"Chicago to the Sea." Eastern Excursionist / A complete guide to the principal eastern summer resorts, including: Niagara Falls, the White Mountains, Saint Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers, Montreal and Quebec, the New England sea beaches, etc., and how and when to enjoy them.

by William C. Gage

SUSPENSION BRIDGE.

Two miles below the Falls, the river is spanned by the structure so widely known by the above name. The banks are here very precipitous, and the river deep and rapid, and the erection of piers in the stream being an impossibility, the structure is suspended from cables passing over towers of solid masonry. The following statistics will be of interest to those of our readers who revel in figures:—

Length of span from center to center of towers	822		feet.
Height of tower above rock on the American side	88		„
Height of tower above rock on the Canada side	78		„
Height of tower above floor of railway	60		„
Height of track above water	258		„
Number of wire cables	4
Diameter of each cable	10	1⁄2	in.
Number of No. 9 wires in each cable	3,659
Ultimate aggregate strength of cables	12,400		tons.
Weight of superstructure	800		„
Weight of superstructure and maximum loads	1,250		„
Maximum weight the cable and stays will support	7,309		„

The bridge is a “two-story” affair, the upper part being used for the railway, and the lower for carriages and foot passengers.

RAILWAY SUSPENSION BRIDGE, NIAGARA RIVER.