Lionel 6-26913 East St Louis Junction Railroad Standard O gondola

East St. Louis Junction

Notes from WIKI:

Perhaps the most unique railroad in East St. Louis was the East St. Louis Junction, owned by the stockyards. After the end of the Civil War, the vast herds of cattle, raised on the plains of the American West, began their journey to the hungry markets back East by being driven to railroads to be loaded on cattle cars destined for major rail cities, such as St. Louis.

The East St. Louis Junction Railroad, which was organized in 1873, was located in National City, adjacent to the northwest part of East St. Louis. Since the Junction operated only within the confines of the stockyards, it became famous as the shortest rail line in America. The Junction was owned by the National Stockyards Company. The railroad's biggest customer was the National City Stockyards itself, but it also served the meat packing houses of Morris, Armour, Hunter, and Swift, along with feed suppliers, cold storage warehouses and a few light industries that were located near the slaughter houses. The East St. Louis Junction connected with every railroad in the East St. Louis area either by direct connection or by interchange with the Terminal Railroad Association. Loaded stock cars would be delivered to the Junction where a fleet of steam locomotives would distribute them to the various sidings in National City. The TRRA also delivered iced refrigerator cars for the Junction Railroad which, when loaded with dressed beef, would be delivered to the connecting railroads. As an example of how busy the railroad was, in October 1920, the Junction handled 14,000 loaded cars. Empty stock cars would be blasted clean by high-pressure hoses before being returned to their original railroad.