Peoria Station

When I left work this afternoon, I already knew Norfolk Southern's D49 local had arrived and departed, so I took I-474 to Peoria and went up SW Adams to find BNSF's M-GALPEI, the third turn this week, just getting permission to enter Tazewell & Peoria Railroad property at Darst Street.    Sometime in late-April this year, M-GALPEI/M-PEIGAL changed from a Monday/Thursday pattern to Monday/Friday. There are still two or three days in between runs. No real difference. But I wondered if this new routine might signal a future increase in frequency, i. e., three instead of two weekly cycles. Although BNSF has occasionally operated a third weekly cycle in the past, I see no reason to do so on a regular basis unless there is a significant increase in traffic, or a company-wide change in operations strategy.    I can't confirm whether this week's Wednesday run was the beginning of increased service or a fluke. I did not see the train itself, but BNSF 9100 and BNSF 67...

I heard radio chatter about a Keokuk Junction Railway train, though I could not confirm whether it had just arrived the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard or was about to depart. I did, however, catch Canadian National Railway's L557 local leaving on the south end.    A contractor (L. B. Foster, I think) is replacing crossties on Main 2 at Hilliards, so L557 used Main 1 instead. The conductor rode the steps on the lead unit as it passed track equipment. Given the train's glacial passage, I decided on a second try just south of IC Junction in downtown Pekin.    The train did not stop in town to pick up any local cars for Amerhart or Hanna Steel, though it may have had empties to pull from Hanna Steel, which they might switch on the train's rear end.  CAPTION: Canadian National Railway train L557 (Local, E. Peoria IL to Decatur IL) rolls gingerly on Main 1 of the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin doubletrack at Hilliards (Creve Coeur), I...

No sign of Norfolk Southern's D49 local on any late-afternoon this week. It must be turning early. I assume that it has come up to East Peoria at least once this week. I did, however, catch BNSF 9100 and BNSF 6728 at the north end of the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard, having just dropped an inbound train (M-GALPEI).   I could only glance at the yard as I drove the Cedar Street Extension, but the consist appeared to have been on A-41. Shortly, they received permission to cross W. Washington Street and then run down the Nickel Plate. I did not see whether they tied up on the Creve Coeur Team Track or coupled to M-PEIGAL and went west. When I checked again around 6:00pm, lighting was too blinding to really see much.    We know M-GALPEI/M-PEIGAL already turned here on Monday, and the next regular cycle is usually Friday (unless late, like last week when Friday's train ran just after sunrise on Saturday). Perhaps they had sufficient traffic to run on We...

After work, I made my usual trip to the downtown library, with appropriate detours.   After exiting I-74 in East Peoria, I noticed what I thought might be a Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway train preparing to shove a few tank cars out of the west end of the yard and run Norfolk Southern's Bloomington District to Crandall Junction and then into Morton. Turns out, it was probably just a short train returning from Collier Yard in Bartonville.   Shortly, I heard the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad dispatcher give BNSF's M-GALPEI permission to enter his property at Darst Street when river traffic cleared and the bridge was lowered. That gave me time to get to Krause Avenue in time to capture the train's passage.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-GALPEI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL) has just entered Tazewell & Peoria Railroad property at Darst Street in Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Monday, September 22, 2025. BNSF 7167 and BNSF 6748 have 30 cars for the Eas...

Chris Setti, director for the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, posted this on Friday . "There are six Class 1 railroads in the United States (defined as having more than a billion dollars in annual revenue). These are the “big guys” that crisscross America, hauling millions of pounds of goods. All six have tracks in Illinois and four are present in greater Peoria (Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, BNSF, and Canadian Pacific). Did you know that only one “shortline” railroad connects all six of them? That shortline is Iowa Interstate Railroad, and we are fortunate to have them helping out farmers and industries right here in our region. In Greater Peoria the Iowa Interstate starts on the northside of the City of Peoria, heads north to Henry, and joins up with their main track that runs all the way to Omaha. I recently had the opportunity to meet with Jim Bowman, their Economic Development Director, to begin exploring how we could develop industrial properties along their ...

I left home earlier than usual Saturday morning. It was fortunate that I did because I came across BNSF's M-GALPEI, which was a day late. A contractor is replacing cross ties on the north end of the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard so the BNSF train pulled down the Pekin double track at Wesley, shoved along Wesley 8 and into yard track A-39. I did not stick around to see if they made up M-PEIGAL and departed but assume that they did.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-GALPEI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL) enters Tazewell & Peoria Railroad property at Darst Street in Peoria, Illinois Saturday morning, September 20, 2025. BNSF 7586 and BNSF 7705 have 43 cars. Shortly after the BNSF train crossed the river, the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's "Lead 2" job dragged 40 cars that were left by the Iowa Interstate at the North Limit Yard (a common practice with East Peoria is full). It too had to pull down the double track main and shove into ...