UP 5021 - Chester Subdivision - Valley Junction - 4/17/97

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UP 5021 sits on the Chester Subdivision at Valley Junction in East St. Louis, IL.
UP 5021 - East St. Louis, IL


Union Pacific 5021 (an EMD SD50) waits on the southern edge of Valley Junction waiting for clearance to proceed north. Notice the sign to the right of the train which indicates the different radio channels train crews are to use depending on which railroad they need to communicate with. Today the locomotive's identifying number has been reassigned to a newer UP locomotive, an EMD SD70M.

Valley Junction is probably the busiest railroad junction in the St. Louis area. The Junction has three railroad yards, the biggest of which is the Alton and Southern's Gateway Yard. The Alton and Southern is a subsidiary of the Union Pacific. In addition to Gateway Yard, there is also the Kansas City Southern's (KCS) rail yard, plus a small yard sandwiched between Gateway Yard and the KCS yard.

Photograph taken: April 17, 1997, at East St. Louis, Illinois.

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