Students & the Circus Traveled the same 13.88 Miles

Saturday, Elwood, Agnolia and the twins drove to Woodstock. As they approached Quechee Gorge Elwood said, "This portion of the road is built on the old Woodstock Railway bed and the bridge was originally a railroad bridge."

Agnolia, who had traveled the road to Woodstock many times said, "I never knew there was a Woodstock Railway. How did you learn about it?" Elwood replied, "Friday, John Curtis stopped by the office with a copy of Edgar Mead's book, The Woodstock Railroad. John told me the Woodstock Railway was only 13.88 miles long, that it operated for 58 years, and during that time school children, circus trains, and when President Calvin Coolidge's father died, even the president's funeral train, rode the rails of the Woodstock Railway. While John told me about the Woodstock Railway, I had an opportunity to look at the book. It is packed with pictures of old steam locomotives, station houses and the trestle bridge that was completed in 1875 over Quechee Gorge."

As soon as Elwood had finished his sentence Lucy said, "What is a trestle?"

Elwood explained that trestles are braced framework, usually built from either wood or metal, that are used to support roads, railroad beds, pipes or other structures that have to span an open gully or ravine.

When Elwood finished his explanation Lucy said, "What does a trestle look like?" Lucy's curiosity was, again, not satisfied with words so Elwood said, "On the way home we will stop for a copy of The Woodstock Railroad so you can see pictures of the Quechee Gorge trestle bridge."

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