St. Louis has an abundant number of railroads
serving the city including Class I's, regionals, and terminal railroads. St. Louis is a
hub of activity and will keep the model railroader busy viewing all of the different
facilities. The Gateway Division has worked with a number of railroads to provide
outstanding prototype tours for conventioneers. A number of large facilities are in St.
Louis including the UP's DeSoto Car Shops, TRRA (Terminal Railroad) yards, Metrolink Shops, and Manufacturers
Railway's shop and yards. The railroad facilities and property in St. Louis will provide
abundant opportunities to see the prototype in action.Many of the prototype and industrial tours will be conducted on railroad or industrial private property. All visitors should keep in mind we are guests, these are industrial facilities that are dangerous if safety practices are not followed, and so we should conduct ourselves accordingly.
- Stay with the group. Wanderers may find themselves stranded or removed from the tour and placed back on the bus.
- Unauthorized entry onto railroad property is trespassing. Violators will find themselves removed from the tour and placed back on the bus and/or subject to arrest.
- Follow the instructions listed for proper dress at these facilities.
- Some tours will require the wearing of hard hats and safety glasses provided by the host. Wear them at all times.
- You are an ambassador for the NMRA and model railroaders in general. The Golden Rule is a good guide.
Most of the hosts of the industrial tours and some of the prototype tours will require visitors to sign a release form that hold harmless and otherwise waive any and all claims against the host. If you do not want to sign such a form, you will not be allowed entrance to the facility.
Most of these tours will allow photography, however some may restrict or prohibit it. Follow the instructions in the tour descriptions or requested by the host.
General Railroad/Industrial Tour Dress Code
The recommended dress code for industrial and railroad facility tours include:
- Comfortable walking shoes. No open toes and no high heels. Hard soles are preferred.
- Long pants.
- Shirts or blouses.
Some tours have specific dress code requirements that must be followed to participate in that tour.
St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern
Railway Murder Mystery / Dinner Trip
Tour #13575, Sun, July 8, 1:30-8:30 pm, $75
Ride the St. Louis Iron Mountain and Southern for a murder mystery dinner. Enjoy your meal while you join in on the fun of solving a murder or just enjoy the three-hour train ride. The train leaves Jackson, Missouri, and returns there. There is a two-hour bus ride each way.
Anheuser Busch Brewery
Tour #22207, Mon, July 9, 1:00–3:30 pm, $18
Tour the century
old brewery, home of the Budweiser Clydesdales and the "King of Beers."
See a multimedia presentation that tells the story of the brewing process. Watch the fast
paced canning lines and see the brewmasters at their trade. Browse Bud World for
your tour souvenirs.
Museum of Transportation
/ Frisco 1522
Tour #21204, Mon, July 9, 8:30 am–noon, $21
Tour #51204, Thr, July 12, 8:30 am–noon, $21
All modes of transportation
equipment are on display (boats, planes, cars, etc.), but railroading is the primary
focus. See a Union Pacific Big Boy, a DD40, a Reading Camelback, the GM demonstrator FT,
Burlington Zephyr, a Santa Fe "Santa Fe" and other unique, unusual, and old
equipment. Also see the WWII Gooney Bird (C-47), Bobby Darin’s "Dream Car"
and one of two surviving, operable 1963 Chrysler turbine cars. The Frisco 1522 steam
locomotive will be steamed up. www.museumoftransport.org
Micro Engineering
Company
Tour #22216, Mon, July 9, 1:00–4:30 pm, $18
Tour #52216, Thr, July 11, 1:00–4:30 pm, $18
This respected supplier to the model railroad hobby and industry will show and explain their research and design process. Micro Engineering focuses on prototypical trackwork supplies. Two model layouts will also be visited: Harold Dill’s Santa Fe – Western Division HO, based on his 40 years as a fireman and engineer on the line between Newton and Dodge City, Kansas, and John Leahy’s freelance HO running through the midwest in the 50’s and 60’s.
Brown Railroad
Equipment / All Track Equipment
Tour #21210, Mon, July 9, 8:30–11:30 am, $18
Tour #51210, Thr, July 12, 8:30–11:30 am, $18
A broker for used MOW equipment, Brown buys from the class 1’s and sells to those who need it. They have a large number of speeders on hand as well as tampers, spreaders, etc. Browse the yard and get up close to the equipment. All Track provides new and used MOW equipment for sale or lease to customers around the world. It has rebuild operations on site and lots of equipment waiting for rebuild or resale. Required Clothing: Leather shoes, long sleeves and long pants; no open shoes. No exceptions.
Alton & Southern
Yards
Tour #22280, Mon, July 9, 1:00–4:30 pm, $20
Tour #62280, Fri, July 13, 1:00–4:30 pm, $20
This Union Pacific subsidiary provides terminal and switching service on the east side of the river. We will see yard operations and whatever equipment is on site. Required Clothing: Leather shoes, long sleeves and long pants; no open shoes. No red or blue shirts or caps should be worn as A&S has concerns about local gang colors.
St. Louis Railfan
Tour #21435, Mon, July 9, 8:00 am-noon, $20
Tour #61435, Fri, July 13, 8:00 am-noon, $20
Almost every major US railroad comes through St. Louis. Go trackside and see some of them in action. Monday and Friday tours will visit different locations.
St. Louis Railroad Stations
Tour #31275, Tue, July 10, 7:00 am-noon, $20
The St. Louis area was served by many different railroads. Visit some of the surviving stations around the area to see how they are currently being used. Amtrak stops at the Kirkwood Station, which is on the National Historic Register. Tour will end at Union Station, now a shopping center and hotel.
Tri-City Port
Tour #32208, Tue, July 10, 1:00–4:00 pm, $18
Tour #42208, Wed, July 11, 1:00–4:00 pm, $18
Main commodities at this rail/barge-barge/rail facility are grain, grain products, fertilizers and general merchandise. This is an unusual opportunity to see cooperation between transportation competitors.
Melvin Price Lock
and Dam #26
Tour #32214, Tue, July 10, 1:00–4:00 pm, $18
Tour #42214, Wed, July 11, 1:00–4:00 pm, $18
To make river barge traffic possible year round and to control the mighty Mississippi, the Corps of Engineers has built massive locks and dams. Tour the newest and largest lock and dam the Corps has built to date. Watch a large tow go through the locks located just outside Alton, Illinois. It’s an impressive sight to see several hundred tons raised or lowered in the locks. (Changed from Chain of Rocks #27.)
MetroLink Shops
Tour #31201, Tue, July 10, 8:30 am–12:30 pm, $18
Tour #52201, Thr, July 12, 12:30–4:30 pm, $18
Tour the nation’s newest and most successful transit operation. St. Louis MetroLink utilizes old and/or abandoned freight railroad right of way to serve a growing number of rail commuters every day. Downtown service is via underground tunnels that once served the business district, while the historic Eads Bridge is the connection to the east side of the Mississippi River. The newest section extending east to Belleville, Illinois, is now open for business. Shops and repair facilities will also be visited.
Eastbound Metrolink light rail, photo by Brad Joseph
Missouri Mining
Museum
Tour #31230, Tue, July 10, 7:30 am–noon, canceled
Tour #61230, Fri, July 13, 7:30 am–noon, canceled
Bussen Quarry
Tour #41218, Wed, July 11, 9:00–11:30 am, $18
Tour #42218, Wed, July 11, 1:00–4:00 pm, $18
Open pit mining, rumbling explosions, heavy haulers, grumbling rock crushers, and rattling separators are all part of this operation.
National Steel
Tour #41217, Wed, July 11, 8:30–11:30 am, $18
Tour #51217, new date/time, Wed, July 11,
1:00–4:00 pm, $18
From pellets to product, this totally integrated steel operation is heavily dependent on rail to keep various processes in motion. Blast furnaces, rolling mills and casting operations are only some of the things to be seen. This tour is guaranteed to be hot and noisy! No cameras or recording devices permitted. Required Clothing: Leather shoes, long sleeves and long pants; no open shoes, no tennis shoes. Dress code will be strictly enforced, no exceptions. www.nationalsteel.com
Monticello Railroad Museum
Tour #45220, Wed, July 11, 8:00 am–4:30 pm, $50
Seven miles of line operate between Monticello and White Health, Illinois, starting at the museum located in the former Wabash station. Museum has about 60 pieces of rolling stock on display. Includes a train ride and a photo run-by. Lunch included.
Wabash, Frisco & Pacific Railroad
Tour #41203, Wed, July 11, 9:00 am–noon, $18
The Wabash, Frisco & Pacific is a 12" gauge railroad that operates
authentically. Built in 1961, it operates live steam and diesels over a mile of Missouri
Pacific’s original roadbed, up and down grades, over bridges and through woodlands
along the Meramec River. Climb aboard the cars for a ride.
Union Pacific
Customer Service Center
Tour #41260, Wed, July 11, 9:00–11:30 am, $20
Tour #51260, Thr, July 12, 9:00–11:30 am, $20
Union Pacific tracks all car movements with the help of satellites so it can tell where any car is at any time. (We have been limited to only one busload per tour.) Missouri Pacific originally built this downtown building.
Terminal Railroad
Association Yards
Tour #51290, Thr, July 12, 9:00 am–noon, $20
Tour #52290, Thr, July 12, 1:00–4:00 pm, $20
The TRRA, owned by the railroads that use it, does most of the switching activity in the St. Louis area. Tour this state of the art fully automated hump yard in Madison, Illinois.
Union Pacific DeSoto Car Shops
Tour #61245, Fri, July 13, 8:00 am–noon, $20
See cars being rebuilt and repainted in Union Pacific’s car repair shops.
Manufacturers Railway
Tour #71240, Sat, July 14, 8:15 am–12:30 pm, $20
Anheuser-Busch owns this small switching line which performs bridge transfer service crossing the river and terminal and switching services in St. Louis. Manufacturers also does repair work for other railroads in its shops. Locomotives and rolling stock will be on display.
St. Louis Union Station
One of many on the St. Louis Railroad
Stations Tour
31275 - Tuesday, July 10, morning
This
venerable train station, which is over one hundred years old, is a "must see".
While the station is now a fabulous shopping center just a short ride from the convention
hotel on Metrolink, it has a multitude of kiosks full of information about the station
when it was serving as a vital link in our national railroad system (it was the largest
station in the world until Penn Station was built). In addition, a number of rail cars,
both heavyweight and streamlined, sit on tracks which still come into the train shed. Our
convention chairman (obviously a true model railroader) had wedding photos taken inside
the station main hall, and out on a caboose on display, on his wedding day. Click the
small photo to see the larger version. Photo by Trek Photography.
The Museum of Transportation has just set up a "branch" at St. Louis Union Station called the "Union Stations Memories Museum." It's on the second level under the train shed and near the 18th stree side entrance (by Mrs. Field's Cookies). It features timetables, china, uniforms, lantern, toy trains, and photos of the station when it was new in 1894.
Kirkwood Station
One of many on the St. Louis Railroad
Stations Tour
31275 - Tuesday, July 10, morning
This old Missouri Pacific station, astride the summit of the grueling Kirkwood Hill,
features a cut stone exterior and a turret. The interior is in its original configuration,
and it has both a baggage room and waiting room with tables set up for chess, checkers and
backgammon. Friendly Amtrak agents will gladly sell you a ticket to take the train to
downtown St. Louis and points east, or to any of a number of destinations to the west. It
easy to take photos from the park across the tracks from this historic station.