An Overview of the Rails of Southeast Missouri and Beyond
Gateway Western Railway Company (GWWR) was a 408 mile Class II Regional Railroad between East St. Louis, Ill., and Kansas City, MO. It was created on January 9, 1990. Originally the Kansas City, St. Louis & Chicago, the line came under Chicago & Alton control in 1878, but was never deemed a real profit-maker under successor operators Alton Railroad, GM&O, and Illinois Central Gulf. On April 28, 1987, ICG sold the Kansas City Line, and the Chicago (Joliet)-East St. Louis Mainline, to new 633 mile regional Chicago Missouri & Western.
The ill-fated CM&W soon went bankrupt. Southern Pacific bought through new subsidiary SPCSL Corp., the Joliet Mainline on September 29, 1989 This route became UP in the September 11, 1996 SP merger. The Santa Fe, always wanting St. Louis Area access, arranged for use of the tracks after a New York investment firm purchased CMNW's K.C. Line, which created the Gateway Western Railway who operated a subsidiary east of the Mississippi River in Illinois called the Gateway Eastern Railway (GWER) which operated a former Conrail portion of the GWWR.
After the BNSF merger in 1995, Santa Fe no longer needed the route with the the new BNSF's ex-BN Lines across Missouri, although BNSF used the line until 200. Kansas City Southern merged with GWWR on May 5, 1997 and fully absorbed GWWR in 2001 and still operates it today.
In December 2006 KCS tried to move their operations to the Terminal Railroad Association (TRRA) Madison, IL Yard and close their own East St. Louis Facility which includes a yard and locomotive servicing facilities under a new operating agreement. The plan apparantly didn't work out too well and the deal reportedly lasted less than a week before operations resumed back at the KCS' own yard.
Locomotives:
Through the CMNW and GWWR years from 1987 to about 1997, the total number of locomotives on the combined motive power rosters hovered around 75. Most of Gateway's locomotives came from the CMNW. The CMNW's motive power fleet came in a variety of models and paint schemes, but they were all EMD. Their power included:
CMNW/GWWR 1500 Class ex-P&LE and 1 SP SW1500's
After Gateway took over they aquired 4 additional switchers that they originally numbered in the 70 Class identical to their ex-Kansas City Terminal Numbers. They later became:
GWWR 1200 Class ex-KCT SW1200's
They also purchased an oddball MP15AC EMD Switcher HLCX 704 which became:
GWWR 1510
Paint:
Many CR units came on the property in Penn Central (PC) Black Paint. The CMNW repainted 2 locomotives into a Red, Maroon, and Gold GM&O-Like scheme before their bankruptcy. A few of the ex-WP Locomotives showed up in full UP colors and some operated in them until they were gotten rid of. The CMNW had a version of a Nickel Plate Road Fashioned Bumblebee scheme with the numbers centered on the long hood and their logo on the cab. This became GWWR's first scheme by changing just the logo on the cab with the Gatway Arch Logo. GWWR later repainted their own units with the familiar lettering on the side and the number on the cab. A few got the Gateway Logo on the nose over the nose stripes. GWWR 2029 became GWER 2000 and was painted in a blue and white version of the Bumblebee Scheme which I have heard nicknamed "Bumbleblue" and "Bluebee". Some units still retain their classifacation lights. KCS later elimintated the GWER reporting mark, and the engine is now GWWR 2000, still in full GWER Paint.
Bumblebee Power Today-Where Are They Now?
Today all of the SW1200's and all but 2 of the SW1500's (1 became GWWR Gray) were retired and went to industries or shortlines. 1510, the lone MP15AC became Texas and Northern 1510 at Lone Star Steel, Lone Star, TX. The GP38's went to Helm Leasing (HLCX) for the most part, along with a couple other regionals, shortlines, and lease fleets. As mentioned above their only GP38AC 2048 was wrecked and scrapped. The retired GP40's were rebuilt and became WC GP40's or SSW (and now UP) GP40M-2's. The SD40-2 went back to Helm Leasing and became DME 6367. The few lucky locomotives that weren't retired still operate in various GWWR colors as stated below, or were repainted and became full KCS Units.
Click here to visit the whole roster!
Operations:
GWWR had a haulage agreement with the Santa Fe Railway across the state of Missouri and from Argentine Yard in Kansas City to GWWR's East St. Louis Yard for their entire existance, sometimes using all ATSF Power Consists with very wacky power combinations. This haulage agreement expired, but ATSF sucessor BNSF Railway ran trains over this route until about 2001. The trains operated with GWWR crews and consisted mostly of intermodal trains and manifests.
GWWR served online customers also with road freights and locals moving agricultural, local manufactured goods, some chemicals other interchange service. Gateway rallied around their online communities during the Missouri River's Great Flood of '93 until their 1888 Chicago & Alton Missouri River Bridge at Glasgow (The Missouri River's First All Steel Bridge) lost a span due to the high water, crippling the railroad. They rebuilt the bridge and resumed service. KCS still provides similar service. The GWWR was always a much loved company by local citizens, shippers, and railfans for that small town railroad romanticism. They operated a Santa Train around the holidays which KCS later took over and expanded systemwide.
Today KCS operates the MESKC/MKCES manifests from East St. Louis, IL-Kansas City, and the "Schneider Train", the IVNKC/IKCVN from Venice, IL-Kansas City, which often uses KCS/TFM and CSX Power, since the train connects with CSXT on the east end of the route.
CMNW/GWWR 2000 Class ex-CR GP38's
CMNW/GWWR 3000 Class ex-WP GP40's
CMNW/GWWR 2048 ex-MKT GP38AC (Wrecked May 1995, Scrapped 1996)
GWWR 6367 ex-SOO, nee-MILW SD40-2
Kansas City Southern Gray: 7
Gateway Western Bumblebee: 4
Gateway Eastern Bumbleblue: 1
PLE Black: 1
*Note: Still wears Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Black Paint Scheme, CMNW Reporting Mark showing through.
Total Remining Active Gateway Western Locomotives: 13
GWWR 4095 GP38-3
GWWR 4096 GP38-3
GWWR 4097 GP38-3
GWWR 4098 GP38-3
GWWR 4099 GP38-3
GWWR 4399 SW1500
GWWR 4799 GP40-2
GWWR 2001 GP38
GWWR 2036 GP38
GWWR 2037 GP38
GWWR 2040 GP38
GWWR 2000 GP38
GWWR 1504 SW1500*
KCS Gray GWWR Photos
4095-Last Photographed 8-22-05:
4096-Last Photographed 6-24-06:
4097-Last Photographed 8-6-06:
4098-Last Photographed 9-6-06:
4099-Last Photographed 10-28-06:
4399-Last Photographed 1-21-06:
4799-Last Photographed 6-5-06:
GWWR Bumblebee Photos
2001-Last Photographed 1-31-06:
2036-Last Photographed 10-24-06:
2037-Last Photographed 3-4-07 East St. Louis, IL:
2040-Last Photographed 11-10-06
GWWR/GWER Bumbleblue Photos
2000-Last Photographed 4-11-06:
PLE Black Photos
1504-Last Photographed 3-4-07 East St. Louis, IL:
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from Personal Collection at RRPA.Net
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from Personal Collection at RRPA.Net
Photo from John Witthaus' Collection at RRPA.Net
Photo from RRPA.Net
Photo from Personal Collection at RRPA.Net
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I grew up always wanting to visit the GWWR. I never got the chance to while they were still seperate from KCS. I first became aware of their existance in 1997 when I was 7 due to a collection of railroad magazines my grandpa bought for me at auction when I was 5. I never got to see an actual Gateway Bumblebee until New Years Day 2007 when I finally laid eyes on GWWR 2037. What inspired me to create this webpage is to identify and disperse rumors about how many GWWR Units actually survive. I hope you have enjoyed and found this page helpful. If you have any corrections, questions, or comments, please e-mail me Zach Pumphery by clicking on my name.
Wikipedia.Com
Trains.Com
Trains Magazine
KCSHS
Pat Scott
Scott Muskopf (Thanks for the corrections.)
Various contacts, friends, miscellaneous internet, photographic, and manuscript resources.
