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B&A - Webster Branch Bridge

Worcester County, Massachusetts

Photos 

Truss

View of the truss from the grade crossing between the P&W Norwich Branch and North Main Street.

Photo taken by Erich Pfistner in August 2015

License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

Enlarge

BH Photo #336848

Map 

Street View 

Description 

Former Boston & Albany Webster branch crossing over the French River and the P&W (former NYNH&H) Norwich Branch. Per the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the original bridge consisted of a lattice deck truss over the river and a lattice through truss over the NH line. The river span has been replaced at least twice, most recently circa 1936, with the present deck plate girder construction. The through truss shows evidence of being moved here from another (unknown) location and was originally at ~150' long 13 panel truss.

Facts 

Overview
Abandoned lattice through truss bridge over French River and P&W Norwich Branch on B&A Webster Branch (abandoned) in Webster
Location
Webster, Worcester County, Massachusetts
Status
Derelict/abandoned
History
Built 1888, rebuilt 1916 and 1936, abandoned 1958
Railroads
- Boston & Albany Railroad (BA)
- New York Central Railroad (NYC)
- New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (NH)
- Providence & Worcester Railroad (PW)
Design
Lattice through truss span over the P&W and two deck plate girder spans over the French River
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 108.0 ft.
Total length: 225.0 ft.
Also called
B&A - Bridge No. 371
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.06575, -71.87869   (decimal degrees)
42°03'57" N, 71°52'43" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
19/261828/4661086 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Webster
Inventory number
BH 61886 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

10-panel truss (312)
19th Century (9,637)
Abandoned (4,014)
Boston & Albany Railroad (108)
Built 1888 (260)
Built during 1880s (2,394)
Deck girder (6,623)
Girder (11,669)
Have street view (30,436)
Lattice through truss (790)
Lattice truss (827)
Massachusetts (1,255)
New York Central Railroad (1,079)
 New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad (536)
Plate girder (9,182)
Providence & Worcester Railroad (62)
Quadrangular lattice through truss (191)
Railroad (17,010)
Riveted (2,776)
Span length 100-125 feet (4,682)
Through truss (19,042)
Total length 175-250 feet (4,697)
Truss (38,331)
Webster, Massachusetts (4)
Worcester County, Massachusetts (174)
Wrought Iron (489)

Update Log 

  • December 26, 2022: New photo from Geoff Hubbs
  • June 20, 2019: New Street View added by Nathan Holth
  • August 31, 2015: New photos from Erich Pfistner
  • January 1, 2015: Updated by Ian Martin: Added historical details
  • July 24, 2014: Added by Ian Martin

Sources 

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