UP Chester Subdivision - 08-28-2021
After giving up on any more shots of UP “Big Boy” 4014 heading north to St. Louis, I pulled out of the stalled parade at Chester and headed back south.
1. Earlier in the day while waiting on 4014 at Bell City MO, UP 7967 raced north with a freight. A southbound also rolled by.
2. UP 9010 DPU. Bell City MO.
3. One location I was interested in seeing was the rail-to-barge coal terminal at Cora IL. UP 2728-8192 are parked on an AEPX coal train waiting to be unloaded.
4. Looking north at the signal for the siding to the main line. Cora IL. UP siding.
5. End of UP maintenance responsibilities. Watco takes care of the loop tracks. Cora IL. UP maint limit sign.
6. CN 8868-UP 8853-6767 hustle by with a northbound freight. Cora IL.
7. Cora IL. CN 8868-UP 8853-6767.
8. UP 5309 DPU. Cora IL.
9. Missouri Pacific system timetable No. 21, 11-13-1983. MP Chester.
10. MP map.
11. Watco -- which operates several short-line railroads – took over operation from Kinder Morgan Energy Partners in 2016. Cora IL. Watco Terminal.
12. Bucket wheel stacker-reclaimer. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
13. UP 8608 on AEP coal train at Cora Coal Terminal loop track. Cora IL.
14. UP 8608 is a SD70ACe. Cora IL.
15. Loop track, ground storage, and ITFX (Infinity Transportation) tubs. Three types of coal can be blended. Terminal also handles petroleum coke. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
16. Stacker-reclaimer, conveyors from ground storage and to river tipple. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
17. Cora has ground storage for 1 million tons. The through-put capacity is 11 million tons per year. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
18. Conveyor bridge to river over Levee Rd. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
19. Conveyor to river tipple. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
20. Rotary car dumper and automatic rail car positioner. 3,500 tons-per-hour can be unloaded from rail to barge or rail to ground storage. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
21. Conveyor system with UP 8608 on one of the two loop tracks. Four 150-car trains can be parked (2 loaded and 2 empty). Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
22. Stacker-reclaimer. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
23. Tug boat for moving barges. 4,000 tons per hour can be dumped from storage to barges. Cora IL. Watco coal terminal.
24. Rotary car dumper. Cora IL Watco coal terminal. View 2.
25. 1:250,000 scale map showing area of Mississippi River valley between Gorham and Chester including Cora. Paducah, KY-IL-MO-IN, 1:250,000 quad, 1987, USGS. Click here for a larger image.
26. UP signal bridge at “Chap” at the south end of the village of Gorham IL. On the left is the south leg of the Chicago Subdivision wye.
27. UP signal looking south ex-MP. Gorham IL.
28. UP control point “Chap” is 85 miles south of Valley Junction (East St. Louis). Gorham IL.
29. Looking north toward Gorham, Dupo, and Valley Junction. Looks like those triangular configured signals on the cantilever will soon be replaced by the UP standard “Darth Vader” style. I had hoped to get a train here, but frankly this line is not as busy as it was in MP/SSW days back in the 1980s. Gorham IL. UP sig CP Chap.
30. Gorham IL UP signal CP Chap.
31. The south leg of the Chicago Subdivision wye. Gorham IL jct Chester SD and Chicago SD.
32. UP 4796-5022 parked at the Chester IL yard office.
I crossed the river and headed up I-55 to Festus MO, where I stayed the night. On Sunday I visited the UP “Big Boy” tour display train in St. Louis.
Train images used by permission of Everett N Young