The Missouri Pacific Historical Society pays tribute to a unique short line with the September release of Missouri-Illinois Railroad: Missouri Pacific’s Route through the Lead Belt and Little Egypt, a 376-page hardback that traces the railroad’s colorful past.

The Missouri-Illinois operated 146 miles of track, connected by the Mississippi River, in Missouri and Illinois. It ran through the “Lead Belt” in Southeast Missouri, which contained the largest concentration of lead deposits in the world. The land between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in Illinois was thought to resemble Egypt’s Nile Delta and became known as Little Egypt in the early 1800s. A city in the region was named Cairo.

The M-I was unique because one of its predecessor roads was built as a three-foot narrow-gauge line, which was unusual in the Midwest. Also, the M-I operated a car ferry across the Missouri River for five decades, and it had the only switchback between the Allegheny and Rocky mountains.
Like many short lines, the M-I depended on second-hand locomotives and rolling stock.

The railroad’s roots trace to the narrow-gauge St. Joseph and Deslodge Railway, which operated on 13 miles of main line from Bonne Terre to Summit, MO. Over the years, several other railroads, including the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Railway, would lay tracks that eventually became part of the M-I network.

Funds will be used to convert portion of line to welded rail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak announced it will receive a $5.6 million Federal Railroad Administration Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant to stabilize and rehabilitate the Southwest Chief route in Colorado and New Mexico.

Combined with $4.9 million in Amtrak federal funds set aside for this service and $1 million from the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), a total of $11.5 million will be invested from Trinidad, CO, south of Lamy, NM.

This federal grant is the fifth for the route segment in Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas. The grant addresses only a portion of the line that Amtrak is planning to restore.

Between 2016 and 2020, Amtrak has committed $15.8 million in direct funding for the Southwest Chief route, and an additional $12.8 million in matching funds to previously awarded federal grants. Amtrak has also invested between $4-$8 million annually in this segment, outside of any grant programs, including selective installation of ties, replacing bolted rail in curves, and bridge or culvert repair.

KANSAS CITY, MO – Kansas City Southern says that its KCS Holiday Express train won’t run this holiday season because of the pandemic. But that isn’t stopping the Class I railroad from continuing its annual giving tradition.

Each year since 2001, the Holiday Express has stopped at various towns along KCS’s network and donated more than $2.1 million to the Salvation Army. The donations help provide warm clothing and other necessities for children.

While the train led by KCS’s Southern Belle business train is idled, KCS will still celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary with a fundraiser to benefit the Salvation Army in 20 communities across its U.S. rail network.

“KCS is pleased to celebrate 20 years of its Holiday Express program benefiting The Salvation Army in communities throughout our U.S. rail network,” said KCS president and CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer. “While it is not safe to gather for free visits with Santa Claus and tours of the Holiday Express train this year, the need for the charitable component of this program is greater than ever.”

The National Retail Hobby Stores Association (NRHSA) canceled its October 2020 Las Vegas Table-Top Expo because of covid-19. The annual event for hobby retailers and dealers will return in September 2021.

Numerous reasons for the cancellation include a 14-day quarantine period at most U.S. airports and the recent surge of the virus in Las Vegas, NRHSA said in a news release last week.

“The risks to exhibitors and visitors would have been too great under the present circumstances, even with the most stringent controls and safeguards,” said Rob Gherman, event director.

The deciding factor was the 14-day quarantine period at airports and returning travel restrictions imposed by the individual states.

The nation’s largest model train shows announced cancellations this week, some for dates as far away as early 2021.

World’s Greatest Hobby on Tour and Trainfest, which account for about five of the most widely attended model railroad shows each fall and winter, canceled upcoming dates out of concern for covid-19. The cancellations follow suit with many smaller regional shows that have steadily dropped off since early March.

Train Show, Inc., issued an exhibitor update Friday announcing that WGH on Tour was being sidelined until 2022. The four or five winter shows that rotate major metropolitan areas are typically hosted from January to early March. The 2021 slate had not been announced.

“The Covid-19 health crisis has created an exceedingly difficult situation for event promoters,” the company said in a statement. “Most government jurisdictions and venues are not allowing large gatherings, hence most sporting events, concerts and trade shows have been cancelled. Given that our shows consistently have attendance in the 15,000 to 30,000 range, we are subject to some of the most severe restrictions.”