| A CN local crosses the Fox River Navigation Canal at Lock No. 3 via the former C&NW swing bridge as it hauls 10 cars westward through 'The Flats' at Appleton, WI, on 24 Dec. '20. Local was returning from Kimberly and Combined Locks. I haven't noticed a builder's plate, but according to bridgehunter.com, the Warren through truss swing bridge was built in 1908. However, a recent contributor to that site believes it was built after 1919. A photograph caption in the Post-Crescent on 29 May 1974 states that the bridge was "nearly 50 years old." This view was captured from the abandoned former C&NW steel stringer bridge over the Fox River, which opened earlier this year as a recreational trail. I used to think that the abandoned bridge was former MILW, but I have since learned that it was C&NW. In the background you can see First Congregational United Church of Christ, 724 E. South River St. Over the past several years, I have noticed that some misinformed individuals erroneously refer to ‘The Flats’ as ‘Oneida Flats,’ or some other variation. For all of my life, the historic, industrial heart of Appleton has been simply ‘The Flats.’ However, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was referred to as 'The Water Power.' |