Mountain Mills trestle ruins

Early April 2006 the water level in the Harriman Reservoir was very low. This low water exposed what remains of the ruins of the old Mountain Mills trestle. This was visible from Route 9 in Wilmington VT. There are plenty of old Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington RR relics to be found on the ruins which appear as a peninsula when the water is low. This trestle was once much taller (as tall as the banks). Nearly 80 years of erosion has significantly shortened its height. It appears that the washout probably occurred on the west side as that is where the most erosion has occurred.

View of the eroded trestle looking west. The trestle used to be much higher 241.15 KB	View of the remains from water level.   224.24 KB	Looking west on the trestle       197.30 KB	Looking NE at the bank of the reservoir.     241.09 KB
At the low point, looking  west 197.59 KB	Looking SE toward the old  abutment (20 feet above) 187.95 KB	Some old bits of foundation. 196.60 KB	View of low area on east side. Notice the wood. 252.35 KB
Looking east view of the  low spot. The wood was used to hold crushed rock  in place 202.29 KB	More wood. notice the  metal spikes which are still present   244.66 KB	More wood, looking west.     284.35 KB	And again more wood looking north.     245.32 KB
Looking south from the  ruins. Notice how low the  water is 88.58 KB	Looking at the high point  in the middle. Looking  west   182.40 KB	A wood rock crib cell. A lot  of these rocks appear  scorched perhaps from  the old mills 204.03 KB	Looking NW towards Somerset and Searsburg VT   145.95 KB
A metal relic     329.42 KB	Concrete presumably from  a spillway dating back to  when the trestle was a  dam for the mills. 255.70 KB	In the middle at the high  point. Boats often run  aground here. Looking  east. 213.17 KB	Looking west at the  large washout. The river  flows through here. 198.91 KB
A pipe amongst more  scorched stone 294.47 KB	Ever closer to the end. The  mound on the shore is the  west abutment 191.89 KB	Vertical wooden poles.  Looking NW. 252.57 KB	The end west end of the  washout 256.91 KB
An exciting find! a  piece of rail! 318.56 KB	Another angle (and my  shadow). 275.46 KB	A dark picture of the  mound representing the  west abutment 153.14 KB	Looking back east from the  main washout 179.40 KB
Another bit of rail. 269.01 KB	close-up! 238.78 KB	The suspected spillway.  Looking south 215.83 KB	Looking west. Notice scorched rocks. 171.58 KB
An odd find. I believe  these are leaf springs. I wonder if they were part of a train, or just scrap  from who knows where 310.05 KB	From the west abutment looking at the ruins     225.60 KB	Looking down the mound  at the shore     247.62 KB	An errant piece of rail!       240.33 KB
Old wood braces.   233.42 KB	Looking up the  old abutment 238.42 KB	A view of the water flow  through the washout. Looking south. 133.12 KB

2006 Marc Howes.