Abandoned Rails: The Creve Coeur Branch

(Forwarded from the Laclede & Creve Coeur Railroad)

The Laclede and Creve Coeur Railroad was chartered to build a line from Saint Louis proper to Creve Coeur Lake, in order to serve various ice houses along the lake; the line also ferried passengers to an amusement park located on the eastern shore of the lake. The line was completed in 1881.

Over the years, as traffic levels declined and the area alongside the right-of-way further developed, the line was cut back in stages: first to Chapman in the 1920s, and then to Litzinger Road when I-270 was built (which would have severed the line if not cut back).

Final abandonment of the line came in the 1960s when it was under ownership of the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

Stations and points along the line, from east to west:

Lake Junction
Brentwood
Rock Hill
Litzinger Road
Dwyer
Chaminade
Malcolm
Ballas Road
Chapman
Benbush
Creve Coeur

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The spelling "Couer" is incorrect. It should be Coeur. This is a very common error, I make it a few times a year also. Thanks for the great website!

The map is great, thanks! A couple of interesting tidbits - in the late 1950s when I-64 was widened, MODOT paid millions to relocate the trackage to eliminate the at-grade crossing with the highway. This required about a mile of new track, which ran south of I-64, and then utilized the underpass at Clayton Rd. to reach the new right-of-way. The late Travis Burgess told me the MP only used this segment for a few years, as I-270 construction spelled the end. However, the track was retained as far as Litzinger Rd. into the mid-80s so the MP could serve McCarthy Construction's large quarry, which was/is located between McKnight and Litzinger. Around 1987, the branch was cut back to its current terminus at Manchester Rd.

Lake Junction to Creve Coeur Lake

The Creve Coeur Branch

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