Locomotive Turntable
For 103 years, beginning in 1854, a train powered by a steam locomotive pulled into the Niagara Dock. At first it only came from Chippawa via Niagara Falls and Queenston but by 1863 the line had been extended as far as Fort Erie and Buffalo. The train met the steamers which arrived from Toronto carrying tourists going to the Falls and soldiers bound for Camp Niagara. In late summer these ships returned to Toronto filled with baskets of peaches brought to the dock by the train. Riverbeach Drive and Turntable Way are streets that once were active rail lines in the Dock Area.
You are standing on the remains of the locomotive turntable, a rotating bridge which allowed the engine to be turned around for its return journey or to be shunted into the locomotive barn for servicing. If you walk down Turntable Way, past Lockhart Street, you will find the foundation of the old locomotive shed on your left. These railway relics have been officially designated as sites of historic importance to the town.
Marker is at the intersection of River Beach Road and Turntable Way, on the left when traveling north on River Beach Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
