UP 321 on the Lesperance Industrial Lead and Desoto Subdivision
In the winter of 2004, I caught a Union Pacific local train heading south on the UP Lesperance Industrial Lead and the UP Desoto Subdivision. The train came south out of UP's Lesperance Street Yard in St. Louis, Missouri , and was destined for DeSoto, MO. UP 321 in South St. Louis I spotted the train coming south on the Lesperance Industrial Lead (LIL) along 1st Street, near Potomac Street in South St. Louis. With the train moving slowly I had enough time to turn around and head to Bellerive Park, where the LIL runs between the park's river bluffs and the Mississippi River. Bellerive Park sits up on the bluffs, while the lower level where the tracks are is Sister Marie Charles Park now. UP 321 leads its train south at Bellerive Park and Sr. Marie Charles Park, near Elwood Street. With the train moving slowly, I was able to get to East Steins Street (milepost (MP) 6.3), at Vulcan Street, to catch it coming around the curve there. In the background are some of the old brick build...