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  • Boston & Maine covered bridge move at the WW&F Railway

  • Discussion relating to the pre-1983 B&M and MEC railroads. For current operations, please see the Pan Am Railways Forum.
Discussion relating to the pre-1983 B&M and MEC railroads. For current operations, please see the Pan Am Railways Forum.

Moderator: MEC407

 #1485532  by flyingfox10
 
Here is the newspaper article covering the historic move of the reassembled Boston & Maine covered truss bridge that was once on the B&M line to Berlin and crossed over Moose Brook. Also included in the article are a few photos and a video.

https://m.wiscassetnewspaper.com/articl ... 218/107298" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1485650  by Mikejf
 
Short story on the bridge.

When the line was sold to the State of New Hampshire, there were 2 of these covered truss bridges on the line. Moose Brook and Snyder Brook. The tracks were removed and trail was created. In 2004, someone set fire to the Moos Brook Bridge. Burnt or charred almost every bit of lumber on the bridge. The State had to replace it, so went with a modern span. What was left of the coverd truss bridge was removed.

The National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges (NSPCB) started working almost immediately to restore the bridge, with the intention of being reinstalled or becoming a show piece someplace close by.

New timbers were purchased, and the trusses were used at a college in Chicago for load testing, and studying truss type construction.

The trusses finished their schoolwork, and were disassembled and returned to NH. Still with hopes to use the bridge, the parts were stored in Gorham, NH, at the train station. The plans of installing the bridge back on the trail, and then of making a display out of it both fell through, so the timbers and steel lay there, awaiting their fate.

Then, a local bridge inspector put the WW&F and the NSPCB in touch with each other, in hopes the bridge could be put to use. An agreement was easily reached, and the rest is what you see today.