Eastern Division abutments coming down.

Some time in July, the state of New Hampshire will remove the bridge abutments that carried the Eastern Division over Drakeside road in Hampton, NH.
Drakeside road, just west (compass south) of Hampton station, is in serious need of repair at the bridge site, and the abutments create a dangerous choke point, so during the road rebuilding project, the granite blocks that compose the abutments will be removed and reused in a sea-wall project further up the coast. The bridge itself went north years ago to be used on a snowmobile trail.

Hi Arthur,

I haven't been down Drakeside Rd. in ages, so I didn't realize that the bridge had been taken down.

And, I just noticed on Bing Maps that the Walton Rd. bridge in Seabrook is gone, too.

Thanks for the update.

The bridge on Walton Road was taken down about 5 years ago, I'd imagine the abundments for that road don't have much longer either.

Here's a few shots of the Drakeside crossing I shot today. The tracks are still intact south of Drakeside Road to about the Hampton Falls station site. I remember watching trains cross the Drakeside Road bridge in the 70s on their way to the Seabrook Power Plant which was under construction then.

Chris

Unless something has changed, Seabrook likes its abutments. I forget who told me, either the PD or highway dept, they act like a sort of vertical speed bump.

Dibs on the bridge marker at Drakeside.

Update; The destruction begins July 5th.

I was walking in Hampton today along the old Eastern and saw this curious marker next to a mile post.

Anyone know what SEC 139 and 141 mean? BTW, it's just one marker - both sides.

There's another one in Portsmouth numbered 141 /143. Believe they have something to do with M.O.W. territories. Don't know why just odd numbers.

I think they're indeed MoW section boundaries. But they don't match the numbers listed on B&M track charts for the Eastern. Possibly because sections got combined as traffic fell off and MoW switched to large mechanized, traveling gangs.

What does 'MOW' mean?

MOW or MoW stands for Maintenance of Way, which is the industry term for maintaining the railroad.