There are two rail lines that run though Gordon, WI. This bridge is on the rail line that is still active. It started as the Chicago, Milwaukee, Saint Paul, and Pacific, more popularly known as the Milwaukee Road. The Milwaukee Road shut down in 1982. This line was then sold to the Soo Line, which was owned by the Canadian Pacific. The line was operated by the Wisconsin Central for several years. The Wisconsin Central was sold by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to the Canadian National Railroad in 2001. The CN currently operates this line.

The other rail line is the old Soo mainline. That rail line has been abandoned, and is currently used as a regional trail called the Wild Rivers Trail.

At this time, I have not learned anything about the Wisconsin Central Bridge. The railroad path itself is very old, dating from the 1800s. This bridge is not an original 1800s bridge. Rather, the round tubular support piles look like 1980s era work. I suspect that the Wisconsin Central built the current bridge when it took over this line given that the Milwaukee Road was in bankruptcy and was not investing in infrastructure.

Note that there is a small stream entering the Saint Croix River from the right in some of the photos below. That stream is the Eau Claire River, and this location is its confluence point with the Saint Croix River. The CN railroad tracks cross the Eau Claire River on a similar style bridge about 1,300 feet south of this location.

The photos above and below are close views of the main river span. The photo above is a view from mid-summer, while the photo below is from early spring.

These two photos are profile views of the downriver side of the Wisconsin Central Bridge. Both photos were taken from the same location on the deck of the nearby Gandy Dancer Trail bridge, which is a former railroad bridge located just downstream on the Saint Croix River. The photo above is from mid-summer, while the photo below is the same view from early spring.

These two photos are the first of a four photo set showing a Canadian National Railroad train crossing the bridge heading northbound. In the photo above, we see the lead locomotive northbound nearing the south end of the river bridge. The lead locomotive has reached mid-span on the bridge in the photo below. Locomotive #5604 is an EMD SD70I built for the CN in July, 1995. It has a 16-cylinder engine that develops 4,000 horsepower. The engine drives a generator which in turn powers direct current traction motors located on the wheel trucks.

These two photos are the final two photos of a four photo set showing a Canadian National Railroad train crossing the Wisconsin Central Bridge at Gordon, Wisconsin. In the photo above the third of the three locomotives is at mid-span. An empty lumber car is crossing the bridge in the photo below. The second locomotive is an EMD SD70M-2 built in 2006. It develops 4,300 horsepower. The third locomotive is an EMD GP38-2, which develops 2,000 horsepower. The GP was built for the Illinois Central Railroad in August, 1972.