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Snyder Brook Bridge

Coos County, New Hampshire
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Snyder Brook Bridge

Photo taken by Will in September 2010

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View this photo at s1139.photobucket.com

Map 

Brief history citing historical significance 

Written by Will

Largely due to the influence of its in house engineer, Jonathon Parker Snow, the Boston & Maine Railroad continued to build wooden bridges longer than any other major railroad, building the the last of it and Snows typical Double Town Truss covered spans in 1916 (though an early example, it is typical in detail of the the hundreds which would follow - see the Contoocook RR Bridge) – For shorter spans, the B&M's choice was that of Boxed Pony Howe's, the Snyder Brook Bridge is the last surviving example.

The thirty mile Berlin Branch was built in the early 1890's by the Concord & Montreal Railroad, this line was leased shortly thereafter by the B&M, which quickly set about upgrading the bridges on the line in anticipation of the heavier rolling stock of the future. The Snyder Brook was one of at least three Boxed Pony Howe's built on the branch in the Summer of 1918 The B&M continued to run the line for ninety one years, it was then briefly leased by Guilford Transportation and continued to carry trains until the early 1990's before being abandoned. The railbed and the Snyder Brook bridge are now part of the Presidential Range Rail Trail.

See also - http://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/publications/documents/wooden_bridges_on_bm.pdf

Facts 

Overview
Howe pony truss bridge over Snyder Brook on Trail
Location
Randolph, Coos County, New Hampshire
Status
Open to pedestrians
Future prospects
Both trusses are in decent shape despite neglected siding. Access by parking at the Castle Trailhead parking area on Rt 2 in Randolph, then take the path south to the railbed / trail, and then several thousand yards east.
History
Built 1918
Builder
- Jonathan Parker Snow (Designer)
Design
Boxed Pony Howe
Dimensions
Total length: 34.0 ft.
Also called
Randolph RR Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+44.37129, -71.28514   (decimal degrees)
44°22'17" N, 71°17'07" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
19/317935/4915651 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Mount Washington
Inventory numbers
HAER NH-49
WGN 29-04-P2
B&M #143/06
BH 48115 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Boston & Maine Railroad (12)
Boxed pony truss (4)
Built 1918 (329)
Built during 1910s (6,729)
Coos County, New Hampshire (25)
Howe pony truss (36)
Howe truss (249)
Jonathan Parker Snow (4)
New Hampshire (295)
 Open to Pedestrians (2,084)
Owned by state (9,808)
Pony truss (13,217)
Rail-to-trail (494)
Railroad (4,075)
Randolph, New Hampshire (1)
Total length 25-50 feet (7,628)
Truss (23,574)

Update Log 

  • August 10, 2012: Updated by Daniel Hopkins: Added category "Railroad"
  • December 18, 2011: Updated by Tony Dillon: Added Engineer/designer
  • February 23, 2011: New photo from Will
  • February 22, 2011: Essay added by Will
  • February 13, 2011: Added by Will

Sources 

  • Will Truax - Bridgewright [at] gmail [dot] com
  • Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
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Comments 

Snyder Brook Bridge
Posted February 13, 2011, by Anthony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Nice add here!