TRRA: Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis

(Map)
The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) owned the St. Louis Union Station and the two bridges that could carry railroad traffic across the Mississippi River. Like Chicago, many of the eastern and western railroads terminated at this city. Unlike Chicago, the only terminal railroad connecting the trunk railroads was TRRA. (Chicago had the Indiana Harbor Belt, B&OCT, EJ&E and other terminal railroads. It also had six train stations instead of just the one Union Station in St. Louis.) The TRRA History emphases the ownership of the bridges whereas American-Rails emphases the ownership of the Union Station.

Madison Yard is their main yard.

David Durham posted two images with the comment:

Found this 1940 TRRA map ofSt. Louis/ E.St.Louis and environs while researching the C&A in Alton ; lots of cool info in this one. Can anyone provide info regarding "cupples", near the mo-pac freight house at center of map?...EDIT; I added a second screen shot of the entire map, which, btw is from the University of Alabama map collection. The U of A website gives the option of viewing as a jpeg (downloadable), or as a plug-in (not downloadable)...this the screenshot of the plugin for better visual clarity.

Bill Edrington: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/.../city.../Cupples-Station.cfm

Timmy Carpenter: I thought cupples buildings were once a active complex that had above and below ground railroad connections for downtown st louis manufacturing and distribution.

Andrew Roth shared

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2, cropped

Mark Hinsdale posted four photos with the comment:

TRRA... By Rail!
It is a rare treat to be able to traverse and observe the trackage of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) on a special passenger train. However, this opportunity presented itself this past Sunday, when a trip was sponsored by several of St Louis' serving railroads on behalf of the American Association of Railroad Superintendents for its annual meeting, held in the Gateway to the West. Although Amtrak trains to and from Chicago or Kansas City do utilize TRRA routes to access the new St. Louis Amtrak Station, much of the Terminal Railroad is rarely visited by passenger trains. I took many photographs, but here are some representative views of the always fascinating bridgework around St. Louis, as well as its iconic Arch.

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[MacArthur (Municipal) Bridge]

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Dave Hopson I've seen movies of trains on the lower level of the second bridge in front of you.Mark Hinsdale Yes, PRR used the lower level of the Eads Bridge to get across the Mississippi. Today those two tracks carry Metrorail (light rail) trains between Belleville & St. Louis.

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Jim Pearson Photography posted

Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis

The conductor on BNSF 7447 throws one of several switches as it prepares to take its power out of the yard track to work on building his train at the Terminal Railroad Association (TRRA) of St. Louis Madison yard at Venice, Illinois, with a rainbow of power sitting in the yard.

According to the TRRA website: "Since 1889, the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis has played a vital role in the railroad operations and growth of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The Association was originally created to satisfy the need for an efficient, safe, and economical method of interchanging rail traffic at the railroad hub of St. Louis, Missouri: the "Gateway to the West."

Over 120 years later, the employees of the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis make the same commitment to efficiency, safety, and value to our customers, owners, and the public with each new day."

#trainphotography #railroadphotography #trains #railways

Tech Info: Nikon D800, RAW, Sigma 150-600 @550mm, f/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 400.