When the railroad was complete except for the viaduct, trains ran to the viaduct abutments where passengers would exit and descend the embankment. Passengers crossed the river on a hand-operated cable ferry, boarded horse-drawn carriages on a temporary wagonway to cross the valley, then ascended the embankment to board a waiting train at the opposite abutment. The approach walls are believed to have supported the temporary (covered) train platforms to which wooden staircases were attached. These wooden staircases led from the train platforms to stone abutment staircases (with railings) for passengers to descended to the valley floor. A photo from 1871 may have captured one of those walls (bottom left), at the north end, west side of the viaduct. The approach walls may have also served as foundations for the guard houses during World War II.