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: Fri Feb 19 21:08:39 2010
Subject: A picture of a picture of the BR&P depot in Ellicottville, NY. The picture is currently sitting behind the bar at the Depot Restaurant across from Holiday Valley Ski Resort.
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Ellicottville_Depot.jpg 77822 bytes

2/49	From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net Date: Wed Nov 8 12:28:57 2006 Subject: A zoomed in photo of where the tunnel use to be. This photo marks the end of my exploration of the Gorge Railway from Niagara Falls to Lewiston. image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit) 68-tunnel_remains.jpg 226582 bytes

3/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 12:19:43 2006
Subject: The one thing that I was looking for along the whole line was the bored out tunnel that the trolley past through. I asked many people I saw along the trail but nobody new for sure. But then I met this older gentlemen [in the background] about it and he told me it didn't exist anymore and that the tunnel caved in about 50 years ago. If you look at the large rock outcropping in the upper portion of the photo and imagine the tunnel arching to the right...that's where the tunnel use to be.
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67-tunnel_remains.jpg 304577 bytes

4/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 12:09:28 2006
Subject: I'm standing at the end [or the beginning] of the upper trail at the foot of the Power Vista and looking North. The path gradually makes its way down to the ROW and continues on to Lewiston.
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66-row@pwrvista.jpg 216687 bytes

5/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 11:58:08 2006
Subject: Twisted I beam. After finding this there wasn't anything more to see. The ROW begins to vanish after this and the path begins to deviate up the side and ends at the Power Vista on its north side.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
64-bent_Ibeam.jpg 282148 bytes

6/49	From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net Date: Wed Nov 8 11:49:48 2006 Subject: Standing a little closer to the edge of the washout from the upper path. It's a long way down. image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit) 63-washout-above.jpg 335435 bytes

7/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 11:42:36 2006
Subject: This is the washout from what's left of the ROW. The roadbed was about 7 feet high. All that is now sitting on the bottom of the gorge with all the rails tossed around. A great view from above.
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62-washout-above.jpg 238791 bytes

8/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 11:32:06 2006
Subject: This is the upper path. A large section of overhanging rock. I didn't waste any time walking past this area. The ROW is just to the right of the path. The washout is still ahead.
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61-rock_overhang-row.jpg 328791 bytes

9/49	From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net Date: Wed Nov 8 11:24:35 2006 Subject: This is the remains of a concrete drainage pipe. It too lost to Mother Nature. image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit) 60-remains.jpg 344014 bytes

10/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 11:17:05 2006
Subject: This photo is from the lower trail as I walked back to the beginning of the trail and to begin hiking the upper path.
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59-rockface.jpg 445012 bytes

11/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 11:10:22 2006
Subject: Another rail on the right and a bent I beam on the left. Even steel can't hold a candle to Mother Nature.
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55-washout-bent_rail.jpg 237139 bytes

12/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 11:05:03 2006
Subject: Climbing further up the washout and looking straight up. Still can't see the top of the gorge.
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54-washout-up.jpg 352084 bytes

13/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Wed Nov 8 10:55:26 2006
Subject: I didn't expect to find any RR ties along the entire line but I actually found two at this location.
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53-RR_tie-washout.jpg 216239 bytes

14/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Nov 7 22:17:12 2006
Subject: More rails among the rocks. There are 3 rails in this photo.
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51-washout.jpg 211513 bytes

15/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Nov 7 22:10:37 2006
Subject: This is another photo looking further up the washout. There is a rail buring in the brush. This view is not even half way to the top of the gorge. Another photo further down the list will be from the top of the washout with a great view. That view will be from the upper path.
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50-washout.jpg 446467 bytes

16/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Nov 7 21:59:46 2006
Subject: I'm now in the washout looking up. I'm zoomed in on aother rail. I believe I counted about 7 or 8 rails tossed around in this washout.
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49-washout.jpg 238915 bytes

17/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Nov 7 21:53:15 2006
Subject: This is a big wash out that sits up river beyond the official path. This photo shows one rail in view and I am actually looking down. The river is at the top of the page. There are more rails in this wash out above and behind me. I have to climb down this wash out in order to climb back up.

The lower path stops here. Official or otherwise.
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48-bottom_of_washout.jpg 431660 bytes

18/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Tue Nov 7 21:34:36 2006
Subject: This photo is an I beam. This is viewed from the lower path starting at Art Park in Lewiston.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
47-I_Beam.jpg 475879 bytes

19/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 13:17:05 2006
Subject: I'm not looking forward to climbing the Whirlpool steps back to the top after a long day of exploring the route. The following pictures were taken a month later and are from the Power Vista to Lewiston both on the upper and lower paths.
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46-whirlpool_stairs-up.jpg 320387 bytes

20/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 13:09:05 2006
Subject: A rock fall taking out a drain pipe.
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44-rockslide.jpg 293066 bytes

21/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 12:53:41 2006
Subject: This is what’s left of the Rapids Station observation stop. The retaining wall can be seen to the left of the picture.
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42-trolley_station.jpg 318856 bytes

22/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 12:42:12 2006
Subject: Overhanging railing along the stone wall that preceeds the Rapids Station stop along the route.
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41-trolley_station.jpg 310622 bytes

23/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 12:35:43 2006
Subject: The same wall as above further along.
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40-block_wall.jpg 308749 bytes

24/49

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.
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39-block_wall.jpg 322773 bytes

25/49

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

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