T.G.'s Photography Blog

UP 1988 leads a manifest train east on the Jefferson City Subdivision at Chouteau Avenue.   Union Pacific (UP) 1988 is one of six heritage locomotives painted to commemorate the railroads that UP acquired over the years to create its present-day railroad. UP 1988 commemorates the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad (MKT), nicknamed The Katy. The Katy heritage locomotive's number, 1988, represents the year The Katy merged with the UP railroad. Another shot of UP 1988 passing under Chouteau Avenue in St. Louis, MO.  Per UP's website, The Katy Railroad served six states and had 3,377 miles of track. The railroad was formed in 1865 and was a major connection between the Midwest and Texas.  UP 1988 sits west of Grand Interlocking at Spring Ave., as a crewmember does a roll by inspection.   According to the Katy Railroad Historical Society, there were four eras of diesel locomotive paint schemes. The two middle era paint schemes used two distinct shades of red, which UP...

 Starting on November 30, 2006, through the early morning of December 1, 2006, St. Louis, Missouri, and surrounding areas got hit by a winter storm. St. Louis escaped the large amounts of snow that other places across Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois received, but the region got blanketed with sleet and ice. With a small layer of snow of top. On December 1st, I ventured out to capture some railroad photography.  UP 7114 under Spring Avenue at Grand Interlocking The first photograph of the day was Union Pacific (UP) 7114 sitting under the old Spring Avenue overpass at Grand Interlocking. The train and its crew were waiting to head east off a siding along the Jefferson City Subdivision and through the interlocking. The old Spring Avenue overpass at this time hadn't been used for years, and half of it had already been torn down north of the tracks. Grand Interlocking is a junction of UP's Jefferson City Subdivision, BNSF's Hannibal Subdivision, and the Terminal Railroad Associ...

In this first photograph, BNSF 7824 and BNSF 7039 are seen sitting on the BNSF Hannibal Subdivision (the tracks curving in from the left side) at Grand Interlocking. The train was waiting for clearance to proceed east, through the interlocking and onto the TRRA Merchants Subdivision. The other set of tracks that curve in from the right side of the photograph are Union Pacific's Jefferson City Subdivision. After the BNSF train makes its way onto the TRRA Merchants Subdivision , it will head toward north St. Louis, where the train will get back on to the Hannibal Subdivision at North Market Interlocking. The road way in the photograph is the Chouteau Avenue overpass. This second image shows a closer view of the BNSF train as it sits waiting to proceed through the interlocking. Grand Interlocking is one of the busiest railroad junctions in the St. Louis area. Amtrak, BNSF, TRRA, and UP trains all pass through this junction. Amtrak trains that pass through the interlocking ...

BNSF 4926 leads a train east past the Grand Boulevard Metrolink station, at Grand Interlocking . The train is crossing over Union Pacific's Jefferson City Subdivision , and is coming from BNSF's Hannibal Subdivision and onto TRRA's Merchants Subdivision. BNSF uses the Merchants Subdivision between Grand Interlocking (just west of downtown St. Louis) and North Market Interlocking (in North St. Louis, between North Market and Branch Street). At North Market Interlocking BNSF's trains can get back onto the Hannibal Subdivision. Since this photograph was taken, the Grand Boulevard overpass has been replaced, and the Metrolink station has been rebuilt and reconfigured. The bridge in the background is the old Spring Avenue  overpass, which has since been torn down, but not replaced. The Spring Avenue overpass had been closed for many years prior to being demolished. October 30, 2006. St. Louis, Missouri.