The line reached Cedarburg by the end of 1870, and Hilbert Junction by the end of 1871. By the early parts of 1873, the line reached Green Bay and the Fox River ports.
When the line was first completed to Hilbert Junction, a branch was built to Menasha, although that would later be turned over to the Soo Line.
The railroad became incorporated into the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee Road) in 1893. The CM&StP became the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railway in 1913, after a pacific expansion.
The railroad served as one of the multitude of rail lines connecting Milwaukee to Green Bay. This one, however bypassed the Fox Cities.
The Milwaukee Road used the line until 1985, when they were merged into the Soo Line. The Soo became the new operators of the line.
In 1987, Soo Line spun much of its Wisconsin trackage to the Wisconsin Central Ltd, who operated this line until 2001.
By 2001, the Canadian National had taken over the Wisconsin Central, and abandoned a portion from Hilbert to Green Bay.
In 2015, the portion from Saukville to Hilbert would be sold to the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad.
Today, Canadian National operates the line into Milwaukee to Saukville; Wisconsin & Southern operates from Saukville to Hilbert, while the line towards Green Bay from Hilbert is currently the Fox River Trail, ending where the Swing Bridge over the Fox River once stood.
06/26/21
This large pony truss bridge crosses the Milwaukee River north of Saukville, in rural Ozaukee County.
The bridge features a pair of large Pratt Pony Truss spans, each with 6 panels and pinned connections. These spans rest on concrete substructures.
These particular pony truss spans are absolutely massive, much bigger than other similar trusses.
The bridge likely replaced another large truss structure. These massive pony truss spans were possibly built by the Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company of Milwaukee, who commonly contracted with the Milwaukee Road.
A date stamp on the pier gives a date of 1902, which makes this truss an early innovator in terms of large trusses.
The bridge is in good condition, although it does have some scuffs from many years of use, including floor beams knocked out of alignment. The piers have some spalling as well.
Despite this, the author has ranked the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the large trusses that were clearly built at an early date.
The photo above is looking from the south bank.
| Upstream | West Bend Trail Bridge |
| Downstream | UP Milwaukee River Bridge |