Another rowing regatta this past weekend took me somewhere relatively close to home that I probably would have never visited otherwise. My son was in the Row Ontario Championships held in Welland, Ontario at the Welland International Flatwater Centre.
Apparently, the Welland area is as close as your going to get in southern Ontario to the neglect of the American Rust Belt just across the border. Welland is a stone’s throw from the border with the United States, a short drive from Niagara Falls and is a city that the Welland Canal bypassed about 40 years ago.
The rail lift bridge at Dain City, or Welland Canal Bridge #17, is still in use today but no longer goes up and down. The bridge was originally constructed for the Canadian National Railway (CNR). It is now in use five days a week by Trillium, a short line railroad that has been in business in the area since 1997.
Like Port Dalhousie, this area is a living historic museum of the Welland Canal.
The twin towers of the lift bridge stand 70 metres or 230 feet high and have a bit of an Eiffel Tower feel when look at from the right angle.
The Dain City rail bridge spans an abandoned section of the Welland Canal, a waterway connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario while by-passing the Niagara River and Niagara Falls. A by-pass canal was completed in 1973 that was much straighter and no longer went through downtown Welland.
Although much of the area has fallen into neglect because of the John Deere plant shutting down a few years ago, the Canal has been used well. With ships no longer passing by and the old stretch of canal blocked in the middle by a rail passage, the Welland International Flatwater Centre was born.
Straight as an arrow, this waterway is perfect for hosting rowing and kayaking regattas. Welland International Flatwater Centre is home to the South Niagara Rowing Club. Of course, the waterway is well used by anglers, as well.
Across the road from the train bridge is the site of the former John Deere plant. Originally, the Dain Manufacturing Company bought up land in the area in 1908 which resulted in the near immediate creation of a ‘company town’. In 1911, John Deere bought Dain Manufacturing and had been at the location until closing up shop in 2009.
Since, demolition has cleared much of the John Deere plant, though a massive empty building still remains. For the recent regatta, parking for spectators was in the former parking lot of the plant. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t take any shots of the abandoned building. Dain City had been called Welland Junction until it was annexed by the city of Welland in the mid 1950’s.
The car bridge at the main intersection in Dain City was of near identical design as the rail bridge. However, in the 1980’s the lift towers were removed, along with, obviously, the bridge’s ability to lift.
There is no better man made structure for spider webs than a train bridge. The gaps between the rails and steel beams just seem to be the perfect distance apart for the eight legged creatures to weave their magic.
