The Alton and Southern Railway

The Alton and Southern Railway (ALS) is a shortline terminal/switching operation based in St. Louis, Missouri and is currently owned by the Union Pacific. The little railroad has a unique and interesting history to say the least. For those rail historian aficionados out there you may notice the railroad’s emblem looks oddly familiar, this is because it is a hybrid of that of its former owners, the Missouri Pacific and Chicago & North Western. Furthermore the railroad’s paint scheme is a blend of both the MoPac and North Western and interestingly the UP continues to hold to tradition, allowing motive power to still to be adorned in the fascinating livery.

To give a brief history of the A&S's former owners, of all the many granger roads which sprawled out across the Midwest, the Chicago and North Western is likely the best remembered of all. When the railroad was merged unto the Union Pacific in 1995 it was one of the oldest railroads in the Midwest, its name unchanged since 1859. Because of its age the C&NW actually has the distinction of being the first railroad to operate a train out of Chicago, the Pioneer. The North Western's main line into that city is also a key link in the UP’s empire today. While its eye-catching green and yellow paint no longer adorns locomotives today the Chicago and North Western's legacy certainly continues to live on.

Throughout much of the C&NW’s life it did two things; serve the Heartland and northern Great Lakes regions as well as ferry traffic to and from Chicago, particularly the Union Pacific, a close ally for years. The railroad’s final growth period came during the late 1950s when it acquired the Litchfield & Madison giving the CN&W entrance to St. Louis. Other acquisitions included the much larger roads of the Minneapolis & St. Louis in 1960 and Chicago Great Western in 1968, totaling nearly 3,000 miles in additional trackage. While this swelled the railroad’s size to over 10,000 total rail miles it lost much of this in the 1970s when America’s breadbasket could no longer support so many railroads and thus the C&NW dumped many of these unprofitable lines.

In the end, it was likely inevitable that the C&NW would become an arm of the Union Pacific. Looking for an extension directly into Chicago UP purchased the C&NW in 1995.

The Missouri Pacific, better known by railroaders and railfans as the “MoPac,” was never a strong company financially but it was always a fighter. The railroad was the first to be built west of the Mississippi River and would eventually come under the Jay Gould empire, who owned scores of railroads in the 19th century. The railroad is also well remembered for its beautiful paint scheme of blue and gray with an eagle adorning the flanks of locomotives.

Currently, most of the A&S’s motive power consists of switchers although it does roster two road-switchers, GP38-2s. Below is a current roster of the Alton and Southern Railway courtesy of The Diesel Shop:

#1501, #1502, #1505, #1506, #1508, and #1510-1517 - EMD SW1500

#1522 - EMD MP15

#2000 and #2001 - EMD GP38-2

Due to the MoPac’s financial situation it is not surprising that it would be purchased by another railroad, which happened in 1982 when the Union Pacific merged the railroad into its system. Interestingly when the UP purchased the MoPac the latter was much larger in both terms of route miles and locomotives. Similarly, for years the Missouri Pacific name continued to flank locomotives albeit in the Armour Yellow and Gray of Union Pacific, and the MoPac’s corporate identity was not officially dissolved until as late as 1997.

For more reading on shortlines like the Alton and Southern Railway consider the book American Shortline Railway Guide from author Ed Lewis. The book has gone through several updated editions to keep up with the ever-changing world of the shortline industry. Today, the publication highlights almost 600 shortlines across the country with general background information about each (such as roster information, rail line history, radio frequencies, etc.). If you have any interest in shortlines you will very likely enjoy this book.