FOXY Wolf River Bridge (New London)

Located along Water Street on the northeast side of New London, this through plate girder bridge carries the former Chicago & North Western Railway mainline across the Wolf River. The first bridge at this location was likely a wooden truss bridge, set onto timber pile substructures and approached by timber pile trestle spans. In 1886, the bridge was rebuilt with a new wooden through truss swing span, set onto timber pile piers. During the early 1890s, the MLS&W invested significant capital into their lines, replacing timber bridges with stone and steel structures. In 1892, the wooden bridge was replaced by the present steel and stone bridge as part of a contract which replaced several major MLS&W bridges that year. Unique to this contract, the railroad apparently only made a contract with the Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company, which fabricated the steel and subcontracted the remainder of the work. Currently, the bridge consists of a 130-foot through plate girder swing span, approached by a 50-foot through plate girder span on the south end. The entire bridge is set onto stone substructures, which are founded on timber piles.

The superstructure uses a slightly unusual variation of a standard design, with heavy plate girders and a traditionally composed floor. These girders consist of deep rounded and tapered ends and less rivets than similar spans from this era. The floor follows a standard design, with four steel stringers and plate girder floorbeams. In addition, the main span consists of one continuous span instead of two separate halves which met over the north pier. While the bridge was originally designed as a swing span, the all of the original machinery has since been removed. It is believed that the span originally used a rim-bearing design, which attaches the superstructure to a metal drum, which rotates on a track of rollers. The bridge was likely manually turned by inserting a "T" shaped key over a nut, which turned a gear system. It is unclear how the end lift system worked, as there is no remaining machinery. At the north pier, the drum, rollers and most gears have been removed and replaced with timber blocks. At the north abutment and south pier, the original roller bearings have been replaced with fixed bearings. The substructures follow a standard design, with a round north (swing) pier and a standard rectangular south pier, which has an angled nose on the upstream side. Both abutments also use a standard design, with stepped wing walls. Stone for the substructures was quarried at an unknown location, and appears to consist of a tan limestone.

Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company fabricated the superstructure, while Hathaway & Brown constructed the substructures. The original turntable and operating machinery was constructed by the Massillion Bridge Company. When this span was built, the Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company was a relatively new firm, having opened shops in the late 1880s or early 1890s. This company was awarded the contract for several major bridges by the MLS&W, including spans at Sheboygan, Appleton and the east and west channel bridges at Wausau, Wisconsin. All of these substantial structures were replaced by the C&NW in the 20th Century, leaving this bridge as one of the few remaining early Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company structures constructed for the MLS&W. Through plate girder spans were commonly used by railroads, as they were durable and easy to construct. These spans were also ideal for small swing spans, as they were simple to design. Since the initial construction, the bridge has seen a number of alterations, including the removal of all operating machinery. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the swing design.