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 simple slab bridge crosses the Killsnake River north of Chilton.
The bridge was built in 1917, likely to replace an older pile trestle.
The bridge is of common design and uses concrete spans.
Overall, the structure appears to be in fair condition. The author has ranked this bridge as being minimally significant due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.