Eastern Railroad Discussion > McKinley Bridge

I was in St. Louis area recently poking around the McKinley Bridge, former Mississippi crossing for the Illinois Terminal Interurban. While the trackage is gone from the bridge, it still exists (but is cut off from the bridge) on the Illinois and Missouri sides of the river. At Venice, the trestle is collapsed while in St. Louis, the elevated line looks rusted and unused. Amazing that so many remnants, including old signals and dangling trolley wire--still are there. Someone told me this elevated line is still used--at least part of it. Anyone know how it is used, and by whom? Also, when did operation on the bridge terminate? I know the passenger service ended around 1958, but I thought the freight service crossed the bridge for many years thereafter.

The elevated operation you heard about was the part south of Branch street to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch printing plant on the north edge of downtown St. Louis. An outfit called Railway Switching Service of Missouri (RSSM) delivers cars of newsprint. The south end of the line is actually underground, where the switch engine is kept. I haven't checked this operation out lately, but it historically has been during the night.

That sounds interesting. I'll have to check it out. It would make sense that it would be underground--it probably uses the old Illinois Terminal subway that ran about a mile to the depot. I think the Post Dispatch is printed in the old Globe Democrat building, which was the Illinois Terminal Depot also. Any idea as to when the tracks on the bridge were pulled up? I thought it was interesting that St. Louis is expanding its light rail transit system into parts of Illinois. You would think they'd recycle the old Illinois Terminal/McKinley Bridge and Subway operation and somehow tie it in to the present system.