Shoreham Railroad (RR) Covered Bridge

Addison County, Vermont  (WGN 45-01-05)  (WGCB VT-01-05):  (1897; restored 1983)  A single-span Howe truss 108' over Richfield Pond  (an impoundment of the Lemon Fair River).  Located:  SE of Shoreham Center on the abandoned Addison Branch of the Rutland Railroad.  Directions:  From of jct. SR 73 and SR 30 take SR 30 2.7 miles north to a left at Whiting, Vermont on Whiting Road towards Shoreham Center, Vermont.  At the top of the hill make a left onto Shoreham Depot Road to the bridge parking area on the right.  Note: The bridge access parking area is just past a house near the bottom of the hill.  If you get to a iron and concrete bridge, you've gone too far.  You must walk about 0.5 mile down the old railroad right of way to get to the bridge.  One of two remaining railroad covered bridges in Vermont, it was in constant use from 1897 until the line was abandoned in 1951.  The bridge underwent major restoration in 1983 including a new roof, new siding, and new eastern abutment. The railroad tracks were replaced with a wooden deck of lengthwise planking laid across the original railroad ties. A Historic Site Marker found at the back of the access parking lot reads:  "Shoreham Bridge -  This 108' Howe truss railroad bridge is one of only two covered bridges left in Vermont.  It was built  on the 15.6 mile Addison Branch connecting the Rutland Railroad at Leiscester Junction with the Delaware and Hudson at Tieonderoga, New York crossing Lake Champlain on a floating bridge at Larrabee's Point.  This bridge was last used for railroad traffic in 1951."  Also known as Rutland Railroad Covered Bridge, the East Shoreham Railroad Covered Bridge and the Lemon Fair Covered Bridge.  The structure is owned by Vermont State Division for Historic Preservation, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Engineering Landmark on June 13, 1974.   (Sep 2004)

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