Great Gorge Route

Car of the Niagara Gorge Railroad

The Great Gorge Route or Niagara Belt Line was a trolley belt line encompassing the Niagara Gorge, operated by the International Railway and Niagara Gorge Railroad. Many dignitaries rode this line and they used to use a flat car with search light to illuminate the Niagara Whirlpool at night (during the tourist season).

Beginning

The Great Gorge Route was formed in 1908 from the Niagara Falls Park and River Railway and the Niagara Gorge Railroad.^{[clarification needed]}

The route

The Canadian route ran from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Queenston, Ontario with a bridge crossing at Queenston. This side was on the top of the Gorge.

The American side ran in the gorge from Youngstown, New York to Niagara Falls, New York, where it gradually ascended to cross the Upper Steel Arch Bridge. On the way it passed under the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and the Michigan Central Railway Bridge.

Accidents

Many rockslides, some fatal, occurred throughout the railroad's history on the American side.

A very unlucky car of passengers were passing beneath a garbage chute in Niagara Falls, New York on Friday June 13, 1913 when it broke and buried the scene in garbage.

On July 7, 1915 a trolley with an extreme overload of 157 people ran away and crashed approaching the docks at Queenston, killing 15. The line was rebuilt.

Perhaps the most frightening accident took place in 1917, when a car took 50 lives into the raging river itself.

Decline

The heyday of the railroad was short, and business faltered with the rise of the automobile.

Starting June 24, 1928, all trolleys operated with one-man crews on the Canadian side.

Despite this cost cutting, all Canadian operations ceased on September 11, 1932.

The rest of the railroad closed on September 13, 1935 because of a rockslide near the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge.

Parts of the right-of-way are now foot paths.

External links

• Images from the Niagara Falls Public Library (Ont.)