NS-951 AAPRCO STL Convention Special--October 1, 2015

Yesterday, October 1, 2015 was a stellar day for railfanning with beautiful and cool early fall weather. I received word that an AAPRCO special was headed for St. Louis Union Station for the annual AAPRCO convention. AAPRCO stands for American Association of Private Railcar Owners. I headed to Union Station early in the afternoon so I would be there in time to catch the special as it backed its cars into the station. There was also "icing on the cake," since the Amtrak 40th Anniversary Heritage locomotive, AMTK 156 bearing the Phase I paint scheme, was leading the train, with AMTK 154 as the second unit. There were 20 vintage railcars from numerous railroads--some cars dating all the way back to the 1920's. Each car was wearing an original railroad paint scheme, making for a very colorful "rainbow" consist, reminiscent of Amtrak's "rainbow era!!! It was like a "time warp," taking me all the way back to the 1940's!!! It is as if Union Station came to life again!!! Here you can see the train being split up and the cars being positioned on four tracks at the station. Enjoy the time warp!!!