A Peabody ConnectionLocomotives |
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During the early 1900s, the East St. Louis & Suburban interurban railway provided passenger
and freight service in and around southwestern Illinois. It fell victim to the Depression, as
did scores of other U.S. traction companies of the period, and ceased operations in 1932.
Interestingly, its subsidiary St. Louis & Belleville Electric had found a niche hauling coal from
Peabody Coal Company's River King Mine near Freeburg, Illinois to a Mississippi River transload
facility outside of East St. Louis. That business arrangement enabled the 18-mile-long short line
to survive for another decade and a half.
It was not until 1949 that the electric railway turned-off the overhead juice and embraced diesel technology; their first internal-combustion engine locomotive was a four-axle road switcher which arrived that year from American locomotive Co. In contrast to the company's standard light olive drab color scheme, the new 1500-hp RS2 (#700) from Alco wore a light yellow and green attire. It was not long afterward that ownership of the coal-hauling rail line was shifted to Union Electric Co. (of St. Louis), which already owned a pair of RS2s bought the year prior. Lastly, industrial giant Peabody Coal Company outright purchased the strategic coal line in 1956; the small fleet of 244 V12-powered Alcos remained intact and went to work under the banner of newly created Peabody Short Line. By the close of 1961, the Schenectady-built trio were working for their third owner - Illinois Central - which had acquired the PSL property and equipment. Reportedly, one of the Alcos was patched briefly with a green diamond logo. It is thought that all of the four-axle Alcos eventually wore IC's black garb and sported the green logo. Note: A summary roster of one-time parent Peabody Coal Company's eclectic locomotive fleet can be viewed by clicking on the bottom right photo. |
XXXX A Photo Review
General Electric 50-Ton Steeple cabGeorge Krambles photo (Krambles-Peterson Archives)
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Westinghouse/GE 80-Ton Steeple cabJack Kuiphoff photo
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St.Louis Car Co. 80-Ton Steeple cabGeorge Krambles photo (Krambles-Peterson Archives)
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American Locomotive Co. RS2xxxJ. David Ingles photo (Classic Trains Magazine - Pinterest collection)
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American Locomotive Co. RS2Lou Schmitz photo (Chuck Zeiler collection)
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Sources and Credits
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New: 1 May 2024 Formatted by; R. Craig |
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