| A CN local parallels Garner's Creek and crosses State St. as it approaches the remnants of the former C&NW yard at Combined Locks, WI on 9 Nov. '19. Local was preparing to extract some cars from the Midwest Paper Group mill, 540 Prospect St., looming in the background. Founded in 1889 (some references state 1892) as the Combined Locks Paper Co., it became Combined Paper Mills, Inc. in ‘46 after it purchased a paper mill in PA. Acquired by the National Cash Register Co. in ‘69, it was merged with Appleton Coated Paper Co. in ‘71 to form Appleton Papers, Inc. Commonly known as Appleton Papers Locks Mill, it has been controlled by several different domestic and foreign owners over the years. It was separated from Appleton Papers in ‘00 and became Appleton Coated, LLC. Ten members of the mill’s management purchased the facility from France-based Sequana SA on 19 Dec. ’14. Forced into receivership, it was purchased by scrap dealers, Industrial Assets Corp. and Maynards Industries USA, in Oct. ’17. They bought it to shut it down and gut it. By some miracle, they changed their minds and restarted the paper machines. The facility was re-named Midwest Paper Group ca. 19 Apr. ’18. Now just a short branch line, this stretch of rail is a remnant of the MLS&W main line which once ran from Milwaukee to Ashland. |