006
Subject: The Giant Rock signage.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
24-giant_rock.jpg 248502 bytes

16/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:20:12 2006
Subject: A better view of Giant Rock. I am looking South. Giant Rock is located to the North of the Whirlpool steps and before the power vista.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
26-giant_rock.jpg 288804 bytes

17/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:28:22 2006
Subject: One of many rock falls along the entire row from Niagara Falls all the way to Lewiston.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
28-rockfall.jpg 408233 bytes

18/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:45:33 2006
Subject: This photo was taken at water lever due to the row running into a large fenced in area. I believe this area is due to a huge rock fall. Due to the heavy overgrowth you can't see it unless you're looking down from the top.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
30-riverview_under_ROW.jpg 243061 bytes

19/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:49:14 2006
Subject: A small rail sticking out of the ground.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
32-small_rail.jpg 256623 bytes

20/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:54:37 2006
Subject: The same small rail. To give a better perspective of this small rail I photographed it while holding it. After reviewing it I’m not sure if this is an I beam or a small rail. It’s much smaller than the other more standard size rails laying around.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
33-small_rail.jpg 130802 bytes

21/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 12:00:05 2006
Subject: Overhanging rock face along the row. There are many of these along the entire route. Always pay attention.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
34-rock_overhang.jpg 316526 bytes

22/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 12:06:31 2006
Subject: A wide view of the same retaining wall in the next picture.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
35-stoneblock_wall.jpg 327185 bytes

23/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Sep 19 17:27:15 2006
Subject: This is a larger section of a stone block retaining wall further up river. This is the area where the 1918 stenciling is. This is located between the Whirlpool and Suspension Bridges.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
36-stoneblock_wall.jpg 320513 bytes

24/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 12:19:45 2006
Subject: This is a good shot of the remaining area of the row. The row sits about half way between the river and the exposed rock face all the way to the bridges. You’ll notice the trees next to the bridges from the water level all the way up to the top of the gorge. This is the area of the final rock fall that put the railway out of business. A good view of the rapids.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
37-rapis-washout.jpg 300573 bytes

25/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 12:30:20 2006
Subject: A stone block wall being reinforced but a single rail.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
39-block_wall.jpg 322773 bytes

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