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Showing posts from February, 2015

UP 6795 - Jefferson City Subdivision - St. Louis - Feb. 2004

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Union Pacific 6795 leads a grain train east at 23rd Street on the Jefferson City Subdivision . The train is passing under the old Jefferson Avenue overpass, which has since been demolished and replaced. The train is heading toward Gratiot Interlocking, where it most likely took the TRRA's MacArthur Bridge Subdivision across the MacArthur Bridge toward Valley Junction in East St. Louis, Illinois. Photograph taken: February 4, 2005, at St. Louis, Missouri.

UP 8183 & UP 6184 - Green Signal on the Chester Subdivision

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UP 8183 and UP 6184 - Menard Junction - Chester, IL After having to wait at Menard Junction for another train to pass, Union Pacific 8183 and Union Pacific 6184 get the green signal and lead their coal train south past the signal on track two of the Union Pacific Chester Subdivision. In the background is the of the bridge over the Mississippi River at Chester, that connects the states of Illinois and Missouri. Photograph taken: February 5, 2005, at Chester, Illinois.

UP 8183 - Menard Junction - Chester Subdivision - 2/5/05

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UP 8183 - Menard Junction - Chester, IL A train hauling automobile frames rolls south on track one of the Union Pacific's Chester Subdivision, while a coal train lead by Union Pacific 8183 pulls up to wait on track two at Menard Junction. After the train with the automobile frames cleared the junction, UP 8183 got the green signal to proceed south. Menard Junction Menard Junction (milepost 61.0) can be a bottle neck at times because heading south from the junction, the Union Pacific Chester Subdivision goes from two main tracks to one main track. South of Menard Junction the line alternates between one and two main tracks the rest of the way to Charleston Junction (milepost 171.9) in Dexter, Missouri. North of the junction, for sixty-one miles, between Menard Junction and Valley Junction (milepost 0.0), in East St. Louis, Illinois, the Chester Subdivision has two main tracks. Photograph taken: February 5, 2005, at Chester, Illinois.

UP 8183 - Coal Dust - Chester Subdivision - 2/5/05

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Union Pacific 8183 leads a loaded coal train south on the Union Pacific Chester Subdivision at mile post 26 .The train is south of Valmeyer, Illinois, and north of Chalfin Bridge, Illinois.  Coal dust The black looking smoke is actually coal dust flying off of the coal in the hopper cars. While the occurrence of coal dust flying off of coal happens, it generally occurs closer to where the coal is loaded. Most of the loaded coal trains that come through St. Louis originate in the Powder River Coal Basin in Wyoming, and by the time they reach the Midwest the coal dust has long since blow off. So, I'm not sure why this train's load of coal still had so much dust flying off of it. One possibility, I suppose, is that the train did not originate in Wyoming, but closer to St. Louis. The train could have come from a coal mine in Illinois, or the coal could have been trans-loaded from a river barge. By the time UP 8183 and its train reached Chester, Illinois , the coal dust

Passing coal trains on the UP Chester Subdivision - 2/5/05

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UP 8183 - Passing coal trains - Maeystown, IL In the distance Union Pacific 8183 leads a southbound loaded coal train past a northbound empty coal train on the UP's Chester Subdivision, Valmeyer, Illinois, and Chalfin Bridge, Illinois. This shot was taken at about mile post 26 on the Chester Subdivision, at KK Road .  Chester Subdivision The Chester Subdivision starts to the north on the southern edge of Valley Junction (milepost 0.0) in East St. Louis, Illinois. The subdivision heads south through southern Illinois, staying fairly close to the Mississippi River, until it gets to the town of Thebes, Illinois. At Thebes the Chester Subdivision crosses over the Mississippi River, on a bridge referred to by the railroad as SIMBCO (milepost 119.7), into the state of Missouri, and heads toward Dexter, Missouri. At Dexter, the subdivision ends at Charleston Junction, milepost 171.9.  Popeye On a side note, the subdivision is named after the town of Chester, Illinois (milep

UP 6758 - Jefferson City Subdivision - St. Louis MO - 2/1/05

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UP 6758 - St. Louis, MO On the point of an empty coal train is Union Pacific 6758, which is leading an empty coal train with two patched ex-Southern Pacific locomotives west on the Jefferson City Subdivision. The empty coal train at milepost 4.0 on the subdivision, and is nearing the South Kingshighway Boulevard overpass, which is just behind where this photograph was taken from. The train is beginning its trek across Missouri to Kansas City. From Kansas City the train will head back to Wyoming's Powder River Coal Basin for another load of coal. Photograph taken: February 1, 2005, at St. Louis, Missouri.

UP 6758 - Jefferson City Subdivision - St. Louis MO - 2/1/05

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UP 6758 - Jefferson City Sub - St. Louis, MO Union Pacific 6758 leads a train west on the Jefferson City Subdivision , at Jefferson Avenue. The second and third locomotives were patched Southern Pacific locomotives. This train was heading toward Grand Interlocking where it would pass through the junction and continue west on the Jefferson City Subdivision toward Jefferson City, MO. Since this photograph was taken in 2005, the Jefferson Avenue overpass has been torn down and replaced with a new bridge. Photo taken: at St. Louis, Missouri, on February 1, 2005.

BNSF 6868, BNSF 6384 - Patched Fallen Flags - St. Louis, MO

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BNSF 6868 and BNSF 6384 - Merchants Sub - St. Louis, MO Still painted in their pre-merger paint schemes, BNSF 6868 and BNSF 6384 lead a northbound train past the old Cotton Belt (St. Louis & Southwestern RR) freight depot just north of Laclede's Landing in St. Louis. BNSF 6868 is a former Santa Fe Railway locomotive that is still painted in the Blue/Yellow Bonnet scheme. The locomotive is an SD40-2 that was built by the Electro Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors in 1980. BNSF 6384 is a former Burlington Northern locomotive still painted in BN's Cascade Green scheme . The locomotive is also an SD40-2, but was built by EMD in 1984. Photograph taken: January 8, 2005, at St. Louis, Missouri.

Tank Cars In The Snow - Union Pacific Chester Subdivision

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Tank cars - Columbia, IL A string of tank cars roll north on a Union Pacific train on the Chester Subdivision. In the distance is the Jefferson Barracks Bridge , which carries Interstate 255 over the Mississippi River between South St. Louis County, Missouri, and Columbia, Illinois. Locally the bridge is called the JB Bridge. The bridge is named after Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, which is located in Missouri, atop the river bluffs, to the north (on the right side) of the bridge in the distance. Photograph taken: January 9, 2005, at Columbia, Illinois. Post updated on January 19, 2022.

UP 9513 - Chester Subdivision - Dupo Yard Tower - 01/09/05

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UP 9513 - Dupo, IL On a cold winter's day, Union Pacific (UP) 9513 rolls north toward the tower in UP's Dupo Yard , on the Chester Subdivision. From here the train would make its way north toward the TRRA's Valley Junction in East. St. Louis, Illinois. Photo taken: January 9, 2005, at Dupo, Illinois.

TRRA 3005 - UP Chester Subdivision - Airflite Road - 01/09/05

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TRRA 3005 - Cahokia, IL TRRA 3005 and another TRRA locomotive are seen here on the point of a southbound transfer train that is on Union Pacific's Chester Subdivision at Airflite Road (update: now named Air Flight Avenue per a street sign). The train came down the TRRA's Illinois Transfer Sub to Valley Junction in East St. Louis, where it then got onto the UP Chester Subdivision. The train came south down the Chester Subdivision in order to make a back up move into the Alton And Southern's Gateway Yard, which is north of here at Valley Junction . Photo taken: January 9, 2005. Cahokia, Illinois.

UP Y696 switching intermodal cars - Dupo Yard Tower

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Y696 and UP 7240 next to the Dupo Yard tower - Dupo, IL. Union Pacific (UP) Y696 works a switch job in UP's Dupo Yard in January 2005. In the distance is UP 7240, on the point of a southbound train that was being re-crewed. Once the train has a new crew it will head south on UP's Chester Subdivision. Dupo Yard is Union Pacific's intermodal facility for the St. Louis area. Photograph taken: January 9, 2005, at Dupo, Illinois.

UP 9101 and UP 9513 - Side-By-Side - Chester Subdivision

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UP 9101 and UP 9513 - Chester Sub - Columbia, IL Union Pacific 9101 leads a light engine movement past Union Pacific 9513 at Bottom Road on the UP's Chester Subdivision. UP 9513 and its train had just come to a stop when UP 9101 came sneaking north along side. Photograph taken: January 9, 2005, at Columbia, Illinois.

Alton and Southern 12, an 0-8-0 steam locomotive

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A&S 12 - Kirkwood, MO Alton and Southern 12 is seen here sitting in the back storage area at the National Museum of Transportation. The 0-8-0 steam locomotive has definitely seen better days since it was built in 1926. According to the website Steamlocomotive.com, the locomotive was built for just under $60,000 dollars and logged over 600,000 miles of service for the Alton and Southern Railroad. Photo taken on: December 31, 2004, at Kirkwood, Missouri.

Alton & Southern 12's Number Plate - Alco - 1926

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A&S 12 - Number Plate - Kirkwood, MO This is the number plate on the front of Alton and Southern Railway 12 , an old steam locomotive on display at the National Museum of Transportation. The Alton and Southern is still around and is a switching railroad in the St. Louis area. The A&S is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. Photograph taken: December 31, 2004, at Kirkwood, Missouri.

UP Big Boy 4006 - The firebox is cold and silent

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UP Big Boy 4006 - Firebox This is a view looking inside the now dormant firebox of Union Pacific Big Boy X4006 . At one time, fire raged inside this firebox creating the heat that turned water into the steam needed to propel this mighty steam locomotive. Big Boy X4006 is one of many steam locomotives on display at the National Museum of Transportation .  Photo taken: Kirkwood, Missouri. December 31, 2004.

West Barretts Tunnel - National Museum Of Transportation

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East portal of West Barraetts Tunnel This is the east tunnel portal of the western Barretts tunnel. There are two tunnels approximately a quarter of a mile apart. The west tunnel sits on the Museum of Transportation's property. I believe also that the east tunnel is also owned by the museum, even though it cannot be accessed by the public. The east tunnel sits outside the museum's main grounds. Today the west tunnel is used to store miscellaneous railroad rolling stock. Visitors to the museum cannot go inside the tunnel as the east portal is fenced off. The two tunnels were built as part of the Pacific Railroad's drive to build a line from St. Louis west to Kansas City, via Jefferson City. Both tunnels were built in the mid 1850's. The west tunnel is the shorter of the two tunnels and is about 410 feet long. The east tunnel is about 590 feet long. In 1929 concrete was used to rebuild the west tunnel's portals (US Dept. of the Interior). United States Depar

UP Big Boy 4006 - An engineer's view inside the cab

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UP Big Boy 4006 - Engineer's view   This view is from the engineer's side of Union Pacific Big Boy X4006 's cab, located on display at the Museum of Transportation. Due to years of exposure to the elements, while on display at the museum, the windows do not have the clearest views anymore. For a view of the fireman's side of the locomotive's cab, you can click the preceding link. Photo taken: Kirkwood, Missouri.

Zero MPH - Inside the cab - National Museum of Transportation

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Inside the cab This is a view inside one of the many railroad locomotives at the National Museum of Transportation. After many years of dutiful service, this locomotive has seen better days as it sits at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis County. The museum has quite an extensive collection of railroad rolling stock and automobiles, along with a few boats and an airplane. If you are ever in the St. Louis area, the museum is well worth a visit. Photo taken: St. Louis, Missouri. December 31, 2004.

BNSF 5115 leaving NS' Luther Yard - St. Louis - Dec. 2004

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BNSF 5115 - Luther Yard - St. Louis, MO BNSF 5115 is seen here on the point of a Norfolk Southern stack train that is leaving Norfolk Southern's Luther Yard in North St. Louis. The train is nearing Adelaide Avenue, heading south toward May Street Interlocking where it will get onto the TRRA Merchants Bridge . BNSF 5115 and its train will use the bridge to cross over the Mississippi River into the state of Illinois. Once in Illinois the train will use TRRA tracks to gain access to either the NS' Brooklyn District or the NS' Southern West District. Photo taken: St. Louis, Missouri. December 29, 2004.

BNSF 5723 - Crew Change - Hannibal Subdivision - St. Louis

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BNSF 5723 - St. Louis, MO A new crews gets BNSF 5723 and its train ready to head west on the BNSF's Hannibal Subdivision, near South Kingshighway Boulevard. The crew van that delivered the new crew is seen in the background on the right of the photograph. From here the train will head to BNSF's Lindenwood Yard , and then south on the BNSF River Subdivision . Photo taken: St. Louis, Missouri. December 29, 2004.

UP 1091 - Jefferson City Subdivison - St. Louis, MO 12/29/04

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UP 1091 - St. Louis, MO UP 1091 leads the morning local east on the Union Pacific Jefferson City Subdivision at South Kingshighway Blvd. The train had just passed along side Manchester Avenue, and was now rounding the curve to pass under the South Kingshighway overpass, before heading on to Grand Interlocking. Photo taken: St. Louis, Missouri. December 29, 2004.

Union Pacific 5963 and Union Pacific 5995 - Waiting at Bixby

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UP 5963, UP 7011, and UP 5995 Union Pacific 5963 and Union Pacific 5995 sit on the point of their respective trains in the holding yard known as Bixby, on the southern end Union Pacific's Dupo Yard.Once these trains have been refueled and re-crewed, they will head south on the Union Pacific's Chester Subdivision.  Photo taken: December 28, 2004. Bixby, Illinois.

UP 4445 and UP 2934 - MacArthur Bridge East Approach

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UP 4445 and UP 2934 - East St. Louis, IL Union Pacific 4445 and Union Pacific 2934 lead a manifest freight train west on the east approach of the MacArthur Bridge. The train's locomotives are passing over Boismenue Avenue, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Further east down Boismenue Avenue you can see part of the approach's curve, as it swings back around at Valley Junction . There are actually two approaches back at Valley Junction that lead to the east approach.  This train is using the approach out of the Alton and Southern's Gateway Yard . The yard's control tower is in the distance, behind the curved approach.  Photo taken: East St. Louis, Illinois. December 28, 2004.

MRS 255 - Street running on 2nd Street - Dec. 2004

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MRS 255 - St. Louis, MO Manufacturers Railway System 255 leads a switch job south down the tracks in the middle of 2nd Street. The locomotive and its train were heading back to the MRS yard after doing some switching at a business near Barton and 3rd Street in south St. Louis. These days, business on the 2nd Street trackage is pretty much all gone. The largest business on the line, a chemical company, closed many years ago leaving only a couple of smaller businesses to support the line. Photo taken: St. Louis, Missouri. December 27, 2004.

Rail Cruise America - SLCC 102 (F9PHA) - St. Louis Union Station - 12/24/04

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On Christmas Eve in 2004, Rail Cruise America's (RPCX) St. Louis Car Company (SLCC) 102 sits under the train shed at Union Station. SLCC 102 (an EMD F9PHA) was one of the locomotives used for a dinner train that was based out of Union Station. Unfortunately, in just over a year the dinner train service came to an end, and the locomotive and other rolling stock was sold off. The locomotives were eventually sold to Norfolk Southern, while the passenger cars made their way to Kansas City Southern for use on the two railroads executive/business trains. Photo taken: St. Louis, Missouri. December 24, 2004.

UP 7905 - TRRA Merchants Subdivision - St. Louis, MO

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UP 7905 - St. Louis, MO Back in 2004, an old Southern Pacific (SP) tunnel motor, now under Union Pacific (UP) ownership and patched as UP 7905, is seen here on a westbound freight near Jefferson Avenue. This locomotive from what I can find online was former Southern Pacific (SP) 8566. I'm guessing the person who was doing this custom paint job got side tracked and didn't finish painting the locomotive. The train is heading west on the TRRA's Merchants Subdivision, toward Grand Interlocking. At Grand Interlocking the train will get onto Union Pacific's Jefferson City Subdivision for the run across Missouri to Kansas City. Photo taken: St. Louis, Missouri. December 11, 2004.

NS 8835 - Adelaide Avenue - St. Louis, MO

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NS 8835 - St. Louis, MO Norfolk Southern 8835 (a General Electric C40-9) leads a freight train south under the Adelaide Avenue overpass in North St. Louis. The train had just left Norfolk Southern's Luther Yard , which is just north of this location. NS 8835 and its train were heading toward the Merchants Bridge , where the train would cross over the Mississippi River into Illinois. Meanwhile, a northbound intermodal stack train is heading toward Luther Yard. Photograph taken: St. Louis, Missouri. December 11, 2004.

TRRA 1517 - North Market Interlocking - Merchants Subdivision

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TRRA 1517 is on the point of a local doing some switching at TRRA's North Market Interlocking, on the TRRA's Merchants Subdivision, south of Branch Street. North Market Interlocking is where BNSF Hannibal Subdivision joins the Merchants Subdivision, in north St. Louis. The track on the left side of the image, behind the yellow hopper, is the BNSF's Hannibal Subdivision.  In the background is the old Illinois Terminal Highline Bridge . The Highline Bridge is an almost mile long bridge that snakes its way across north St. Louis between Branch Street, on the north end, and Hadley Street, on the southern end. The bridge's northern approach comes down to grade level at Branch Street, about a block or two to the left of where this photograph was taken. BNSF's Hannibal Subdivision also crosses Branch Street , next to the Highline Bridges north approach. Photo taken: December 11, 2004. St. Louis, Missouri.

Headlight - NYC 2933 - Museum of Transportation

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NYC 2933 - Kirkwood, MO Seen here is the headlight and number plate on the stained and streaked front of New York Central (NYC) 2933 , a 4-8-2 style steam locomotive that is on display at the National Museum of Transportation , in Kirkwood, Missouri. This is one of the earliest digital images I ever took, and was taken with a Canon G3. The G3 had a whopping 4 megapixel sensor, and in my opinion only produced moderate results. However, the G3 was my my introduction to capturing images digitally on a regular basis. It was difficult to get good images with the G3, when the images had any significant amount of dark areas because of the amount of noise that was generated by the camera's sensor. However, I feel that this image turned out fairly well, considering the camera's capabilities. Photo taken: St. Louis, Missouri. November 6, 2004.

UP 6786 - Coal Train - Jefferson City Subdivisoin

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UP 6786 -Washington, MO Union Pacific 6786 is seen here leading a coal train east on the Union Pacific Jefferson City Subdivision . The train is about twenty to thirty minutes away from its final destination at the Ameren Power plant in Labadie, Missouri. After unloading the coal at the power plant, the train was due to head back to the Belle Ayer Coal Mine in the Powder River Coal Basin in Wyoming. Photograph taken: Washington, Missouri, on Saturday, April 2, 2011.

Toronto Union Station from the CN Tower

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Toronto Union Station A view of Toronto Union Station and its train shed, as seen from the outdoor observation deck of the CN Tower. The end of the train shed closest to the bottom of the photograph is the western side of the station complex. Today, Amtrak, GO Transit, VIA, and Pearson Express trains all use the station. Photograph taken: November 24, 2010, at Toronto, Ontario.

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