Skip to main content

Pier Covered Bridge - New Hampshire

 


The Pier Covered Bridge in Newport, New Hampshire is a bit of a rarity, as not many covered bridges that were originally built for use by railroads are still in existence today. There are only a handful railroad covered bridges still around today, two which happen to be located in Newport (the Wright's Covered Bridge is the other). Also known as the Chandler Station Covered Bridge, the 216 foot long bridge over the Sugar River was originally built in 1907 as one of fifteen railroad covered bridges that once followed the Newport section of the Claremont and Concord Railroad, which was part of the Boston and Maine Railroad system. This makes it the longest covered railroad bridge in the world still in existence. The bridge was built in a double Town-Pratt lattice truss design and was constructed to replace an earlier covered bridge at the same location. The double Town-Pratt lattice trusses with laminated arches were long favored for construction on the branch lines of the Boston and Maine Railroad. In 1900, at least one hundred of this type were in use on the Boston and Maine Railroad system alone, with 15 of those railroad covered bridges being found in Newport. The Pier Covered Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


Today, the Pier Covered Bridge lives a quiet existence as part of the Sugar River Trail, which is a recreational rail trail of about nine miles in length, following the Sugar River in Newport and neighboring Claremont, New Hampshire. During one of my many trips to New Hampshire, I checked out the Pier Covered Bridge, exploring its tall, narrow and sleek nooks and crannies. It looks like a swell place to take a bicycle or long walk, or just to passively recreate on a sunny day. You can find the Pier Covered Bridge by taking a drive down a scenic local road called the Chandlers Mill Road, less than a mile west of its junction with NH Routes 11 and 103 near scenic Newport, New Hampshire.












How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Lake Sunapee Living - Lake Sunapee Covered Bridges
New Hampshire Bridges - Pier Bridge
Wright Construction Company - Pier & Wright Covered Bridge - NH
Bridgehunter.com - Sugar River Trail - Pier Railroad Covered Bridge 29-10-03#2

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...