St. Louis Hotspots

Grand Ave Interlocking (St. Louis, MO)

Railroads: UP, BNSF, TRRA, Amtrak, Metrolink

Train Freq: High

Safety: Fair

Radio Freq: 161.220(UP) 160.965(BNSF) 160.500(TRRA)

Layout: UP, BNSF and TRRA tracks converge here right next to a Metrolink light-rail station. Action can be viewed from the station platform or the Grand Ave. overpass.

MAP

MacArthur Bridge (St. Louis, MO)

Railroads: UP, BNSF, TRRA, A&S, Amtrak, MRS

Train Freq: High

Safety: Fair

Radio Freq: 160.500(TRRA)

Layout: The TRRA owned Douglas MacArthur Bridge is a vital link between East and West. This is one of only two bridges carrying freight traffic across the Mississippi River in St. Louis. The action here is best viewed from the riverfront south of the arch.

MAP

Valley Jct. (East St. Louis, IL)

Railroads: A&S,TRRA,MRS,UP,KCS

Train Freq: Constant

Safety: Poor

Radio Freq: 160.770(A&S) 160.335(A&S Gateway Yard) 160.500(TRRA) 161.550(UP) 161.460(KCS)

Layout: Four lines converge here at the southwest corner of Alton & Southern's huge Gateway Yard in East St. Louis. There are constantly trains coming, going, or waiting to pass through. This is a pretty rough neighborhood and is best visited in a group during daylight hours.

MAP

Granite City (Granite City, IL)

Railroads: A&S, Amtrak, NS, UP, KCS, TRRA, BNSF

Train Freq: High

Safety: Good

Radio Freq: 160.770(A&S) 160.440(NS) 160.410(UP Pana Sub) 160.560(UP Springfield Sub) 160.500(TRRA)

Layout: Granite City offers several locations for train watching. The best location is probably WR Tower, located on Niedringhaus Ave. At WR, the TRRA converges with the UP Springfield Sub and the NS Brooklyn District. The NS also splits off to go to A.O. Smith Yard on the former Illinois Terminal line to Alton. Here you will see UP, KCS, TRRA, NS, Amtrak, and BNSF trains.

Another location in Granite City is just to the east of WR Tower, where you will find some switching operations of TRRA and NS at the steel mills, plus the mainline of the Alton & Southern running behind the mill complex.

MAP

Lenox Tower (Mitchell, IL)

Railroads: A&S, Amtrak, NS, UP, KCS, BNSF

Train Freq: High

Safety: Good

Radio Freq: 160.770(A&S) 160.440(NS) 160.410(UP Pana Sub) 160.560(UP Springfield Sub)

160.460 (KCS)

Layout: Lenox Tower is one of the few active interlocking towers remaining in the St. Louis area. Located just north of Granite City, Lenox Tower is the converging point for NS, UP, and Alton & Southern mainlines. This is the northern terminus of the A&S and they have a small yard (Mitchell Yard) just South of the tower. The trains are best viewed from the throat of Mitchell yard or along the NS and UP tracks on IL Route 203. DO NOT try to approach the tower, the crew does not appreciate it.

MAP

Kirkwood Station (Kirkwood, MO)

Railroads: UP, BNSF, Amtrak

Train Freq: High

Safety: Excellent

Radio Freq: 161.220(UP) 161.160(BNSF)

Layout: Kirkwood is the home of a beautiful Missouri Pacific depot which is still actively served by Amtrak via UP's Jefferson City Subdivision. Kirkwood is also the crest-point of a ruling 1% grade that runs uphill from Valley Park, which is located approximately 3 miles west of the depot. BNSF's Cuba Sub also passes through Kirkwood about a mile south of the UP main.

MAP

Kirkwood Photo Spots (Close to station)

Kirkwood Photo Spots (Within walking/short drive distance of the station)

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