Franklin-Sulphite (RR) Covered Bridge

Merrimack County, New Hampshire  New Hampshire No. 62  (WGN 29-07-09) (WGCB NH 07-09):  (1896) A three-span Pratt truss 231' over the Winnipesaukee River. Located:  In Franklin, New Hampshire.  Directions:  From I-93, Exit 20, take US 3 south to Franklin, New Hampshire.  As you enter Franklin, you will start down a hill near the bottom you will see first a car wash,  then a sign to the Franklin Regional hospital.  Make a left on River Street and park behind the car wash.  Note: if, while still on US 3, you pass a abandoned RR trestle on the left, you have gone too far.  Take the dirt road just north of the parking area to the bridge.  It is recommended that you walk the reported 0.3 mile rather than try to drive to the bridge site.  As you walk along the road, on your left, you can clearly see the abandoned railroad bed with the tracks still in place.  When the dirt road makes a bend to the right and ends, take the path heading strait ahead.  When this path intersects the tracks, make a right and walk the tracks to bridge.  Once you start down the tracks the bridge is visible in the distance.  While not currently a true covered bridge, due to its sides and base being destroyed by arson in 1980, its upper structure remains intact and for historical purposes is still considered a "covered bridge."  The tracks are 33' feet above the bed of the river.  The current bridge replaced a framed trestle bridge erected here in 1891 or 1892 by the Franklin and Tilton Railroad. Built by the Bridge and Building Department of the Boston and Maine Railroad on a line that was abandoned around 1973.  It has the only Pratt Type Truss construction in the Northeast and the only deck-covered railroad bridge left in the United States.  It is also known as the Upside Down Covered Bridge because the railroad track crosses over the top of the structure rather than running through its center.  Its interior construction consists of lateral cross  bracing with the crossing members between them made of iron.  The bridge sides were boarded over with 7/8" siding and the ends were closed. There was a fire inside the bridge on October 27, 1980 that is believed to have been arson.  You can clearly see how the tracks were badly warped by the fires heat.  It was named Sulphite Covered Bridge because of the large amounts of sulfur transported over the rail lines for use by the giant pulp and paper mills not far from the bridge.  Plans were being made to renovate the landmark, the only one of its kind in existence today.  Replacement costs could run as high as $500,000.  When I photographed the bridge October 6, 2003 there were no sign that any restoration had or was about to occur.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places June 11, 1975.  Note:  It appears that the misspelling of the bridges name (Sulphite vs Sulfite) is based on the local use of the British "p" in spelling the word sulfur (sulphur).  According to Webster's Dictionary, the only correct spelling of the word is sulfite.  (Oct 2003)

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