Manufacturers Railway Company

    Based on a visit to St Louis in October, 1985

    The Manufacturers Railway of St Louis, Mo. is owned by Anheuser-Busch and is kept
    busy switching the huge bottling plants in the St Louis area. Along with the local
    chores; the MRS runs transfers every day to the Alton & Southern’s Gateway Yard in
    east St Louis on the other side of the Mississippi.

    When I visited the enginehouse in 1985 there were still a few classic Alco switchers
    still active. The Alcos were retired soon after. At least one is preserved and is
    kept at the St Louis station; now a shopping mall complex.
    The MRS paint scheme is one of the classiest and most expensive ever applied to a
    switcher. Today’s MRS rosters an all EMD roster. I am not aware of the disposition
    of the M-K rebuild shown in the accompanying photos. The switching duties are probably
    very different from what I observed 15 years ago.

    MRS no.253
    Morrison-Knudsen rebuild of an Alco switcher with an EMD prime mover
    Apparently the most expensive rebuild of a switcher ever attempted and
    never repeated. Disposition unknown. The only Alco heritage is the cab
    and frame. The trucks may not have come from the original unit.

    MRS no.207
    Beautiful Alco S2 207. An Alco S4 is providing the smoke in the background.

    MRS no.255
    Perhaps the classiest paint scheme ever applied to a switcher, EMD SW1500 255

    MRS
    Classic EMD SW1500 and two MP15s in the A&S Gateway Yard.

    MRS no.254
    EMD MP15DC in front of the enginehouse.

    All photos were generously submitted by Brian Nicholson

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