St. Louis, a hotbed of traction until after World War II, has again become a center of electric railway activity. Missouri is the “Show Me” state, and many of its residents doubted that modern light rail could be successful. But MetroLink has proved all of the nay-sayers wrong. With the opening of the first segment of the system in 1993, passengers began flocking back to mass transit, and now the system covers 46 miles, connecting Lambert Airport in St. Louis with downtown, and then operating interurban-style through the Illinois cornfields to Belleville and Shiloh. The new Shrewsbury line, opened just last year, became an immediate success.
The Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown St. Louis, at 200 North 4th Street, was our convention headquarters. It was only a short walk from the 8th & Pine station of MetroLink, and convention participants could reach it easily from both Lambert Field and the Amtrak station. This full-service hotel offered such amenities as a gym and an outdoor swimming pool. Our annual movie/slide show and banquet was held at the Crowne Plaza.
200 N. 4th St., St. Louis, Mo. 63102. 800-925-1395. 314-621-8200
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100 N. Front Street, Memphis, Tenn. 38103. 901-526-0583
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Friday Night, August 31 — Our convention began at 7 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza with an opportunity to meet local traction fans. At 7:30 Dave Young presented a slide show featuring bygone days of street railways in our nation’s heartland. Dave is the dean of Missouri’s streetcar historians, and author of the definitive histories of traction in St. Louis, as well as the recently published When Missouri Took the Trolley, which was available for sale.
Saturday, September 1 — Today was a very busy day, as we had to travel quite a distance to get to the Midwest Electric Railway in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Our chartered motorcoaches left the hotel at 7 a.m. sharp. Our destination was the Old Threshers Reunion, where a fleet of streetcars and interurbans operate continuously over a loop connecting the RV parking area with the fairgrounds. Admission was included. There was ample opportunity for lunch at this huge gathering, and participants could ride and photograph the steam-operated trains of the Midwest Central Railroad. In addition, there were demonstrations of old-time steam-powered farm equipment. We broke up the return trip to St. Louis by stopping for a full sit-down dinner.
Sunday, September 2 — The MetroLink light rail system was the subject of today’s activities. In addition to riding LRVs out to Shiloh and Shrewsbury, we toured MetroLink’s carhouse, maintenance facility and Operations Control Center. After an interurban trip through the western Illinois prairie, the afternoon was available for touring more of the light rail system, using the unlimited-ride day tickets provided. Our shop tour left from Grand station at 9:30 a.m., connecting with the westbound MetroLink train leaving from 8th & Pine at 9:16.
Sunday Night, September 2 — ERA’s annual banquet was held in a private room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. An hour-long informal reception and cash bar began at 7:00 p.m., and dinner followed promptly at 8:00. Our guest speaker was Mark Goldfeder, president of the St. Louis Railway Enthusiasts, and a traction historian of substantial esteem. His slide program covered the large street railway systems of St. Louis, including the Illinois Terminal and the Waterworks Railway.
Visit to the Museum of TransportMonday, September 3 — Our chartered motorcoaches left from the hotel at 10:55 a.m. and after a stop for lunch, took us to the Museum of Transport and its operating streetcar line. The museum’s entire fleet was up and running for us. Among the cars were former St. Louis Waterworks No. 10 (1914), ex-SEPTA PCC 2740, and former CTA PCC “L” car 44. The Trolley Barn was open for the afternoon, allowing participants a rare opportunity to inspect the remainder of the organization’s streetcar collection, which is undergoing preservation at this site. The museum’s massive collection of mainline railroad motive power, including steam, diesel and electric locomotives and railcars was also on display. Included was the only remaining Milwaukee Road bipolar electric.
At the conclusion of our museum visit, one motorcoach headed south carrying those participating in our excursion to Memphis and Little Rock. There was a dinner stop en route. The other motorcoach carried the remainder of our group to the airport, where they could connect with their airlines. The motorcoach then continued to the Crowne Plaza for its final stop. Arrival time at Lambert Airport was 4:00 p.m.
This tour covered the heritage streetcar systems in Memphis, Tenn. and Little Rock, Ark. Our hotel was the Comfort Inn in downtown Memphis. Overlooking the Riverfront streetcar line, the hotel contained a rooftop swimming pool and fitness center. A free deluxe continental breakfast on the mornings of September 4 and 5 was included. Memphis has three streetcar lines with five different types of cars, while Little Rock has a fleet of five Gomaco-built replica Birneys. Our chartered motorcoach took us to Little Rock on Wednesday morning and later in the day returned us to Little Rock Airport, Memphis (for those desiring train connections) and St. Louis.
Main Street Trolley and Riverfront LoopTuesday, September 4 — At 9:00 a.m. we gathered at the Main Street/Jefferson Avenue stop (southbound) for our charter trip on the Memphis streetcar system. Our heritage streetcar took us out on MATA’s newest line, Madison Avenue, and then carried us to the system’s maintenance facility and carhouse for a tour. We then continued aboard different equipment for a circle trip on the Riverfront line. The remainder of the day was free for participants to ride using their Day Ticket. With each of the three lines running on a 10-minute headway, there were plenty of opportunities for more photographs. Participants could also ride the Monorail to Mud Island (extra fare) in the middle of the Mississippi River or see the ducks swimming at the Peabody Hotel. On Tuesday evening participants were on their own for dinner. Among their options in the Birthplace of the Blues and the Home of the King (Elvis), were sampling Memphis-style barbecue and listening to blues or rock-and-roll along Beale Street. Participants could reach most of the restaurants and clubs via a short streetcar ride.
River RailWednesday, September 5 — Our chartered motorcoach left Memphis at 8:55 a.m. and took us to Little Rock, a two-hour journey. We had our own chartered car to cover the Central Arkansas Transit Authority’s River Rail system, including the recently-opened extension to the Clinton Library. Each participant was given an unlimited-ride day ticket to enjoy the Gomaco-built Birney replicas on the two-line heritage system that crosses the Arkansas River to connect Little Rock and North Little Rock.
For flexibility, we offered participants the opportunity to leave the trip in Little Rock, Memphis or St. Louis. Our chartered motorcoach picked up the group at 3:30 p.m. and first traveled to the Little Rock airport. It continued from there back to the Comfort Inn in downtown Memphis (2 hours) and then returned to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown St. Louis (a little over 4 more hours).
A Day Ticket, valid for unlimited use on MetroLink from Friday, August 31 through Monday, September 3, was sent to all those participating in our Sunday activities. This allowed convention goers to travel free of charge from the airport or railroad station upon their arrival in St. Louis, and was usable for riding light rail trains at any time during our stay. The cost of this “ride-at-will” ticket was included in the payment for our Sunday excursion and was sent with convention tickets.