FOXY Embarrass River Bridge

In 1866, a charter was granted to the Green Bay & Lake Pepin Railway (GB&LP) to construct a line between Green Bay, Wisconsin and the Mississippi River.  Construction on the line began in 1869, and initially progressed slowly.  In January 1872, the first 40 miles were completed between Green Bay and New London, Wisconsin.  An additional 172 miles to East Winona, Wisconsin was completed by the end of 1873.  The GB&LP changed its name to the Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad (GB&M) after completion of the line.  Initially, the intent was to connect with the Winona & St. Peter Railroad (W&StP), which had constructed a line across southern Minnesota.  After the W&StP fell under control of the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW), these goals were dashed.  The GB&P was acquired by the Green Bay, Winona & St. Paul Railroad (GBW&StP) in 1881.  In 1891, the Winona Bridge Railway constructed a new bridge across the Mississippi River at Winona, connecting with the end of the GBW&StP tracks at East Winona.  The bridge company was jointly organized by the GBW&StP and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.  In 1896, the GBW&StP  was acquired by the Green Bay & Western Railway (GB&W).

The GB&W was an independent railroad, operating a connection between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River.  Car ferries were constructed to connect to the Ann Arbor Railroad (AA) at Frankfort, Michigan and to the Pere Marquette Railway (PM) at Ludington, Michigan.  The railroad mainly served local traffic through the early 20th Century, and connected with most major railroads operating in Wisconsin.  By the mid-20th Century, the railroad was in decline, and new management took it over and revitalized the railroad into a "bridge line".  As part of the revitalization, the car ferries gained importance, as it provided the eastern railroads with a suitable bypass of the congested railroad network in Chicago.  As traffic declined in the late 20th Century, the railroad began to fall into disrepair.  The bridge across the Mississippi River was abandoned in 1984, and was burned and removed in 1989.  The GB&W was purchased by Wisconsin Central, Ltd. (WC) in 1993. 

A segment between Scandinavia, Wisconsin and Plover, Wisconsin was abandoned in 1994.  An additional segmenent between Manawa, Wisconsin and Scandinavia was abandoned in 2000, and a segment between Green Bay and New London was abandoned in 2001.  These segments were sold to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for trail use.  WC was purchased by the Canadian National Railway (CN) in 2001, and became the American subsidiary of CN.  In 2021, CN sold the remaining segments in Green Bay and from New London to Manawa to the Fox Valley & Lake Superior Rail System (FOXY).  Today, FOXY continues to operate those two segments.  CN continues to operate the Plover to East Winona segment, although the line between Arcadia, Wisconsin and East Winona is out of service.  The segment between Green Bay and New London is currently part of the Newton Blackmour State Trail, while the segment between Anawa and Plover is part of the Tomorrow River State Trail.