Hi there,
The yard that CN primarily uses now (North Broadway to Prairie Ave) was the Chicago and Northwestern North Green Bay Yard. It's actually 2 yards in 1 divided about at the Atkinson Drive overpass. The more easterly of the two is the "old yard" and the portion west of the overpass was the "new yard." Nearly all of the engine facilities have been destroyed during the CN era (roundhouse, turntable, sanding tower, etc.)
Immediately adjacent to the C&NW North Green Bay Yard is the former Green Bay and Western McDonald Yard. It's almost hard to distinguish from the CNW yard, but if you cross the yard lead at Broadway, you'll notice a track that veers to the left into an area of about 4 more tracks. That was GBW McDonald. From Atkinson Drive, you can see that there is a slight separation. McDonald Yard was used to set up the train for the ferry at Kewaunee and I believe for switching some east side industries.
GBW would follow their pseudo-street running trackage along Norwood St to their Norwood Yard, which is bounded by 12th Ave and Ashland Ave as well as Clinton St and School Place. The old Strid Grain Elevator is there. Again, all of the beautiful GBW shops are now gone and all that remains in the steel yard office at 12th Ave. CN stores some cars here, often cars awaiting scrapping at a scrapper on the far west side of GB.
The yard under the Ashland Ave Viaduct is the former Milwaukee Road Yard which I believe was at times referred to as Oakland Ave, since that street ran right up to the yard office/ depot there. The shop was still there as recently as about 1992-95, but as intermodal grew there, the shop went. The depot went some time after.
I guess technically you could say that Milwaukee Rd had a small yard across the river (over the Fox River Bridge between the bridge and the former Milw Rd East GB depot (currently Chamber of Commerce Office on Washington St. This is where part of the Fox River trail is now. You could see the yard as recently as 5 yrs ago or so, just south of the Mason St Bridge, along Adams St (across from the Water Utility Office.)
Milwaukee Rd had a great industrial line that ran from that yard on the East side, past the depot, behind the former transit garage (approx site of St Brendans Pub now) between the Bellin Building and the Fox River, through the old Pranges (Younkers ) Building, around behind Holiday in, around WPS office and then came out behind Camera Corner to cross North Monroe St and the East River. Part stayed on the South side of the River and ran past the Greyhound Station, crossed Webster and Ran right down Cedar St. If you drive Cedar, just east of Webster, you can still see the rails in the asphalt. The part that crossed the river accessed the east side paper mills. Pretty interesting piece of track.
