The bridge towers over the houses below it, and dwarfs the surrounding forest. When it was built, it was the second longest railway bridge in Canada, a title that locals believe it still holds. On October 8, 1910, Charles O. Foss, the district engineer in charge of the New Brunswick section of the National Transcontinental Railroad predicted this in a newspaper article as the bridge was being built: “People have seen little of that,” he said. “He hasn’t seen this yet. Ten years from now he’ll be famous.” Today, 112 years later, despite being just 14 kilometers from the Trans–Canada Highway near Grand Falls, the bridge is probably unknown to most New Brunswickers. WATCHES | Trains float through the sky at one of Canada’s largest triples tucked away in northwestern NB
The Salmon River Trestle is a hidden giant
For 112 years, the Salmon River Railway Bridge has spanned a valley in northwestern New Brunswick, but locals say few in the province would know.
When the Salmon River Trestle was completed in February 1911, newspapers reported that it was 4,000 feet (1.22 km) long and 200 feet (61 m) deep. Its dimensions were second only to the more famous Lethbridge Viaduct in Alberta, which was 1.6 kilometers long.
“It’s monstrous,” said Eudore Michaud, who lives with his wife in a house he built in the shadow of the bridge.
Eudore Michaud says the roar of trains passing overhead is comforting. It relies on some daily transits as an alarm clock. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)
CBC News asked CN Rail for specific details about its length and height, but a spokesperson said the company would not participate in this article because it did not want to encourage people to climb or cross the bridge illegally.
Despite his size, Michaud said, he would have climbed freely to the top in his younger years. Stomach climbing was “quicker than navigating” the long way to get to the other side of the Salmon River Valley in his native New Denmark.
The Salmon River Trestle spans a valley in New Denmark and overshadows more than a dozen houses below. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)
“That bridge over there, I was born on the other side,” Michaud said. The oldest of 18 children, he says he grew up comforted by the dull but steady roar of trains passing overhead.
It was a sound he missed for 18 years after moving to Montreal. But he and his wife eventually made it back and live pretty much down the Salmon Trestle River.
By his reckoning, it’s not unusual for 10 trains a day to pass overhead. These trains are his alarm clock, with one passing over his house around 10:00 almost every night, letting him know he should be in bed.
“That makes me sleepy,” said Miso. “I love it. There’s no place like it.”
The Salmon River Trestle rises above a dozen houses in the rural community of New Denmark in northwestern New Brunswick. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)
There are more than a dozen houses like Michaud’s under the looming triangle, which articles published at the time of its construction said consisted of more than “7,000 tons of steel.”
But as impressive as it is to have trains 200 feet above your house, watching them float by on the horizon is what makes the triangle a centerpiece of New Denmark for those who live nearby.
Taken in 1950, this photo shows two locomotive engines pulling cars along the Salmon Trestle River. It was provided by the New Brunswick Provincial Archives and included the following description: “New Denmark train station behind the home of Pauline (Peterson) and Norman Christensen on Highway 108 in New Denmark – Norman Christensen. (Provincial Archives of New Brunswick – P194-1288)
When Gunnar Pedersen came to Canada with his family from Denmark in 1928, the bridge had already been built. His family spent their lives building a farm with the monstrous bridge on the horizon.
“It’s quite a landmark,” said Pedersen, who describes the bridge as beautiful and special.
Gunnar Pedersen, who turns 100 in September, built a model of the Salmon River Trestle. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)
On September 3, Pedersen will be 100 years old.
He has spent a lot of time with his son-in-law building a replica of the Salmon River Trestle that fills much of his family’s sunny farmhouse.
“We tried to make it as accurate as the real bridge,” Pedersen said. “All the pieces are made of wood instead of cast iron or steel.”
It’s complete with an electric model train that crosses the bridge to reach a miniature of the former New Denmark railway station that Pedersen also built.
The actual three-pointer that inspired it looks right out the window.
“I know there are a few months there,” Pedersen said of the time it took to complete the model. “I never really mark the hours.”
Pedersen and his son-in-law, Ray Christensen, spent about six months recreating the Salmon River Trestle at their family farmhouse that overlooks the real deal. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)
Ray Christensen’s son-in-law cut the pieces and Pedersen put them together. He said he gave them both an appreciation for the effort it took to build the main line connection to carry freight between Moncton and Quebec.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Ray Christensen said. “It really is — it’s a great feat of engineering and construction, especially for the time they built it.”
Provided by the New Brunswick Provincial Archives, this undated photo includes the description “Davis Mill train trestle, Drummond. View of Drummond Farms taken from Foley Brook, New Denmark. Built between 1908 and 1911. Copy print. M2015. 37” (Provincial Archives of New Brunswick P194\1287)
According to documents provided by the New Brunswick Provincial Archives, the bridge was one of the final steps in the $15 million rail line project.
Engineer Foss was quoted in the newspapers at the time as saying “The completion of the line to New Brunswick will be delayed by the construction of the steel bridges and aqueducts. The bridge over Salmon River in Victoria County alone will keep a large construction gang busy summer.”
Ray Christensen worked with his father-in-law to build a model of New Denmark’s centerpiece, the Salmon River Trestle. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)
But despite claims at the time that the bridge would become world famous, locals say it’s a miracle they can enjoy it almost in solitude.
Michaud, Pedersen and Christensen said they occasionally see cars stop suddenly, with people jumping out to take pictures or just stare. But for the most part, the Salmon River Trestle is a treasure they can keep to themselves.
People should “probably be aware of it, all the beauty that we have here in our own province,” Christensen said. “And, I guess, I probably don’t take it for granted.”
