Sulphite Bridge

No. 62

Built in 1896 for the Boston and Maine Railroad, the Sulphite Railroad Bridge spans the Winnipesaukee River in Franklin. The 233-foot, three-span Pratt deck truss is one of only seven historic covered railroad bridges remaining in the world and the only surviving covered deck truss bridge in the United States. Known as the “Upside-Down Bridge,” its railroad tracks run above the covered wooden trusses rather than through them. The bridge carried sulphite to Franklin’s paper mills until the railroad line was abandoned in 1973.

After a suspicious fire in 1980 destroyed the siding, the bridge was left largely untouched. Although documentation and rehabilitation efforts have been undertaken, the bridge remains unrestored.