CN Riverside Drive Bridge (Suamico)

In 1864, the Peninsula Railroad of Michigan (PRM) constructed 62 miles of new railroad, extending from Escanaba, Michigan to Negauee, Michigan.  The PRM had originally been charted to connect the iron mines of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to Lake Michigan at Escanaba.  After completion of the line, the PRM would be purchased by William B. Ogden, and consolidated into the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW).  This segment of line was originally disconnected with the rest of the C&NW system, which was beginning to expand in Wisconsin.  A 5 mile extension to Ishpeming, Michigan was constructed in 1870 by the C&NW.  In 1870, the C&NW constructed an additional 50 miles of railroad, extending from the end of the existing mainline at Green Bay, Wisconsin to Marinette, Wisconsin, on the Michigan border.  The following year, a bridge would be constructed over the Menominee River, and an additional 64 miles of railroad constructed to Escanaba. This line soon became a major mainline for the C&NW, allowing the shipment of iron ore from the Upper Peninsula and allowing the construction of branch lines.  North of Escanaba, numerous branch lines would be constructed to serve the mines of the area.

By the early 20th Century, the C&NW had constructed and acquired a large railroad network throughout the Midwest, making it one of the premiere railroads of the area. Throughout the first half of the 20th Century, this line remained critical for the C&NW, as it provided connections to a number of lines throughout northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The line served a variety of industries, hosted passenger trains and was heavily used for hauling iron ore.  The C&NW was acquired by Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1995.  UP soon began to sell or abandon excess tracks acquired from the C&NW.  The line from Green Bay to Ishpeming and the remaining mine branches were sold to a subsidiary of Wisconsin Central, Ltd. (WC).  In 2001, WC was purchased by Canadian National Railway (CN), and became the American subsidiary of the railroad.  Today, CN continues to operate the line between Green Bay and Gladstone, Michigan as the Marinette Subdivision, and the Gladstone to Ishpeming segment as the Ore Subdivision.