I live in Eureka , MO about 30 miles west of St.Louis. We have both UP and BNSF tracks running parallel to each other through town. We get 70 to 80 trains a day including 4 Amtrak trains. A great place for train watching. About 10 miles west of here and the tracks split off from each other. the BNSF heads southwest to Okalhoma and the Transcon route while the UP line heads due west to Kansas City and then north to Omaha. Unit trains, passenger, mix freight, we get them all 24/7 !
Welcome!
I know Eureka, since we visit a quilt shop there for my wife (we have relatives in both Steelville and Springfield that occasionally lure us down that way). While she’s looking around, I tend to wander north a little…
I love the law firm’s storefront office with the bullet holes. Life at the edge of the Ozarks…
I assume the BNSF line is the old Frisco line.
How many trains daily on that line?
Ed
Yes, Ed, that’s the Frisco line from St. Louis to Springfield, the heart of the old system.
I can’t really tell you about traffic density, but have seen both stack trains and manifest on that line. It looks pretty good through Eureka (CTC siding right there), but there are some places between there and Cuba that still have stick rail.
My guess is that UP is busier, with Amtrak and coal trains. Its the same line that goes through Kirkwood, but it goes through here a bit faster, for obvious reasons.
If Missouri ever gets its act together and starts rail passenger service from St. Louis to Springfield, perhaps Eureka would be a good spot for a connecting track so all of the trains could serve Kirkwood.