As has been documented elsewhere, the WW&F (Alna, Maine; narrow gauge) has been busy this summer on our "Mountain Extension" which will add nearly a mile of reconstructed mainline track down a 3% grade. The main obstacle has been the crossing of Trout Brook, where a 60' span was required.

This Saturday (EARLY AM), the reconstructed Moose Brook bridge from the Boston and Maine's Berlin branch will be moved (by truck) the 4 miles from the museum's parking lot to the crossing, where it will be lowered into place.

The WW&F would like to thank the following for making this possible:
- National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges
- National Park Service, Historic American Engineering Record
- Midcoast Conservancy
- Barns and Bridges of New England
- Lansing Community College
- Case Western Reserve University
- Tom E. Dailey Foundation
- John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust
- Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts
- Mystic Valley Railway Society
- TEC Associates
- And all friends, followers, members, and benefactors

"Case Western Reserve University". What is the connection between this project in Maine and a local university in Northeast Ohio? I'm glad for you, but it just seems to be out of the blue. And yes I do know about, and am from, the Connecticut Western Reserve.

After the bridge was heavily damaged by an arsonist in 2004, it was the subject of a reconstruction project that commenced in 2010. The project received a grant through the U.S. Federal Highway Administration's National Covered Bridge Preservation Program. A portion paid for the reconstruction of the trusses and their transportation, with the remainder of the grant used for the research, including instrumentation.

By 2011 both trusses were under the care of Dr. Dario Gasparini of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, OH. Arrival at CWRU was somewhat of a homecoming for this bridge. The designer, William Howe sold his design and company to his brother-in-law, Amasa Stone, who ultimately made a fortune building railroad bridges. Stone was a major donor to Western Reserve College, which eventually became CWRU.

The trusses spent the following two years on the CWRU campus, where the Civil Engineering department researchers conducted structural testing to provide new insights into the structural behavior of Howe Pony Bridge trusses. The research entailed placing about 45 sensors on the Douglas fir and the vertical iron rods that hold the truss together. The sensors measured strain on the rods and the wood's moisture and temperature for more than two years outside under the cover of a large hoop and fabric tent.

The trusses were studied in structural analysis courses; mathematical models were created to assist in rehabilitating existing Howe Truss bridges, and also to help engineers improve designs of future truss bridges.

Following the conclusion of the research project, the trusses (still under the ownership of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges) were disassembled and returned to Gorham, NH to await further preservation, which ultimately took place at the WW&F in 2017.

Thank you for explaining that.

Hi Ed,

Will it be possible to move the bridge and actually set it in place on the same day? For folks who haven't seen it, this bridge is not small, and the location to which it is headed is a bit on the remote side. This will be one of the WW&F's most spectacular projects yet.

/Kevin Madore

Hi Kevin,

I'm not really sure. I'm stuck in front of a PC all this week and missing out on the action. There hasn't been any progress reports from Sheepscot yet on the prep work.

-Ed

UPDATE:
The temporary steel span will be set in place tomorrow (Thursday.)

Done:

Congratulations on an excellent piece of teamwork!
I did have a look at the sequence of photos on your WW&F Discussion Forum - a most impressive operation. Hopefully I will be able to visit the line again one day and ride on a train over it!

The first trains over Trout Brook in 86 years ran this weekend at the WW&F.

See more at:
https://www.facebook.com/WWFRailway/pos ... 0448401871

Or for those who don't do Facebook:

Very sweet photo, Ed!
Congratulations to all hands at the WW&F!