WN & P bridge in Fremont

[Manalishi]

Hello all - It seems that when the W, N and P was abandoned 80+ years ago, all the bridges were removed for scrap except for the one crossing the Exeter River in Fremont. Any idea why this iron bridge was left intact? Just curious.

Chris

[ThinkNarrow]

While most of the WN&P was abandoned in 1935 and 1942, the stretch from Fremont to Epping lasted until 1982 when the connections from Epping to Manchester and Epping to Rockingham Junction were also abandoned. See The Rail LInes of Northern New England by Robert M. Lindsell. I suspect that bridge removal in the 1935 and 1942 abandonments happened because of World War II scrap drives. The use of the Fremont to Epping section until relatively recently probably saved the bridge in question. (Three "ly words" in succession; my English teachers would be shocked.)

-John

[p42thedowneaster]

Hi Folks,
The Fremont Branch terminated at the Fremont depot where the Spaulding and Frost barrel co had a warehouse.
The Exeter River crossing (orignally a covered bridge) is west of the depot (railroad south), therefore it is likely the bridge has been abandoned for a very long time. I'm not sure if the track ended at the depot or if maybe it crossed rt107 to accomodate switching. There had been a passing siding which went well west of the depot, but I'm not sure it was retained after the mainline was removed westward. If the siding was still in place across 107, I suppose it would be possible that the track could have merged back together somewhere near the bridge, thus keeping it in service. Most likely though, the B&M just shoved empty cars down the branch, and pulled out loads back to Epping without having to run-around. Even still, the track could have remained in place just-in-case!
There are a couple more wooden bridges intact on the eastern side of the depot which were used in the last half century.

[jbvb]

It might be worth looking at town records and the Rockingham County Registry of Deeds to check ownership - it's possible a landowner might have bought the bridge and some of the RoW at the time it was abandoned to improve access for farming or logging. I'm pretty sure Fremont has a Historical Society, but it would also be worth stopping by the Raymond depot museum.

[Manalishi]

Hello all, thanks for the replies. I did speak with the town of Fremont Historian and he can't remember the line going past the depot during the Spaulding and Frost days. He knows the family that owns the farm adjacent to the bridge and to the best of his knowledge, they did not use it to move livestock from one side of the river to the other.

He did say that it was a covered bridge up to the 1930s when it was replaced by an iron bridge, the same one that exists today but he's no idea why it was left and others were removed. He thought it might be because the state, which owned the right-of-way, might want to re-activate the line. But I pointed out that other bridges had been removed and the section from Epping to Barrington had been paved over.

So, it's still a mystery. He did tell of a photo a local resident took in 1917 of 3 black soldiers guarding the bridge that he has in his possession. As strange as it may sound today, the US Government was worried about German sabotage during WW 1. I did manage to find it online and It's also in a book about covered bridges in NH.

BTW, does anyone have any pictures of it, iron or covered, they could share?

Chris

[trainsinmaine]

As strange as it may sound today, the US Government was worried about German sabotage during WW 1. I did manage to find it online and It's also in a book about covered bridges in NH.

Such concerns were not without reason: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanceboro_ ... ge_bombing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Piyer]

If this ( https://maps.google.com/maps?q=exeter+r ... s&t=h&z=17 ) is the bridge in question, then its present reason for existing is that it is part of a recreational trail.