Falls Incline Railway | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Locale | Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada |
Transit type | Funicular |
Website | www |
Operation | |
Began operation | October 8, 1966 |
Operator(s) | Niagara Parks Commission |
Technical | |
System length | 59.8 m (196.2 ft) |
Track gauge | 1,850 mm (6 ft 27⁄32 in) |
Average speed | 3.5 km/h (2.2 mph) |
The Falls Incline Railway, originally known as the Horseshoe Falls Incline is a type of funicular railway (an inclined elevator) in the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It is located beside Niagara Falls at the Horseshoe Falls. The line was built in 1966 for the Niagara Parks Commission by the Swiss company Von Roll. It adopted its current name in the 1980s. [1] [2] Originally built with open-air cars, it was rebuilt in 2013 with enclosed cars to permit year-round operation. [3]
Unlike the other incline railways at Niagara Falls, the Falls Incline was not built to descend into the Niagara Gorge below the falls. Instead it links the Table Rock Centre and Journey Behind the Falls, on the Niagara Parkway just above the falls to the higher level Fallsview Tourist Area, including the Minolta Tower, the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and several hotels. [2]
The Niagara Parks Commission claims that the funicular is the world's slowest.
The funicular has the following technical parameters: [2]
Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, which straddles the international border of the two countries. It is also known as the Canadian Falls. The smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Bridal Veil Falls is separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island and from American Falls by Luna Island, with both islands situated in New York.
The Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort, commonly known as Fallsview Casino, is a resort casino in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened publicly on June 10, 2004. The $1 billion complex overlooks the Horseshoe Falls and is one of the most prominent features of the Niagara skyline. The complex is owned by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and operated by Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment.
The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River.
Journey Behind the Falls is an attraction in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada located in the Table Rock Centre beside the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is open year round and run by the Niagara Parks Commission.
The Michigan Central Railway Bridge is an out-of-service steel Deck arch bridge spanning the Niagara Gorge between Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. The bridge is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, which purchased the single track structure in 1990. The Canadian corridor and bridge are owned by the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario. The bridge is located just upstream from the older arch-style Whirlpool Rapids Bridge used by Maple Leaf Amtrak passenger trains.
There have been several different incline railways built at the Niagara Falls, on the border between Canada and the United States.
Table Rock was a large shelf of rock that jutted out from the Canadian shore of Niagara Falls, Ontario, just north of the present day observation and commercial complex. Revealed in the mid-18th century as the Horseshoe Falls receded, Table Rock was the first major vantage point for tourists of the early and mid-19th century.
The Fallsview Tourist Area in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada is the main tourist attraction surrounding the Falls. In recent years, it has become the home many of the hotels in the city, such as: the Niagara Falls Hilton, Niagara Falls Marriott Gateway, and the recently opened Comfort Inn Fallsview. Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort is also located near the centre of this area. It is also the location of the Skylon Tower and Minolta Tower.
The Penang Hill Railway is a one-section funicular railway which climbs the Penang Hill from Air Itam, on the outskirts of the city of George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. The railway first opened in 1923 as a two-section railway, but was overhauled in 2010 into a one-section system. It is a single-track railway with a passing loop, and it passes through a tunnel which is the steepest in the world. The total journey time can take between five and twenty minutes. The funicular train coach travels directly from the lower station to the top, but may stop at other intermediate stations upon request.
The Prospect Park Incline Railway was a funicular railway in the city of Niagara Falls, New York, United States. It was built in 1845 on the United States side of the Niagara Falls at Prospect Point Park. An accident in 1907 claimed a single life and lead to the closure of this line.
The Hornblower Niagara Funicular, previously called the Maid of the Mist Incline and originally known as the Clifton Incline, was a funicular railway in the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The line was built to convey patrons of the Maid of the Mist boat tour, and linked the foot of Clifton Hill to the boat dock below.
Kenilworth Avenue is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at the Kenilworth Traffic Circle and Kenilworth Access, a mountain-access road at the base of the Niagara Escarpment (mountain) and is a two-way street throughout stretching northward through the city's North End industrial neighbourhood where it then flows underneath the Burlington Street bridge and right into Dofasco's Industrial Park.
The Table Rock Welcome Centre is a retail and observation complex located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada at the brink of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, several hundred feet south of the former rock formation which bears its name. The complex consists of two buildings connected by an indoor pedestrian mall and anchored by "The Grand Hall", a multi-level indoor observation complex, completed in 2008.
The Flying Dutchman Funicular, also known as the Cape Point Funicular, is a funicular railway located at Cape Point, near the Cape of Good Hope in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The line runs from a lower station at the Cape Point car park, up an incline through dense fynbos to the upper lighthouse. It was the first commercial funicular of its kind in Africa, and takes its name from the legend of the Flying Dutchman ghost ship.
Hilton Niagara Falls/Fallsview Hotel and Suites' North Tower is a skyscraper-style hotel in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It was originally slated to rise 58 floors to a height of 177 metres (581 ft), but the building was subsequently reduced to 53 floors as verified by the hotel operator themselves and the new height has never been publicly released. It has however clearly surpassed the Embassy Suites as tallest building in Niagara Falls and still has more than 500 rooms. It is also the tallest hotel in Canada.
The Mount Hamilton Incline Railway was a funicular railway in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, climbing the Niagara Escarpment. It opened August 26, 1895 in Hamilton, Ontario. It was the second Hamilton furnicular, after the Hamilton and Barton.
Queen Victoria Park is the main parkland located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada opposite the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Established by the Niagara Falls Park Act in 1885 and opened in 1888, the park is operated by the Niagara Parks Commission and is considered the centerpiece of the Niagara Falls recreational tourist area.
The Ontario Power Company Generating Station is a former generating station located along the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, just below the Horseshoe Falls.
43°04′46″N79°04′51″W / 43.079499°N 79.080789°W