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No trackage exists on this line.
Mile 16.9 (Jct. with CP Hamilton Subdivision) : Huron Street, Niagara Falls : This used to be the Jct. to the CP Hamilton Subdivision located at mile 0.51 of the CP Hamilton Subdivision.
Mile 17.0 - 17.5 : Queen, Park, Erie and Crysler Streets : The CP Niagara Industrial Lead cuts through the residential area just south of Bridge Street in Niagara Falls, heading over to CN.
Mile 17.6 : Bridge Street at Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls : This is the intersection of Victoria and Bridge Streets, just south of the CN Niagara Falls yard overpass. The CP Niagara Industrial Lead used to cut through the intersection of Victoria and Bridge Streets.
CP Niagara Industrial Lead was once part of the Michigan Central rail line that used to run between Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the Lake. With the section between Fort Erie and Chippawa being abandoned in 1941, I am guessing maybe the section between Niagara Falls from Stanley Avenue and going north under the CN Grimsby Subdivision to Niagara-on-the Lake was possibly abandoned at the same time. What ever date it was, this was what it left. The section between Chippawa and Stanley Avenue.
For a number of decades the Penn Central, Conrail and CP Niagara Industrial Lead serviced Cyanamid on the south side of the track up until roughly 1992 or 1993. But there were 2 sections of this track. I remember in 1992 seeing a second track shortly west of the Bridge and Victoria Avenue a few hundred feet cut off to the Cyanamid plant.
But with respect to what was the main trackage of this line, it ran over to the CN Stamford Subdivision, crossing Stanley Avenue (still) after the abandonment of the trackage to Niagara-on-the Lake.
I have seen photos of Conrail and I have witness and followed my old friends who worked the CP Welland yard Job 1 on weekday mornings pull cars on this line to the Interchange portion of this track up above the former CN Niagara Falls yard.
CN had running rights on the CP Niagara Industrial Lead. There used to be 3 ways for CN to get onto this line. The first, is a switch off of the CN Stamford Subdivision. The second was just down westward from the old CN yard office at the CN yard, but across the tracks. The third stayed in along with the first one until the end. This 3rd one was down mid way of the CN yard. The 2nd and 3rd connection connected to the CN Grimsby Subdivision's eastbound track.
The CP Niagara Industrial Lead for most of it's use used to lead off of the CP Hamilton Subdivision at Mile 0.51, in behind the police station. It was referred to as Jct. switch Niagara Falls.
After 1993, this line, until it was abandoned in 2001 due to the new Casino being built on the main line, used to be used exclusively as an interchange with CN, which coincidentally was conveniently next to the CN Niagara Falls yard at Victoria Avenue.
CP Welland yard Job 1 out of CP Welland yard was the train responsible for fulfilling interchanging responsibilities with CN. I don't remember any other train going out of their way on weekends going onto this line. There were some days if they didn't have any railcars for CN, they didn't show up here every weekday. The interchange seemed to almost always be the first thing in observation of CP Welland yard Job 1 would do when in Niagara Falls. But I had been burned a few times beating them to get to Niagara Falls and waiting for eternity for them to finish some switching around Montrose.
This mainly happened during the mid morning. 9:30am to 10:30 am or so.
After CP Welland yard job 1 was finished interchanging railcars with CN, they would head north back up the CP Hamilton Subdivision, off of the CP Niagara Industrial Lead (actually southward on a map), then drop one locomotive off on the siding at south siding switch Montrose and then head down the CP Chippawa Industrial Spur to service to industries.
All pictures below are taken as you head in a westerly direction from the CP Hamilton Subdivision to the CN Stamford Subdivision. CP didn't run across the CP Niagara Industrial Lead to access the CN Stamford Subdivision. But I had seen a photo once where Amtrak used the CP Niagara Industrial Lead to get to the VIA station on the CN Grimsby Subdivision. That was sometime in the late 1980's or very early 1990's.
There was a siding on the CP Niagara Industrial Lead, which was used to do a runaround track for CP to pull up on, cut the power and run around and leave.
On November 23, 2001, CN removed the crossing of this line at Stanley Avenue, which was their end of the connection that CP never used. CN only used this crossing to take railcars over to CP on the CP Niagara Industrial Lead. This then only left only once access point, which was via the CN Grimsby Subdivision down mid way from their CN yard in Niagara Falls.
Friday, November 30, 2001 around noon, CP Welland yard Job 1 followed train 242 south into Niagara Falls through Clifton Hill. CP Welland yard Job 1 proceeded onto the CP Niagara Industrial Lead for the last time with CP 8239 and CP 8224 with a handful of railcars for CN. A little over an hour later the train returned through Clifton Hill. It was a rather weird moment to take in, knowing that I wouldn't be seeing this ever again.
After this CP Welland yard was going to have either CP Welland yard Job 1, 2 3 or 4 start interchanging railcars at CN Southern yard on the CN Stamford Subdivision, with new running rights on CN westward from CN Brookfield East. This was where the CP Robbins Connecting tracks were. Eastward took you to Fort Erie, westward took you to Port Robinson, which CN Southern yard was in that direction.
43 photos in gallery
 Mile 16.90 Looking South (1997) |
 Mile 17.01 Looking Northwest (2002) |
 Mile 17.01 Looking Northwest (2005) |
 Mile 17.01 Looking East (2002) |
 Mile 17.01 Looking South (1997) |
 Mile 17.01 Looking South (2005) |
 Mile 17.10 Looking North (1997) |
 Mile 17.30 Looking East (1997) |
 Mile 17.30 Looking East (1997) |
 Mile 17.30 Looking East (2002) |
 Mile 17.30 Looking West (1997) |
 Mile 17.45 Looking West (1997) |
 Mile 17.45 Looking West (2002) |
 Mile 17.60 Looking Southeast (1997) |
 Mile 17.60 Looking Southeast (2002) |
 Mile 17.62 Looking Southeast (2001) |
 Mile 17.65 Looking Northwest (1997) |
 Mile 17.65 Looking Northwest (1997) |
 Mile 17.65 Looking Northwest (2002) |
 Mile 17.70 Looking Northwest (2002) |
 Mile 17.70 Looking Southeast (2000) |
 Mile 17.70 Looking Southeast (2002) |
 Mile 17.75 Looking Northwest (1998) |
 Mile 17.75 Looking Southeast (1998) |
 Mile 17.80 Looking Southeast (1998) |
 Mile 18.00 Looking Northwest (1998) |
 Mile 18.00 Looking Southeast (1998) |
 Mile 18.01 Looking Northwest (2002) |
 Mile 18.01 Looking Southeast (2002) |
 Mile 18.30 Looking Northwest (1998) |
 Mile 18.30 Looking Northeast (1998) |
 Mile 18.35 Looking Northeast (1998) |
 Mile 18.40 Looking Northwest (1998) |
 Mile 18.40 Looking Northwest (2002) |
 Mile 18.40 Looking Northeast (1998) |
 Mile 18.40 Looking Northeast (2002) |
 Mile 18.40 Looking Northeast (2002) |
 Mile 18.42 Looking Northwest (2002) |
 Mile 18.50 Looking Northwest (2001) |
 Mile 18.50 Looking Southeast (2001) |
 Mile 18.50 Looking Southeast (2001) |
 Mile 18.50 Looking West (1998) |
 Mile 18.50 Looking West (2001) |
