Welland Canal, Bridge 15
Encyclopedia
The Welland Canal Bridge 15 is a two-track Baltimore truss swing bridge
located in the disused section of the Welland Canal
within the city of Welland, Ontario
. This section of canal is now known as the Welland Recreational Waterway
. The bridge formerly carried the main line of the Canada Southern Railway
(CASO) over the canal.
As a result of the Welland Canal Relocation Project
in the early 1970’s, the CASO line was rerouted through the Townline Tunnel
, bypassing this bridge. One track crossing Bridge 15 remained in service as an interchange line between the Canadian National Railway
Canal Subdivision through Welland and the new Wainfleet Marshalling Yard at Wainfleet, Ontario
. In the late 1980’s, service on this line between Welland and Wainfleet ended and the track was removed between Wainfleet and a point a couple of hundred meters west of Bridge 15.
The bridge remains in use today exclusively to serve Vesuvius Industries in Welland. It is owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway
(CPR), but is not connected to any other CPR tracks. It is used only sporadically by Trillium Railway
, and chain link fence gates have recently been installed at both ends of the bridge to keep trespassers off.
Bridge 15 is visually similar to the Montrose Swing Bridge
located on the Welland River
approximately 15 km away, however that bridge is a Warren Truss, as opposed to the rarer Baltimore Truss of Bridge 15. The two bridges were constructed at approximately the same time. The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway
Swing Bridge over the canal (Bridge 8) at Thorold, Ontario
was also constructed at approximately the same time. That bridge, built for interurban
s and light electric freight locomotives, was a lighter construction and only carried a single track. Bridge 8 no longer exists.
During the early years of its existence, prior to the opening of the fourth canal, navigation was only possible to the east side of the bridge. Electrical power to operate the bridge was supplied via an overhead cable from the west shore. With the opening of the fourth canal, there was navigable water on both sides making an overhead wire impossible. Since the bridge was designed to have the power fed from overhead and not beneath, an underwater cable was run from the shore to the more northerly concrete fender (which protected the ends of the bridge from ships when it swung). A pole was erected on each fender, and a guy wire run between them directly over the bridge. The power cable was suspended from this guy wire to reach the top-hat-shaped device in the middle of the bridge which transferred the power to the rotating bridge. This top-hat, and the two poles on the fenders, are still visible today. This is a relatively unusual method of providing power to a swing bridge.
. This system made it physically impossible to have a signal indicating to trains that it was clear to proceed when the bridge was open.
In the case of bridge 15, however, the operator was responsible for more than just the bridge itself. The bridge control cabin also functioned as an interlocking tower for the junction with the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway
(located a short distance west of the bridge), as well as a crossover immediately west of the bridge, the at-grade crossing of the Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto Electric Railway (N, S & T), and sidings on both sides of the canal. The N, S & T line was abandoned in the 1960’s, but the other interlocking remained until the canal relocation in 1972/73. Accordingly, the bridge would have needed to be manned year round - even when the canal was closed for the winter.
discussion group shows the timber fenders on the west side of the bridge crushed, obviously by an impact from a ship. The swing bridge sitting right in the middle of the channel was severe hazard. Anecdotes from some sailors who travelled through this bridge indicate that there was a bell located on the bridge which would ring whenever a ship made contact. This would warn the crew to check for damage.
After the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, large ocean-going vessels were frequent visitors to the Welland Canal. Many of these ships are far better suited to the open ocean than to the narrow confines of the canal.
The hazard created by this bridge, combined with the fact that the narrow, curving section of canal through Welland had no less than a total of six bridge crossings in just a few miles, led to the decision to inaugurate the Welland Canal Relocation Project. With the first sod turned in 1967, this project would relocate the canal to a much straighter alignment with no bridges about 2 km east of bridge 15.
This route of the new canal would sever the CASO line. As part of the relocation project, this line, as well and the Canadian National Cayuga Subdivision, were rerouted through the new Townline Tunnel
. Bridge 15 ceased to be on the main line, and with the removal of shipping from the abandoned canal, it no longer had any reason to swing. It continued to be used as an interchange route between Canadian National and various railway companies operating out of the Wainfleet Yard. The west bound track was removed, leaving only a single track operational on the bridge. But even this service was not to last. In the late 1980’s, the line fell into disuse and was removed from a point just a couple of hundred meters west of Bridge 15.
The bridge can be accessed from each end via walking/bicycle trails, although the gates prevent access onto the bridge deck. The bridge is a popular destination for scuba divers.
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
located in the disused section of the Welland Canal
Welland Canal
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada that extends from Port Weller, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, to Port Colborne, Ontario, on Lake Erie. As a part of the St...
within the city of Welland, Ontario
Welland, Ontario
Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada.The city has been traditionally known as the place where rails and water meet, referring to the railways from Buffalo to Toronto and Southwestern Ontario, and the waterways of Welland Canal and Welland River,...
. This section of canal is now known as the Welland Recreational Waterway
Welland Recreational Waterway
The Welland Recreational Waterway is a water channel in the city of Welland, Ontario, Canada. It is an old alignment of the Welland Ship Canal that has been abandoned after the construction of the Welland By-Pass in the 1970s. The Waterway is now managed by the Welland Recreational Canal...
. The bridge formerly carried the main line of the Canada Southern Railway
Canada Southern Railway
The Canada Southern Railway was a railway in southern Ontario, Canada, founded on February 28, 1868 as the Erie and Niagara Extension Railway. It adopted the Canada Southern Railway name on December 24, 1869. In 1904 the railway was leased to the Michigan Central Railroad for 99 years; in 1929 it...
(CASO) over the canal.
As a result of the Welland Canal Relocation Project
Welland By-Pass
The Welland By-pass, completed in 1973, was a massive construction project on the Welland Canal in Ontario, Canada.A new channel long was constructed, providing a shorter, more direct alignment between Port Robinson and Port Colborne and by-passing downtown Welland...
in the early 1970’s, the CASO line was rerouted through the Townline Tunnel
Townline Tunnel
The Townline Tunnel, located in Welland, Ontario, Canada, is an underwater tunnel, carrying Highway 58A as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway under the Welland Canal. The "A" suffix is a misnomer since it is more of a connector than an alternative route. Highway 58A is a two-lane freeway in its...
, bypassing this bridge. One track crossing Bridge 15 remained in service as an interchange line between the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
Canal Subdivision through Welland and the new Wainfleet Marshalling Yard at Wainfleet, Ontario
Wainfleet, Ontario
Wainfleet is a rural township in southern Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada.There is a small and growing tourist industry, near and on Lake Erie at the southern area of Wainfleet called Long Beach...
. In the late 1980’s, service on this line between Welland and Wainfleet ended and the track was removed between Wainfleet and a point a couple of hundred meters west of Bridge 15.
The bridge remains in use today exclusively to serve Vesuvius Industries in Welland. It is owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CPR), but is not connected to any other CPR tracks. It is used only sporadically by Trillium Railway
Trillium Railway
The Trillium Railway is a Canadian short-line railroad operating in the province of Ontario. Much of its right-of-way in the Niagara area was formerly part of the "Welland Canal Railway" that followed closely, the route of the second Welland Canal.Trillium Railway began operations in 1997 with...
, and chain link fence gates have recently been installed at both ends of the bridge to keep trespassers off.
Bridge 15 is visually similar to the Montrose Swing Bridge
Montrose Swing Bridge
The Montrose Swing Bridge is located on the Welland River at the junction with the Queenston Power Canal in the south-east portion of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It was built ca. 1910 to carry the Canada Southern Railway over the river...
located on the Welland River
Welland River
The Welland River is a river in the Niagara Region of southern Ontario which flows from its headwaters south of Hamilton, Ontario to empty into the Niagara River near the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario. It drains an area of 880 km²....
approximately 15 km away, however that bridge is a Warren Truss, as opposed to the rarer Baltimore Truss of Bridge 15. The two bridges were constructed at approximately the same time. The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway
Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway
The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway is a historic Canadian railway that operated in southern Ontario from 1899 to 1959.The NS&T was an interurban electric railway located in the Niagara Peninsula. It was based in St...
Swing Bridge over the canal (Bridge 8) at Thorold, Ontario
Thorold, Ontario
Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara....
was also constructed at approximately the same time. That bridge, built for interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
s and light electric freight locomotives, was a lighter construction and only carried a single track. Bridge 8 no longer exists.
Design and Construction
Bridge 15 was built ca. 1910 as a replacement for a wooden bridge formerly at the same location. During this time, the Third Welland Canal was still in use, however the need for expansion of the canal had been recognized. Accordingly, any new bridges were being constructed to standards which were expected to apply to the Fourth Welland Canal, which would not be completed until 1932. As will be discussed later in this article, these standards were not set high enough and this fact would make the swing bridge a serious hazard to navigation decades down the road.During the early years of its existence, prior to the opening of the fourth canal, navigation was only possible to the east side of the bridge. Electrical power to operate the bridge was supplied via an overhead cable from the west shore. With the opening of the fourth canal, there was navigable water on both sides making an overhead wire impossible. Since the bridge was designed to have the power fed from overhead and not beneath, an underwater cable was run from the shore to the more northerly concrete fender (which protected the ends of the bridge from ships when it swung). A pole was erected on each fender, and a guy wire run between them directly over the bridge. The power cable was suspended from this guy wire to reach the top-hat-shaped device in the middle of the bridge which transferred the power to the rotating bridge. This top-hat, and the two poles on the fenders, are still visible today. This is a relatively unusual method of providing power to a swing bridge.
Operations
As with most moveable bridges on railway lines, Bridge 15 was protected by interlockingInterlocking
In railway signalling, an interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements through an arrangement of tracks such as junctions or crossings. The signalling appliances and tracks are sometimes collectively referred to as an interlocking plant...
. This system made it physically impossible to have a signal indicating to trains that it was clear to proceed when the bridge was open.
In the case of bridge 15, however, the operator was responsible for more than just the bridge itself. The bridge control cabin also functioned as an interlocking tower for the junction with the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway
Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway
The Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway was a railway based in Hamilton that ran in Southern Ontario from 1894 to 1987. It never reached the other two cities in its name, although it did have branch lines extending to Dunnville and Port Maitland.-History:...
(located a short distance west of the bridge), as well as a crossover immediately west of the bridge, the at-grade crossing of the Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto Electric Railway (N, S & T), and sidings on both sides of the canal. The N, S & T line was abandoned in the 1960’s, but the other interlocking remained until the canal relocation in 1972/73. Accordingly, the bridge would have needed to be manned year round - even when the canal was closed for the winter.
Hazard to Navigation
It is a fact that gigantic ships sometimes do not go precisely where their master wants them to. Navigating thousands of tons of ship through a bridge with only a few meters to spare must indeed have been a challenge. There were accidents. One, documented with photographic evidence in a yahoo!Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
discussion group shows the timber fenders on the west side of the bridge crushed, obviously by an impact from a ship. The swing bridge sitting right in the middle of the channel was severe hazard. Anecdotes from some sailors who travelled through this bridge indicate that there was a bell located on the bridge which would ring whenever a ship made contact. This would warn the crew to check for damage.
After the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, large ocean-going vessels were frequent visitors to the Welland Canal. Many of these ships are far better suited to the open ocean than to the narrow confines of the canal.
Canal Relocation
This route of the new canal would sever the CASO line. As part of the relocation project, this line, as well and the Canadian National Cayuga Subdivision, were rerouted through the new Townline Tunnel
Townline Tunnel
The Townline Tunnel, located in Welland, Ontario, Canada, is an underwater tunnel, carrying Highway 58A as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway under the Welland Canal. The "A" suffix is a misnomer since it is more of a connector than an alternative route. Highway 58A is a two-lane freeway in its...
. Bridge 15 ceased to be on the main line, and with the removal of shipping from the abandoned canal, it no longer had any reason to swing. It continued to be used as an interchange route between Canadian National and various railway companies operating out of the Wainfleet Yard. The west bound track was removed, leaving only a single track operational on the bridge. But even this service was not to last. In the late 1980’s, the line fell into disuse and was removed from a point just a couple of hundred meters west of Bridge 15.
The Bridge Today
Today, this bridge carries only rare movements into Vesuvius Industries by Trillium Rail. The bridge is a rusting relic. Pictures from an historic bridge site show the top plates of the main beams under the former west bound line to be almost completely rusted away. In an attempt to keep trespassers off the bridge, the railway has placed gates at each end blocking access.The bridge can be accessed from each end via walking/bicycle trails, although the gates prevent access onto the bridge deck. The bridge is a popular destination for scuba divers.