| A CN through freight, with a string of flatcars loaded with MoW equipment, passes the Main St. overpass and leans into the west leg of the wye at the north end of the former SOO yard at Neenah, WI on 11 May '19. Train was slowing in order to prepare to set out and pick up cars and had two locomotives, CN 3041 and EMDX 1606. The north leg of the wye is partially visible at left. The remnants of the foundation from the ca. 1955 masonry SOO depot can be seen near the center of the photograph. The rail sections supported by concrete blocks and railroad ties rest atop the remnants of the foundation. The masonry depot was built to replace the wooden depot built in 1891 on Sherry St., about 850 ft. to the southeast, which was torn down soon after the new one opened. The Edward Smith Octagon House, 347 Smith St., is partially visible under the overpass at right. The house was erected between 1851 and 1854. Edward Smith, who operated a flour mill and had an early interest in the Neenah Paper Co., purchased the home in 1855. It has been owned by the Neenah Historical Society since 1993. |