[The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge]
Photograph
[The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge]
ca. 1855
Daguerreotype
sixth plate; 8.2 x 6.9 cm.
Purchase
1966.0016.0002
TextDesigned by John Augustus Roebling (1806-1869) the first US railway suspension bridge spanned the Niagara River and was finished in March, 1855. Originally rejected by the Bridge Company, Roebling's design incorporated 2 decks, one for locomotives and one for carriages, bound together with wooden slats. Roebling who became famous for his design of the Brooklyn Bridge, believed that a suspension bridge was the only structure capable of handling the weight of trains.
