Stretching northeast from the Gateway Western hub of Roodhouse IL, Subdivision 6 served as the railroad’s link to Springfield, IL and Chicago via haulage rights on the Southern Pacific.
The line featured several grain elevators, with the largest being the Consolidated Grain & Barge elevator in Curran, IL. This elevator was served jointly by the Norfolk Southern and Gateway Western. The Gateway also provided service at the elevator for the Southern Pacific through interchange in Springfield. At Curran, the lined also served a fertilizer distributor and a aggregate unloading facility. Elevators were also found at Prouty, Rees, and Murrayville, IL. At Murrayville the Gateway’s Subdivision 4 left the line. Heading north, the short branch served a Mobil Chemical consumer products plant in Jacksonville, IL.
Operations on the line seemed to change frequently, but we will focus on 1994-1995 here. L-301, the Roodhouse Local operated five days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the local called at 1400. On Tuesday and Thursday the local saw its start moved to 1300. Gateway Western’s over the road workhorses KCSL and SLKC worked Roodhouse and provided a connection interchange in Kansas City, KS and East St. Louis, IL. KCSL left Kansas City Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 0500, with SLKC heading west from East St. Louis at 0600 on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the Gateway operated an over the road local, SLJV, which called in East St. Louis at 0600. This train would work its way north, stopping to work at the yards in Venice and Wann, IL. North of Wann, SLJV served customers along Subdivision 1 between Godfrey and Roodhouse, IL. After arriving in Roodhouse, the train would work the yard and proceed north to switch Mobil Chemical. The following day, JVSL would make the return trip working the line south as needed. Mostly in the fall and winter months, the Gateway would see occasional unit grain movements from Consolidated Grain & Barge to Cahokia Marine Service in Cahokia, IL.
Springfield boasted interchanges with the Chicago & Illinois Midland, Illinois Central, and the Southern Pacific. Jacksonville also provided the road with an interchange with the Burlington Northern.
Gateway Western 