CLARK'S BRIDGE
North Woodstock, New Hampshire

Location:

East of U.S. Route 3 in Clark's Trading Post on Clark's Short Steam Railroad in North Woodstock. The bridge spans the Pemigewasset River.

Style of Bridge:

Howe Truss

Year of Construction:

1904

Original Cost:

Unknown

Structural Characteristics:

The bridge is 116'0" long with a clear span of 107'0". It has an overall width of 21'6" and a railway width of 14'8" and a maximum vertical clearance of 20'6".

Maintained By:

Private Initiative

World Guide Number:

29-05-14

New Hampshire Number:

64

           

Historical Remarks:

Clark's Bridge was originally built in Barre, Vermont as a part of the Barre Railroad, a short line railroad which ran between Montpelier and Barre, Vermont. The bridge was built to span the Winooski River. In 1960 both the railroad line and the covered bridge were abandoned. Ed Clark and his brother Murray dismantled the bridge in East Montpelier and brought it piece by piece to its present site. The abutments at the site were constructed using granite blocks from an abandoned Maine Central Railroad bridge that crossed the Connecticut River in Coos County, New Hampshire. The bridge was reassembled on dry land next to the Pemigewasset River. Falsework was created by setting railroad tracks in the river bed, placing two flatcars on the tracks and building a crib on these cars up to the bridge level. The bridge was then pulled across the river using a half-track trailer. It was positioned over the river in 1965 and is still used as a part of Clark's Short Steam Railroad. It appears to be the only Howe railroad bridge left in the world. Clark's Bridge is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Table of Contents

New Hampshire Bridges

New Hampshire Covered Bridges
Compiled and edited by
Richard G. Marshall
Chief System Planning
New Hampshire Department of Transportation
Color photographs by Arthur F. Rounds
1994