ALS Transfer in East St. Louis, IL
Dropping through Valley JCT off the MacArthur Bridge Approach is ALS Job 102, which has finishing up a short run across the Mississippi River with a transfer from UP's 12th St. Yard to the A&S Gateway Yard. Leading the way is the SD62 rebuild pair recently repainted into Alton and Southern's classy MOP-CNW inspired paint scheme. This is among my top five favorite paint schemes.
In the beginning of 2023, a pair of UP SD60's, classified as SD62's, assigned to the Alton & Gateway Yard at East St. Louis, IL emerged from paint booth at North Little Rock, AR wearing updated A&S paint.
This scheme was first applied when the A&S was jointly owned by the Missouri Pacifc and the Chicago & Northwestern starting in 1968. The paint reflects ownership of both roads as does their logo, which is a combination of the MOP's buzzsaw and the CNW's bar and ball logo. CNW sold their share to the Cotton Belt, an SP subsidiary, in 1972, and the UP and MP merged a decade later. In 1996, UP merged with the SP, thus giving UP full control of the A&S.
Over the years, the number of switchers on the A&S have dwindled and the two GP38-2's that wore this scheme have since been retired and sold for a few years now. Even though the A&S remains a separate legal entity, it's been rumored UP wants to them phase them out entirely, but seemingly out of no where, a pair of SD62's and an SD40N were sent to Jenks Shops to be painted in this iconic scheme. Once again, locomotives adorned in the MOP-CNW inspired paint scheme have become a fairly common sight around the St. Louis area after this dramatic return
It's almost incredible this has even happened in this day and age of railroading where almost everything has become so boring and homogenized. 3/16/24.
ALS Transfer in East St. Louis, IL
Dropping through Valley JCT off the MacArthur Bridge Approach is ALS Job 102, which has finishing up a short run across the Mississippi River with a transfer from UP's 12th St. Yard to the A&S Gateway Yard. Leading the way is the SD62 rebuild pair recently repainted into Alton and Southern's classy MOP-CNW inspired paint scheme. This is among my top five favorite paint schemes.
In the beginning of 2023, a pair of UP SD60's, classified as SD62's, assigned to the Alton & Gateway Yard at East St. Louis, IL emerged from paint booth at North Little Rock, AR wearing updated A&S paint.
This scheme was first applied when the A&S was jointly owned by the Missouri Pacifc and the Chicago & Northwestern starting in 1968. The paint reflects ownership of both roads as does their logo, which is a combination of the MOP's buzzsaw and the CNW's bar and ball logo. CNW sold their share to the Cotton Belt, an SP subsidiary, in 1972, and the UP and MP merged a decade later. In 1996, UP merged with the SP, thus giving UP full control of the A&S.
Over the years, the number of switchers on the A&S have dwindled and the two GP38-2's that wore this scheme have since been retired and sold for a few years now. Even though the A&S remains a separate legal entity, it's been rumored UP wants to them phase them out entirely, but seemingly out of no where, a pair of SD62's and an SD40N were sent to Jenks Shops to be painted in this iconic scheme. Once again, locomotives adorned in the MOP-CNW inspired paint scheme have become a fairly common sight around the St. Louis area after this dramatic return
It's almost incredible this has even happened in this day and age of railroading where almost everything has become so boring and homogenized. 3/16/24.