Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge, Historic railway bridge in Wolcott, United States.
The Fisher Covered Railroad Bridge is a wooden railway bridge with a double lattice frame and board siding that crosses the Lamoille River. It has a long, narrow enclosed form with a distinctive ventilation shaft running along its center to allow steam locomotives to pass through safely.
The bridge was built in 1908 by the Boston and Maine Railroad on the route of the St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad, which it controlled. In 1968 it faced demolition in favor of a steel truss; instead a pier was built beneath it and four steel girders were installed to carry its load. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The bridge is named for the Fisher family, early settlers of Wolcott, not for a builder. Its monitor roof, a raised section running much of the length, let smoke and steam from locomotives escape; the open strip at the top of the sides served the same purpose. The structure is now part of the Lamoille County Rail Trail.
The bridge stands southeast of Wolcott village center, south of Vermont Route 15, reached from a small parking area just north of the structure. It is now part of the Lamoille County Rail Trail, so it can be approached on foot along that route. The deck has a steel I-beam substructure beneath it.
At the time of its 1974 National Register listing, it was the last covered bridge in the United States still carrying railroad traffic. The 1968 threat of replacement by a steel truss led to a pier and four steel girders being added beneath the deck, so the timber trusses now carry only the superstructure.
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