I can here the CN Park job from home as well. I'm a mile or two west of you. I wasn't mobile in the area til college (went to UWGB) and had a relative who worked in the CNW Broadway tower. Sometimes I'd go visit him and hang out in the tower watching the CNW east end crew flat switching or the GBW crew getting the "boat train" ready to go. (this was circa 1986 - so not dreadfully long ago, but getting longer every day I guess.) We'd go down to Tavil Jct (at the east end of the Milw Rd yard and line the switches for the trains coming up from Manitowoc or the Valley.
I used to love to hang out up at North Green Bay and see the variety of CNW 1st and 2nd generation power (GP7's to SD40-2's and sometimes SD50s / 60s. ) You never new what oddball thing you'd find up there (Alco C628's parked and the like).
I graduated from college right about the time CNW spun off the NE WI lines to Fox River Valley RR. Got a few pics of the Alco Alligators (former LS&I) as well as the other variety of power they had SD24's, GP30's/ 35's, etc. I got a short ride around the yard with the hostler in former CNW GP30 #820.
I had an apartment along Western Ave near Military along the GBW at the time that WC still used that route. Every night the GBW and WC road trains would come and go (sometimes waking me up.) That was pretty cool. It was about 200' ft from my aptmt window to the mainline. Getting woken up at 2 AM by GBW train # 2 gurgling and burbling its way back east into Norwood Yd - a great memory. I'd go down to Norwood on Sunday AM on my bike and get some photos of the power that came in the prior night. A couple times the hostler asked if I wanted a ride, which was short (across the turn table and into the roundhouse) but still, that was fun.
I pretty much missed the Milw Rd too. They had largely been rolled into Lake States RR which spun off of Soo Line to become WC. Lake State was in the old Milw Rd yard by the time I started poking around. I only got to see WC operate on the line east of the Fox River twice which were detour trains due to derailments between Black Creek and Appleton. Lake States and early WC had some patched (painted over) Milw Rd units. I think folks called them bandits because of the black patches over the Milw Rd logo / name.
I guess I feel like I missed a lot of stuff, but you come to appreciate the stuff that you did get to see.
Thanks Doublestack.Part of the reason I asked is because I was looking at the areas mentioned on Bing maps and noticed that the CN yard had 3 'yards' in it. The 'old' portion actually starts just East of Atkinson overpass, but only just. CN does still use this portion for car storage. IIRC they also have some cars stored in old McDonald yard. The sanding tower still stands, and you don't need to be in the air to tell where the old roundhouse was. There is still a building there, brick construction, it looks like maybe the old machine shop. Now I really wish I could walk the yard and take pics. Or do a very low flyby in a helicopter.
There is one area South of the yard where some warehouses are that if you drive down to the end you could see CN's engine facilities. You could also walk down Atkinson Dr. overpass but I honestly feel that would be putting my life in more jeopardy than standing in front of a moving locomotive. I also found some pics on the net taken by someone who did this and I commend them. I don't think the overpass has sidewalks.
I haven't been able to see any of the Milwaukee yardage mentioned East of the Fox, but then again I really don't go through the area too much. I noticed a different building marked for Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, so this makes me wonder if they moved and what will happen to old Milwaukee depot.
The old Milwaukee Oakland yard always has cars in it. For a while there there was always rail cars there carrying gigantor metal tubes that tapered narrower along its length. I always just assumed they were wind turbine structures. I live right by the Dousman/Shawano exit off 41, so I see 18 wheelers (more like 24 actually) often enough hauling around wind turbine blades. Them babies are big. But I haven't seen the rail cars or the old Milwaukee littered with the gigantor tubes since at least last summer. Now it seems to be a park-n-go for CN covered coil-cars. GBW's Norwood yard seems to be a park-n-go for old box cars. I live right by CN's 'Park Job', mater of fact it woke me up three times today. I haven't seen them ever drop off an old car at scrap yard. I would say the name but by the time you read this it might be changed again. There are a few cars already sitting at the scrappers, haven't moved in the two years or so I've been rail-fanning the area. One of them is an old 50' solid yellow marked WC.
So pretty much Doublestack you confirmed that I knew where all the yards are located after all. I just didn't know which was who's. Thanks for the help. I just wish I was old enough back in the day to rail-fan all these spots when they were in there heyday. I was only about 3 when Milwaukee went defunct, just getting into I think 3rd grade when GBW went bye-bye and only slightly older when CNW decided to pull out. I was old enough to know about WC, but how many jr highers/high schoolers are really going to care about "trains" when there's girls, cars, and fresh drivers license
Hi there,
The yard that CN primarily uses now (North Broadway to Prairie Ave) was the Chicago and Northwestern North Green Bay Yard. It's actually 2 yards in 1 divided about at the Atkinson Drive overpass. The more easterly of the two is the "old yard" and the portion west of the overpass was the "new yard." Nearly all of the engine facilities have been destroyed during the CN era (roundhouse, turntable, sanding tower, etc.)
Immediately adjacent to the C&NW North Green Bay Yard is the former Green Bay and Western McDonald Yard. It's almost hard to distinguish from the CNW yard, but if you cross the yard lead at Broadway, you'll notice a track that veers to the left into an area of about 4 more tracks. That was GBW McDonald. From Atkinson Drive, you can see that there is a slight separation. McDonald Yard was used to set up the train for the ferry at Kewaunee and I believe for switching some east side industries.
GBW would follow their pseudo-street running trackage along Norwood St to their Norwood Yard, which is bounded by 12th Ave and Ashland Ave as well as Clinton St and School Place. The old Strid Grain Elevator is there. Again, all of the beautiful GBW shops are now gone and all that remains in the steel yard office at 12th Ave. CN stores some cars here, often cars awaiting scrapping at a scrapper on the far west side of GB.
The yard under the Ashland Ave Viaduct is the former Milwaukee Road Yard which I believe was at times referred to as Oakland Ave, since that street ran right up to the yard office/ depot there. The shop was still there as recently as about 1992-95, but as intermodal grew there, the shop went. The depot went some time after.
I guess technically you could say that Milwaukee Rd had a small yard across the river (over the Fox River Bridge between the bridge and the former Milw Rd East GB depot (currently Chamber of Commerce Office on Washington St. This is where part of the Fox River trail is now. You could see the yard as recently as 5 yrs ago or so, just south of the Mason St Bridge, along Adams St (across from the Water Utility Office.)
Milwaukee Rd had a great industrial line that ran from that yard on the East side, past the depot, behind the former transit garage (approx site of St Brendans Pub now) between the Bellin Building and the Fox River, through the old Pranges (Younkers ) Building, around behind Holiday in, around WPS office and then came out behind Camera Corner to cross North Monroe St and the East River. Part stayed on the South side of the River and ran past the Greyhound Station, crossed Webster and Ran right down Cedar St. If you drive Cedar, just east of Webster, you can still see the rails in the asphalt. The part that crossed the river accessed the east side paper mills. Pretty interesting piece of track.
I'm wondering if anyone can inform me of all the rail yards in Green Bay present and past. I know of three yards. The CN yard (Green Bay North yard?), the old GBW yard, and another yard that passes under Ashland Ave. and stretches from roughly 12th Ave to Broadway.
-thanks
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