Peoria Station

Early evening is a typical time for train PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) to traverse the Iowa Interstate Railroad's Peoria Subdivision. But this early evening, I caught counterpart SIPE.  A pair of GP38-2s, 705 and 703, led 54 cars. The train's consist included the usual ADM traffic out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa but also a sprinkling of potash loads and empty tank cars.  Video taken at Mossville.  - David P. Jordan

Something interesting happened on the Toledo Peoria & Western Railway this weekend.  Late summer marks a push by grain belt elevators to empty their silos in time for the fall harvest. A bumper crop in 2016 ensures that a lot of grain will be shipped the next month or so. The grain has to be sold, and who it is sold to can create interesting rail movements. Such is the case on Saturday, August 26 when Norfolk Southern Train 51Z, made up of two engines and 85 grain empties, arrived East Peoria and parked on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's "Nickel Plate Sub." The NS crew ran around their train and coupled to the east end. A short time later, a TP&W crew got on and took it east. The first 52 cars (and one locomotive) were left at Grainland Cooperative's Cruger elevator and the remaining 33 were hauled to Prairie Central Cooperative's Weston elevator. A reported 24-hour turnaround time had elevator personnel loading corn that evening. I captured ...

A little departure from local topics... Megamergers in the past six decades reduced to seven the number of Class I railroads left in the United States. And Illinois is the only state in which all seven operate.  My first encounter with a Kansas City Southern train came in 2008. It was a passenger special sponsored by High Iron Travel. The journey treated riders to a rare-mileage trip from St. Louis to Chicago via KCS to Springfield on Saturday July 19. The next day the journey continued on the Illinois & Midland Railroad to Peoria and then TP&W to Galesburg on BNSF's Peoria Sub. Passenger cars were tacked onto an Amtrak train (probably the Carl Sandburg)) to Chicago. I shot video on both days.  I had yet to catch a KCS freight train. I tried on August 19, 2009 but only managed to encounter the Loami (IL) tornado! Then on October 22, 2013 enroute to the Lexington Group's Kansas City (MO) meeting, I captured my first KCS freight, an eastbound Roodhouse Su...

(Originally posted on peoriastation.com March 26, 2017) The last post in this series on PIA (Peoria Int'l Airport) covered the 1958-1960 period, detailing the new terminal which opened in May 1959. Airline schedules from the Official Airline Guide, January 1960 edition, were included. I’ll now analyze 1960-1964. The new terminal brought optimism that the 1960s would bring larger aircraft and more flights. Indeed, the Peoria Journal Star reported on May 13, 1959 that American Airlines might replace its 40-seat Convair 240s with 70-seat DC-6s and eventually the new turboprop Lockheed Electra. Likewise, Trans World Airlines intended to phase out its 40-seat Martin 404s in favor of 81-seat Lockheed Constellations. This optimism shattered when Trans World Airlines announced on January 13, 1960 plans to drop Peoria from its network. Then American Airlines made a similar announcement March 9 that year. As a courtesy to TWA’s 13 years of service, Peoria industry did not oppos...

(Originally posted on peoriastation.com on February 1, 2017) When the Greater Peoria Airport tallied 94,914 passengers in 1957 (a 13.3 percent increase over the previous year), it looked as if the airport would top 100,000 for the first time in 1958. But this was not to be. A recession plagued the nation’s economy by late 1957. It would last eight months, and one serious consequence – 3,000 layoffs by Caterpillar Tractor Company – hurt the local economy, and thus airline passenger traffic. Only 90,873 passengers enplaned/ deplaned at PIA in 1958. An American Airlines strike, begun December 19 (and ended January 10), couldn’t have helped matters either. NEW TERMINAL Yet as 1958 unfolded, there was much to look forward. Runway 12-30 was extended to 7,000 feet with an additional 1,000 overrun. It opened for traffic on August 16, enabling the 169th’s F-84s to fly out of their own base. Even better, a new mid-field terminal complex would soon replace the old cramped facility ...

(Originally posted on peoriastation.com October 11, 2016) The last post in this series covered the period between 1950 and 1956. This one covers the ensuing two years. That’s because a lot happened, which set the stage for decades to come. LONGER RUNWAY FOR ANG JET FIGHTERS Runway 12-30, with a northwest-southeast orientation, opened with 4002′ x 100′ dimensions. In 1947, it was extended to 5000′ and widened to 150′ for operations by the 169th’s P-51 Mustangs. As early as 1948, a USAF general suggested ANG would soon obtain jet fighters, requiring at least 6000′ runway length. At first, the airport’s 3600′ northeast-southwest runway (4-22) was to be lengthened to 4800′ or 5000′. Unfortunately, issues with mining subsidence and airfield funding delayed these projects, and by the time they were solved, the Korean War consumed funding and supplies which would have enabled runway expansion. Another issue was Monroe School, which would have to relocate if 4-22 were extend...

I usually don't miss a chance to see and film an Iowa Interstate train on the Peoria Subdivision. I got one of its northbound freights early this evening.  Trains PESI and SIPE, which run on an as needed basis, i. e. three or four times a week, between Peoria and Silvis, handle this carrier's "manifest" (mixed carload freight and empties) traffic. I caught the former early this evening shortly after it left Peoria.  A pair of SD38-2s (150 & 152) pulled 64 cars, mostly feed empties returning to ADM in Cedar Rapids but also one beverage alcohol and two industrial alcohol loads from ADM's Peoria distillery, an amine load from Geismar, Louisiana and two ethanol loads out of Pekin (Pacific Ethanol or Illinois Corn Processing).  - David P. Jordan

Thanks to an agreement between Republic Steel and ERP Iron Ore LLC, unit ore pellet trains like this one (CSX K502 on 6/26/16) will resume running in about a year.  This news has a Peoria connection, so bear with me!  First, Lorain County, Ohio's The Morning Journal announced July 25 that Republic Steel's Lorain, Ohio steel mill, idled since early 2016 when markets declined, will be producing up to 1 million tons of pig iron annually beginning in July 2018.  The news was good for another shuttered plant - the former Magnetation LLC ore pellet facility in Reynolds, Indiana. According to linked article,  ERP Iron Ore will send iron ore pellets to Lorain via rail from its plant in Reynolds, Ind. ERP Iron Ore LLC purchased some of Magnetation's assets, including the Reynolds plant, in February 2017. Before Magnetation ended operations in October 2016, CSX delivered unit trains of hematite ore (loaded on BNSF in Minnesota) and received unit ore pe...

(Originally posted July 7, 2016) The newly-renamed Greater Peoria Airport handled 22,903 passengers in 1950. Traffic grew rapidly through 1955 when the facility served 68,058 passengers. Below is a summary of air service changes from the last post, PIA – A History: Airline Service in 1950 , to March 1956. AMERICAN AIRLINES Although the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) recommended suspension of its PIA service and replacement by Ozark, American Airlines fought to retain its route authority. In the end, Ozark was allowed Chicago rights, and AA retained its existing services. BYERLY AIRLINES On April 21, 1953 Byerly Aviation began a Peoria-Chicago (Midway) air taxi service using a Beech Bonanza. An evening flight was added on December 1 that year. In September 1954, service was extended to Jacksonville, Illinois. Ozark Air Lines’ Peoria-Chicago (Midway) flights, which began October 19, 1954, proved devastating to Byerly’s own service. I’ve not found an end date for the f...

A couple of days ago, I was reminded of an eastbound Norfolk Southern train out of East Peoria which I recorded with my miniDV camcorder on June 25, 2010. Watching it roll through Goodfield, Illinois and then approaching its home terminal in Normal, Illinois, I thought how much things have changed in a little over seven years. Or have they? The train carried the symbol, "D49," which was one of two roadswitchers based at Good Yard (the other was D47, on duty at 0700 daily except Sunday). On duty at 2300 hours Monday thru Friday, D49 could often be seen on the return leg leaving East Peoria well after sunrise.  That October, increasing business prompted Norfolk Southern to put on a third roadswitcher, "D46." The new train, on duty at 0800 each morning, made the East Peoria "turn" Sunday thru Thursday to start, but by summer 2011 was running Monday thru Friday. Train D47 shifted to a 1500 on-duty time and D49 relieved D47.  Fast forward t...

(Originally posted on January 27, 2016) The last installment in this series detailed the threat posed by inadequate facilities, mining subsidence and the lack of funding for necessary capital improvements. This post will analyze air service changes. Peoria’s municipal airport experienced major air service changes in 1950. When the year started, air carriers numbered just two – American and TWA. Lets review happenings by each. AMERICAN AIRLINES This carrier operated a daily flight in each direction between Chicago, Peoria, Springfield and St. Louis with a 40-seat Convair 240. No known major changes occurred during the year, but Peoria did see an emergency landing in the early morning hours of December 26. The Peoria Star reported that American Airlines’ Californian , operating from Chicago to Los Angeles, made an emergency landing here due to a heating unit fire. The aircraft, probably a DC-6, had 57 passengers. TRANS WORLD AIRLINES On March 15, 1950, a TWA flight ...

Thanks to a heads up from a railfan friend, I decided to spend Sunday afternoon chasing an eastbound TP&W manifest to El Paso.  Despite the overcast, it was well worth it.  TP&W GP50 #5010 & TP&W SD40-3 #3442 left the East Peoria Yard with 56 cars (25 grain empties/31 mixed) and added 25 soybean loads at Cruger.  Video was taken just east of Eureka and entering El Paso. The train's block of mixed freight has some variety at least. - David P. Jordan

Previously, we explored not only air service changes at the Peoria Municipal Airport during 1949, but also problems with mining subsidence which threatened the airfield's future.   (Originally posted December 24, 2015) In February 1950, the U. S. Air Force informed the Park Board that if its demands for improved facilities - including a 7,000-foot runway - were not met, the 169th Air National Guard unit would have to relocate to another city. The same month, a second fissure was discovered on both ANG and adjoining private property after 14 rooms mined by Edward Mohn & Sons had collapsed. This diagram, which appeared in the Peoria Star  on May 25, 1950, shows the problem areas. Airport officials agreed that the solution was to either buy out the Mohn's mineral rights or condemn the property. Lack of adequate sources of funding proved a barrier to either course. A push to create an airport authority gained support. With a goal to hold a public vote by May 31, 1950...

TZPR 3000 switches the ADM Peoria plant's Alcohol Tracks on May 1, 2013.   The good news is that it appears ADM is maintaining its Peoria plant for the long term. The bad news is that long-time employees are losing their jobs. The PJStar posted this article yesterday.  I can't see too much changing in regard to rail service. Grain for production is trucked in from elevators in the region. ADM only gets corn by rail when local supplies are low. Rail delivered grain is almost all transferred to barges for export. Most tank cars loaded here seem to be placarded for industrial (UN 1170) and beverage alcohol (UN 3065) anyway. Actual production volume, not the type of grain alcohol produced there, will make the difference. The Peoria plant is a strategic asset with river access. Layoffs are sad, but hopefully the change reflects a long-term commitment to keep the local plant operational for many years to come. UPDATE (Aug. 3): Word is the end of domestic ethanol p...

In the prior installment, we reviewed and analyzed events of 1948. Now we shift to 1949. Let’s start with air service changes. AMERICAN AIRLINES On February 1, a 40-seat Convair 240, christened Flagship Peoria the same day, replaced a 21-seat DC-3 on the remaining northbound and southbound flights which stopped at Peoria. It appears, however, that those flights which American Airlines dropped on November 1, 1948 never returning in the spring as promised. CHICAGO & SOUTHERN AIR LINES The Civil Aeronautics Board conducted hearings April 20 on this carrier’s bid to eliminate Peoria from its Chicago-New Orleans route. Officials testified that the service was unnecessary, and that the Peoria stop was unprofitable. In mid-September, the CAB examiner recommended allowing the airline to end service. A decision to allow the change was made on October 27, an service to Peoria ended effective December 26. EASTERN AIR LINES The Peoria Journal noted March 10 that service to ...