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.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
Ellicottville_Depot.jpg 77822 bytes

2/49

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

3/49

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

4/49

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

5/49	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

6/49	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. image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit) 51-washout.jpg 211513 bytes

7/49	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. image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit) 53-RR_tie-washout.jpg 216239 bytes

8/49

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.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
66-row@pwrvista.jpg 216687 bytes

9/49	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

10/49

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

11/49

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

12/49

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.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
55-washout-bent_rail.jpg 237139 bytes

13/49

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.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
62-washout-above.jpg 238791 bytes

14/49

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.
image/jpeg, 960x1280 (24bit)
49-washout.jpg 238915 bytes

15/49

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

16/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 11:12:31 2006
Subject: The Giant Rock signage.
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24-giant_rock.jpg 248502 bytes

17/49

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

18/49

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

19/49

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

20/49

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

21/49

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.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
44-rockslide.jpg 293066 bytes

22/49

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

23/49

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.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
67-tunnel_remains.jpg 304577 bytes

24/49

From: "Dan Syrcher" sst703 -AT- verizon -DOT- net
Date: Thu Sep 28 12:35:43 2006
Subject: The same wall as above further along.
image/jpeg, 1280x960 (24bit)
40-block_wall.jpg 308749 bytes

25/49

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

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