| A CN container train passes the Hwy. 41 overpass and approaches Ehlers Rd. as it heads southeast via former SOO rails at Fox Crossing, WI (formerly Town of Menasha, WI, from 1855 until 14 Apr. 2016) on 26 Jan. '20. Train had two locomotives, CN 3222 pulling and CN 3047 mid-train. The first highway bridge over the then SOO railroad tracks there was built when Hwy. 41 was relocated to what was then the rural outskirts of the Fox Cities. The project commenced in the late-1930s and continued into the 1940s. The relocation allowed for expansion to a 4-lane highway (‘superhighway’ or ‘belt line’), as well as bypassing the congestion of the downtowns of Neenah, Menasha, and Appleton. On 18 Apr. ’36, the State Highway Commission of Wis. authorized “construction of an overhead bridge in Town of Menasha, Winnebago Co., on the proposed route of U.S. Highway 41.” The overpass project was referred to as the Neenah Belt Line Overhead. The facility partially visible at right is Essity, formerly SCA Tissue until 14 Jun. '17, originally Wisconsin Tissue Mills, 825 Ehlers Rd., Neenah, WI (physically located in Fox Crossing). It used to receive rail service, but has not for quite some time. Green Bay Rd. can be seen at left. |