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Lamoille
County, Vermont
(WGN 45-08-16)
(WGCB VT-08-16): (1908; renovated 1968; repaired date unknown;
repaired 2001) A two-span Town-Pratt double lattice truss 103' over
the Lamoille River. Located: West of Harwick, Vermont.
From jct. SR 14 and SR 15 in Harwick, Vermont, take SR 15 2.9 miles west
and turn left into to the bridge's roadside park. The bridge was
built for the Boston and Maine Railroad and was used daily by the St. Johnsbury
& Lamoille County RR until a track washout (still visible on the right
side of SR 15 north of the bridge) in 1995. One of two covered railroad
bridges left in Vermont. It has an unusual cupola running the length
of the bridges ridge pole and it is the only remaining railroad bridge
with a full-length cupola installed to vent the smoke from earlier coal
burning locomotives. In 1968 the bridge was scheduled for destruction
to make way for a new steel span. It was saved by placing heavy steel
beams underneath it, adapting the abutments to accept them and adding a
mid-stream pier at a cost of $14,000.00. Prior to 2001 repairs were made,
including, repairing and/or replacing truss and chord members, replacing
floor timbers, some sideboards and some boarding on the roof cupola.
In the summer of 2001 it was once again repaired. These repairs consisted
of repairing and/or replacing truss members, replacing the exterior sideboards
and interior weather panel boards in the downstream north-northwest corner,
replacing some rafters and roof boards, and installing a new steel roof.
The bridge can be distinguished from other covered railroad bridges by
the eleven sections along the sides of the roof cupola. A small wood
sign at the portal marked 39/14 is a railroad location indicator representing
the bridge is 39.14 miles from St. Johnsbury, the beginning of the line.
It is also interesting to note that the rails along this abandoned line
have not been removed. Black-brown weathered, vertical spruce boarding,
except the recently installed boards not yet weathered, cover the sides,
skirting along the lower part of the sides, portals and weather panels,
open under the eaves for ventilation. Its roof is clear coated steel
and has a smoke cupola (ventilator), nearly the length of the clear span
of the bridge, centered along the ridge pole. It was named for Christopher
C. Fisher, who owned the land bordering the tracks at the time of its construction.
Also known as the Chubb Covered Railroad Bridge (from the nearby
Chubb family) and the Chub Covered Railroad Bridge (spelling variation
of the Chubb family name). It was listed on the National Register
of Historic Places on October 1, 1974. (Oct 2003) |
