The East Shoreham Covered Railroad Bridge is a historic covered bridge spanning the Lemon Fair River near East Shoreham, Vermont. Built in 1897 by the Rutland Railroad Company, it is the state's only surviving example of a wooden Howe truss railroad bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]
Description and history
The East Shoreham Bridge is located in a rural area of southeastern Shoreham, on the Lemon Fair River. It is located about 0.2 miles (0.32 km) west of the Shoreham-Depot Road, and is accessible on foot via the former railroad right-of-way, now (along with the bridge) a state-owned property. It is a single-span Howe truss structure, 109 feet (33 m) in length, and set on dry-laid stone abutments faced in concrete. The trusses consist of wooden diagonals and iron rod verticals. The bridge has a total width of 20 feet (6.1 m) and an internal width of 13.5 feet (4.1 m). The railroad tracks, which have been removed, were original laid directly on the deck timbers. The bridge's exterior consists of vertical board siding covered by a metal roof.[2]
The bridge was built in 1897 by the Rutland Railroad Company for service on its Addison Branch line. Because of the line's relatively light traffic, it was not judged necessary to go to the expense of building an iron bridge, resulting in the construction of one of the state's few surviving 19th-century covered railroad bridges. It remained in service until 1951, when the line was abandoned. The state acquired the bridge and surrounding land in 1972.[2]
See also
- List of Vermont covered bridges
- List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Vermont
- List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Addison County, Vermont
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Henry, Hugh (1974). "NRHP nomination for East Shoreham Covered Railroad Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-20. with photos from 1974
External links
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. VT-32, "Shoreham Railroad Bridge, Former Addison County Railroad (later, Rutland Railroad, Addison Branch), spanning Lemon Fair River above Richville Pond, west of East Shoreham Road, Shoreham, Addison County, VT", 7 photos, 3 color transparencies, 5 measured drawings, 9 data pages, 1 photo caption page
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