| CN local assembles its train of 34 cars at the former SOO yard at Neenah, WI on 15 May '16. I believe they were preparing to head toward Manitowoc, WI. This view would have been prevented by the dominating silhouette of the original Neenah Foundry facility, later known as Plant 1, which stood here for over ¾’s of a century. Established in 1872 as Aylward Plow Works (a.k.a. Aylward & Sons) at 120 N. Lake St., they erected a new foundry at 500 W. Winneconne Ave. in 1918 “in a rural area of southwestern Neenah.” Expanded numerous times over the years, it became Plant 1 in 1960 when Plant 2 was constructed in the then rural area at the intersection of Byrd Ave. and the aptly named Aylward St. (followed by Plant 3 in 1967). Plant 1 was closed in 1994, the owners didn’t want to spend any money to update the plant. It stood abandoned for a while and was eventually demolished. |