Jersey Mike's Rail Adventures: 25-09-26 PHOTOS: St. Louis Arch

Friday, September 26, 2025

25-09-26 PHOTOS: St. Louis Arch

Apart from a brief station stop on the Texas Eagle in 2019, my only visit to Saint Louis had been visiting a friend back in 2005 and although I did get to run a lot of MetroLink, I was limited in photo capacity and time available to explore downtown. In 2025 I had the opportunity to return to Saint Louis and this time was able to allocate most of a day to "stupid railfan stuff" as my friend likes to refer to it. This was topped up with a late afternoon visit to the arch, although I lacked the time to actually go in and ride the arch. The resulting set of photos cover the MetroLink Blue Line, walking across the Eads Bridge and a good chunk of time walking around the new Gateway and old Union stations.

My place of lodging was relatively close to the Shrewsbury–Lansdowne I-44 station so that's where we started off the day. Here is Siemens SD-460 #4002 waiting at the platform. MetroLink came into service in the early 1990's with an initial order of SD-400's and then later added three more batches of updates SD-460 vehicles. #4002 here was purchased in the final batch in 2004-2005.

Here we see SD-460 #4012 at Laclede's Landing station, which is built into the western abutment of the Eads Bridge, which was the first bridge ever constructed across the main line of the Mississippi River using the then-revolutionary technology of tubular steel.

The Eads Bridge has a pedestrian walkway and a MetroLink station at each end which allows one to get in some steps while also getting in their required arch photos.

A significant rail freight corridor was in the path of the Gateway Arch urban renewal project. The solution was to create an overbuild that would hide the trains from view. Here we see BNSF ES44AC #5728 and C44-9W #5475 entering the eastern portal of the north tunnel.

Here we see SD460 #3016, #4002 (again), #3002 and #3004 at the East Riverfront station.

#3004 was my ride to Civic Centre Station, which is arguably closer to Amtrak's "new" Gateway station than the arena, but the Blues and Spirts are probably a bigger draw. Here we see #3004 coupled to #3009 departing the station.

The Gateway Transportation Center replaced a series of AmShacks on the same site in 2008. I had had the misfortune of using the temporary Amshack that was in service between 2004 and 2008. Needless to say the new station is much much nicer.

Walking from Gateway TC I got some photos of the old Saint Louis Union Station TOWER 1, which still stands at the southern end of the old stub end facility.

Today the old trainshed has been transformed into a parking area, an entertainment complex, hotel and mall.

Three or four tracks are still in use for a variety of tourist/excursion services as well as private car storage. Former Washington Union Terminal SW1 #738 is even on hand to tow private cars over to the adjacent Amtrak station for attachment to the Texas Eagle.

Other interesting rolling stock includes a former CDoT Budd SPV, a cut of Horizon coaches that somehow managed to avoid the corrosion problems and some dome cars in Polar Express service.

The trainshed area was as I remembered it with a massive koi pond and various places to spend one's money including the St. Louis Aquarium.

However in 2005 I had neglected to enter the former station headhouse, which is now a Marriott hotel. The former waiting area has been repurposed as the hotel bar and boy did someone do a great job with the preservation work.

The outside is similarly fantastic. It's a shame the station couldn't continue in service as a transportation hub, however the stub end format would present operational issues.

Metrolink is nominally a "proof of payment" system, but they had just installed HEET type faregates because I guess arresting fare evaders is too difficult.

SD400 LRV's #1031 and #1011 at Union Station. The first gen cars retain their original rollsigns.

Of course I was waiting on a Blue Line train and of course ran into #4002 and #4012 for the third time that day.

The next stop that afternoon was a brewery adjacent to the Union Pacific Jefferson City Sub which hoses the River Runner service trains to Kansas City. I managed to catch Train 318 with SC44 #4626 leading and a pair of baggage cars to meet axle count requirements.

While driving around the area I ran into this cool remnant of the Saint Louis and San Francisco railroad in addition to the world's largest Amoco sign.

While I did get dinner in the Loop Arts and Entertainment district, the Loop Trolley did not appear to be running.

Well since it is the title of the post so I would be remiss if I did not show off some photos of the Saint Louis Arch itself. A lot of people decry this sort of urban renewal project that leveled 50 some odd square blocks of the city, but the Gateway Arch was definitely worth it.

Eads bridge as seen from the base of the Gateway Arch.

Just across the river in East Saint Louis SCF GP15 #1231 was switching the Cargill rail-to-barge grain transloading facility.

Tail end of a manifest freight passing through the Gateway Arch overbuild. Most of the main line trackage in the Saint Louis core is owned by the Terminal Railroad Association of Saint Louis, which owns and operates both rail bridges over the Mississippi River and had also been responsible for Union Station back in the day.

The TRRA's flagship infrastructure is the Douglas MacArthur Saint Louis Municipal Bridge and its associated approach viaducts. The TRRA was actually formed in conjunction with the Eads Bridge, but traded it to the City in exchange for the MacArthur bridge the after the Eads had become unfit for modern rail operations. Here we see a westbound Union Pacific double stack intermodal train crossing the bridge with ES44AC #7926 and AC4400 #6432 leading.