Gritty, Industrial Railroading: Anheuser Busch, St. Louis

I finally made it to St. Louis this morning (July 21) to capture brewery rail operations.

Foster Townsend Rail Logistics, or "FTRL Railway," a subsidiary of Patriot Rail, has operated Anheuser Busch-owned trackage since October 2, 2011. FTRL replaced the historic Manufacturers Railway Company.

The FTRL crew used PNRW 1451, a GP15-1 painted for ex-sister Piedmont & Northern Railway, to run engine lite across South Broadway at 0657. At 0721, it pulled seven empties from A-B's "Barley Cleaning House."

I stuck around awhile longer because I noticed three loads sitting in the FTRL yard. Sure enough, 1451 shoved these cars across S. Broadway at 0815. It left engine lite at 0821.

I lingered again because I suspected the warehouse needed switching...and I was correct. Beer shipments by rail ceased in March 2011 as A-B prepared to transition from Manufacturers Railway Co. to FTRL Railway. Four years later, A-B resumed limited rail shipments (via Union Pacific) to Denver- and Houston-area distributors.

Although this post focuses on a location outside the Peoria area, recall that breweries abounded here pre-Prohibition. Afterward, Pabst and Gipps brewed beer, the former until early 1982. The late, great Rock Island RR served both of them.

- David P. Jordan