Peoria Station

Ozinga Cement Co. has built this facility at the lower end of the old Peoria Barge Terminal property. It appears to be a barge-rail-truck transfer operation.   The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad is serving carrier, providing connecting service to BNSF, Canadian National, Illinois & Midland RR, Iowa Interstate, Norfolk Southern, TP&W and Union Pacific.   At least two tracks are in use, one probably being the old rail spur which served the barge terminal. The other was built new. A trackmobile is on site to move railcars on spot for loading or unloading.    It is unclear whether bulk cement, slag or both will be handled here. Lack of a loading spout makes me think all railcars are loaded inbound, empty outbound.  - David P. Jordan

I caught this Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Industry Job enroute from Kickapoo Yard to East Peoria. Highlights include an empty CN boxcar that is likely in zinc ingot service from British Columbia to Liberty Steel & Wire Co., and four empty ex-CN gondolas marked EMRX (Northern Metals Recycling), indicating a Minnesota origin for scrap metal.   CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Industry Job (2 or 3) rolls by Sanger Street in Peoria, Illinois toward the Illinois River enroute from Kickapoo Yard to East Peoria mid-afternoon Wednesday, November 5, 2025. TZPR 1352 has 19 cars.   The Keokuk Junction Railway local followed close behind from Iowa Junction with a short train. I stuck around long enough to catch the local on its westbound run back to Mapleton. The 19 ALAB-marked covered hoppers on this one are presumably in corn germ service from Keokuk to Decatur (via Norfolk Southern) as we don't normally see them loaded with corn or soybeans at Sciota, but being blo...

I shot a couple of eastbounds on BNSF Railway's Chillicothe Subdivision this afternoon, but traffic was slow (or late due to the time change). CAPTION: Action on BNSF Railway's Chillicothe Subdivision between Princeville and Edelstein, Illinois early Sunday afternoon, November 2, 2025. Both trains were eastbounds. The first, had BNSF 6796 and BNSF 1073 on the point with 58 autoracks. The second, had BNSF 3276, BNSF 7107, BNSF 8389 and BNSF 4694 on the point with 115 intermodal platforms.   An eastbound was lined up per signal indication at Edelstein but I decided to head for home. I'm glad I did, because I just happened to be driving through East Peoria when a TP&W switch crew was preparing to deliver interchange to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad.  CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway local, possibly EPX1, delivered to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad in East Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Sunday, November 2, 2025. TZPR 2133 had nine empties. S...

I only caught the local at Bridge Junction, so it may have set out cars for Union Pacific at Collier Yard, but did not make a pickup on the way back to Mapleton. If this carrier is only cycling into and out of the area once per week, you would think interchange with Union Pacific would be a stop both ways every time. (TP&W interchange, mostly eastbound grain, seems to move via the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad now.)   CAPTION: The Keokuk Junction Railway's East Peoria turn crosses BioUrja Renewables LLC Riverside Track shortly before entering the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge late-afternoon Thursday, October 30, 2025. LTEX 6437-3837-3836 have nine cars. Later, LTEX 3836-3837-6437 have ten cars at Bartonville on the Union Pacific-owned, TP&W-controlled ex-Peoria Terminal Co. line.   - David P. Jordan

It is always good to catch a long TP&W freight on the East End mainline.    Minutes after a notice on a local Facebook group that a TP&W eastbound freight was approaching Washington, I left the house and drove to Cruger. Watching its passage, I noticed that the two locomotives on Saturday evening's transfer to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad - TPW 5009 and IORY 5007 - were on this train. I did not stick around for it due to darkness, but I assumed they would return with eastbound traffic.    Today's train has a decent variety of rolling stock -    1 tank car (soybean oil empty) 9 tank cars (nitrogen fertilizer solution loads) 1 tank car (denatured alcohol load) 2 tank car (industrial alcohol loads) 12 covered hoppers (phosphate empties) 2 tank cars (sorbitol loads) 1 tank car (corn syrup empty) 1 tank car (methylamine anhydrous empty) 1 tank car (dimethylamine anhydrous empty) 5 covered hoppers (phosphate empties) 25 covered hoppe...

Heading home from Peoria early this evening, I noticed a TP&W train at the west end of the East Peoria Yard so I exited I-74 to investigate. Minutes later, the crew of EP-X received permission from the St. Albans dispatcher to run Farmdale to P&PU Junction and into the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard. Most cars are for BNSF's next M-PEIGAL, probably Monday.  CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway EP-X, (East Peoria Extra Switcher) pulls into the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard early evening Saturday, October 25, 2025. IORY 5007 and TPW 5009 have 59 cars. - David P. Jordan