Chester Gehman

Chris:

Your photos are most likely the Tunkhannock Viaduct in Nicholson, PA, BH 31850. Still in use, it was built 1912-1915 by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad.

That is good news. Excellent work, Michael!

Too bad this one couldn't be saved. It sat in a field just east of the crossing from March of 1992. Things looked good for awhile; a donation from the College Association at Delhi, Inc. of a 10-acre plot to display the bridge was accepted by the town. Plans were scrapped when it was discovered that lead in the paint and sand-blasting would cost about $100,000. Locals complained it was an eyesore and dangerous. Sometime after 2006 it was removed; no buyers could be found and it was likely scrapped. Google Earth Historical Imagery shows the bridge in the field in 11/2006--after that its gone. Bing Maps Bird's Eye has a good view of it.

Who would have thought two people would post the same LOST bridge within minutes of each other! And I have the same photo, too. Well, I will delete my entry.

I don't believe this is an old railroad bridge. The adjacent line, which is the old Naugatuck Railroad main, is at a higher elevation. Secondly, this bridge is much wider than a spur line bridge would expected to be--twice as wide as the adjacent main line bridge. Since this used to be an industrial area, my vote would be a private industrial bridge to join buildings on either side of the river. At any rate, more research is needed.

Rumours are these trusses will be used somewhere-sometime but they have been at the Great Barrington Recycle Center for at least ten years--maybe more. These photos I took a couple of years ago.

This is a photo of the only remaining plaque on the bridge. "Springfield" "Mass" and "1891" are fairly obvious. Can anyone identify the builder? The R.F.Hawkins Iron Works and The Springfield Iron Works come to mind. A better view of the shape of the plaque is in the MACRIS photo. Any ideas?

These old eyes of mine must be failing. Both my wife and I were on that bridge and didn't see that plaque. We looked on the end posts and the portal area but failed to look down. Can't say I've ever seen a Berlin through truss plaque that low. Even had it in my camera lens! A slightly lower shot might have revealed a build date. Sorry, guys. I'll get it next time.

Mr. Elder:

I read with interest your thoughtful comments on the types of bridges to include on this site. I, too, have debated whether some are worthy of inclusion. My last entry, the Atwoodville Road Bridge is a good example. Its a very ordinary, typical concrete bridge without any unique features. I posted it because I thought it might be interesting. What makes a bridge interesting? It could have some historical value; it might be unique in its design; a common type bridge in a scenic setting is interesting. Abandoned bridges are always interesting. Do we need to post every bridge and culvert ever constructed? Probably not. But with so many contributors to this website, it might be hard to reach a consensus on what is interesting. But we all should consider, before we add an entry, whether it adds anything to our information base, rather than just adding a notch to our name on the leaderboard.

Chet

The drought is over; Colebrook Lake is full, and The Harvey Mountain Road Bridge is submerged again. Sayonara.

Dana and Kay:

Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated.

chet

Bridge is closed; builder's plaques removed/stolen; replacement probable.

It will be a real shame if this historic bridge is lost in the rising waters of Phelps Brook. One of only three pipe bridges built by Charles Ball of Windsor, MA still in existence, and the only one not preserved in some way. Come on, Windsor! Charlie Ball was a native son!

Mr. Thompson:

You asked if anyone can point to a railroad covered bridge. They did exist. The Boston & Maine Railroad, as well as other New England roads had them. The Hillsborough Covered Bridge in Hillsborough, New Hampshire (BH 61397) was built in 1903 and is a good example.

Chet

You're welcome! Back then I had a Nikkormat that developed a focus problem at the end of its life. The trouble with film, of course, is that you can't see your pictures for a week or two while the film is out being developed. By then it is too late to re-shoot photos from a vacation or special trip. I like my Nikon D50 now.