Bridge in 2010
Photo taken by James Walsh
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)
BH Photo #273452
It was suspected to be arson: https://www.nh.gov/nhdhr/bridges/p103.html
Thanks guys for all of your responses on the bridge and especially the rail being bent.Was the fire on this bridge naturally caused by a lightning strike or was it arson?Because if it was either it could cause the rail to actually warp because I worked in the metals industry and do know at very high heat steel will do that.I just never expected to see pictures like that.
The rails are bent due to the fire in all probability. Railroaders call this a "sun kink"--in the summertime heat, rails will expand lengthwise, and with no room to expand will cause a bend in the rail. This is an extreme example of such a kink--the fire was pretty hot. Looking closely at photo #6 we can see that spikes and tie plates are missing--pulled out when the rails bent. Remaining spikes are loose. The wheels of a train could never negotiate a bend in the rails like this without derailment.
I am by no means an expert but I have visited that bridge a couple of times and I don't think the bends in those rails were cause by the fire. There doesn't appear to be a sign of fire, severe heat or soot on the top of the ties or rails. The rails are to neatly bent to be an accident. And I doubt the fire moved the spikes over on the ties to correspond with the curves. As well no other parts of the rails over the bridge are bent.
Royce
P.S. as stated earlier in the thread this is a duplicate page. I saw a duplicate page alert in the forum last year for this bridge as well.
The cladding was lost to a fire in 1980, the heat from that event also kinked the rails.
I have a couple of questions on this bridge.First,i noticed it is described as a covered bridge which by looking at the pictures it is not.Second in pictures of the bridge the railroad track is bent.doesn't look like normal track.What i'm wondering is how that track got bent like that.Any answers would be greatly appreciated.
This entry is a duplicate of this one: http://bridgehunter.com/nh/merrimack/bh50592/
I have known about the "Upside Down Covered Bridge" since I was a kid. I knew it had been burned many years back but was pleasantly surprised to find out it is still standing. And even better to hear it is going to be put into use and preserved!
I found this bridge today by accident, but anyways, this bridge is the only upside down covered bridge left in the united states. The bridge was burnt and lost its original wood covering, but still stands with the truss intact. there are plans to refurbish and open it on a trail. I'm not sure how to upload haer stuff, so I have posted the haer link on here.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=hhphoto&action=b...
Thanks luke.I thought you would say that.I saw a deck cover in some of the pictures underneath the rails and ties.Is this from when it was a covered bridge?