|
 Image is a composite from the Fond du Lac and Dodge County maps in "Historical Atlas of Wisconsin" by Snyder, VanVechten & Co. (1878); used by permission of the David Rumsey Map Collection. Original maps can be viewed online at the David Rumsey Map Collection. |
 Construction of the FAP commenced in Fond du Lac with groundbreaking on May 12, 1876, although rail was not laid until early June 1877. The route was graded and track laid in a southerly direction, crossing the Chicago and NorthWestern line a few miles out of town. The shops and turntable were located in Fond du Lac. The FAP crossed the Rock River at the northern border of Mayville, reached on August 1, 1877. In Mayville the FAP serviced the furnaces of the Northwestern Iron Company, bringing ore and limestone from Iron Ridge and taking pig iron south the the CMStP connection at Iron Ridge Junction. Continuing south from Mayville, the line followed a valley floor, occasionally cutting through low drumlins, relics of the glacial landscape. Near Browns Corner, the Niagara escarpment rears up on the east side of the line. Composed of thick layers of dolomite and limestone, the edge of the escarpment forms a steep bluff on a roughly northwest-southeast axis. The open pit iron mine and the "paint pit" were located about a half mile north of Iron Ridge on the east side of the line. At the village of Iron Ridge (later named Iron Mountain and then Neda), the houses of the miners and workers were located to the west of the line, along with assorted small industries (paint mill, blacksmith, tannery). The charcoal furnace at Iron Ridge was operated by the Wisconsin Iron Co., and was built alongside the line on the east side. One and a half miles further south, the FAP met the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul mainline and ran parallel to the southeast until the village of Iron Ridge Junction. Overall the FAP was 29 miles long with gentle curves and a few minor grades. |
| Updated March 13, 2004. |