The approach to Niagara, by the line of the Michigan Central, is by a
route nearly parallel with the river, from above on the Canada shore,
and is beyond question, the best view to be had from any railroad train
conveying its passengers near the place. As the train draws near the
mighty cataract, the foaming rapids above the Falls burst upon the view,
as if to prepare the mind for the exhibition of resistless power to be
revealed in the grand plunge of waters into the abyss below.
In a few moments the train comes to a halt in full view of the Falls,
with the Horseshoe or Canada Fall in the foreground, and Goat Island and
the American Fall directly across the river, with the deep gorge between
through which the river flows, spanned by the new suspension bridge. The
picture thus presented is one of surpassing beauty. While a nearer view
will impress the mind more completely with the sublime majesty of the
cataract, the comprehensive grouping here presented will linger in the
mind of a true lover of the beautiful, prominent among the “pictures
that hang on memory’s wall.”
The through passengers, who make no tarry at the Falls, remain in the
cars until the train arrives at Suspension Bridge, two miles below, this
arrangement continuing for the present season, until the completion of
the new bridge now in process of erection by the Michigan Central
Company. When this structure is completed, the trains will cross the
river in full view of the Falls. This, in addition to the view now
obtained from the train, will prove a strong attraction to through
travelers, inducing them to come by this route.