IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2016 - 89

arted in 1892, and the single-track
railway opened on 24 May 1893. It
carried 354,000 passengers the first
year. Because of the popularity of the
railway, it was double tracked, and almost 500,000 passengers were carried
the second year. In 1894, the line was
extended 1.5 mi (2.4 km) south from
Chippawa to Slater's Landing (a steamboat landing for excursion boats from
Buffalo, New York).

Lake Ontario
Niagara River
Queenston

Lewiston

See Figure 20

Niagara Escarpment

Niagara Falls
Park and River
Railway

Niagara Gorge
Railroad

P&RRy Powerhouse

Niagara Gorge
N
Whirlpool

Niagara Falls
Ontario

Niagara Falls
New York

See Figure 2

Niagara River

Chippawa
Ft. Erie

Buffalo
Lake
Erie

115-kv
One Line

figure 1. A map of the Niagara River showing the P&RRy (Canada) and the
Niagara Gorge Railroad plus the current single-circuit 115-kV line between Fort
Erie, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York. (Drawing adapted from W.R. Gordon, 90
Years of Buffalo Railways, p. 227, 1970; courtesy of Craig Woodworth.)

had the right to sell franchises to anyone using park land, not just to small
concessionaires. Transportation was a
problem. Besides the park road being
crowded with horse-drawn vehicles,
liverymen were known to fleece the
visitors. An electric railway would alleviate these problems and also provide
revenue through a franchise fee.

Niagara Falls Park &
River Railway
After two false starts, on 4 December
1891 the park commissioners signed
a contract with the Niagara Falls Park
& River Railway (P&RRy) providing
a 40-year franchise at CAN$10,000
per year for a 12-mi (19.3-km) electric
railway from Chippawa, 3 mi (4.8 km)
south of Niagara Falls, to Queenston
(a steamboat landing for boats from
90

ieee power & energy magazine

Toronto), 9 mi (14.5 km) north of Niagara Falls. From Niagara Falls to Queenston Heights the railway followed the
Niagara Gorge (see
Figure 1). The streets
of Niagara Falls, Ontario, had been lit by
arc lights since 1885,
first by electricity from
Niagara Falls, New
York, and then in 1891
from steam-driven Edison General Electric
(GE) equipment owned
by the Niagara Falls
[Ontario] Light and
Power Company.
Because the lighting company had no surplus electricity, the P&RRy would need to build
a generating station. Construction st-

The location selected for the powerhouse, the first hydroelectric plant
constructed on the Canadian side of
Niagara Falls, was 200 ft (61 m) west
of the Niagara River near the brink of
the Horseshoe Falls (see Figure 2). As
with later plants built within the park,
there was a requirement that the powerhouse architecture enhance the park
grounds. As such, the exterior of the
100-ft (30.5-m) by 62-ft (19-m) stone
powerhouse was made quite ornate
(see Figure 3). Water was taken from
the upper rapids of the Niagara River
just above the brink of Horseshoe Falls
(see Figure 4). Trash racks at the river
screened out ice and floating debris
before the water entered a stone-walled
forebay that was shared with the water
pumping station of the City of Niagara
Falls, Ontario.
The plant contained two vertical
"New American," 45-in (114.3-cm) diameter single-runner 1,000-hp, 221-r/min
turbines with draft
tubes operating under
a head of 62 ft (19 m).
Figure 5 shows an elevation of the powerhouse. Water entered
the gatehouse, passed
through a trash rack
and entered the 7.5-ft
(2.29-m) diameter penstock. A manually operated head gate could
close off the penstock.
The penstock diameter
increased to 10.5 ft
(3.2 m) for the turbine. Manually operated wicket gates controlled the water flow entering the turbine. A 6-in

From Niagara
Falls to
Queenston
Heights
the railway
followed the
Niagara Gorge.

july/august 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - July/August 2016