Peoria Station

Allegiant Air is set to resume its Destin/Ft. Walton nonstops out of Peoria on May 16, 2018. Service started May 24 this year but was suspended for the off season in early September. Flights will be operating Wednesdays and Saturdays with Airbus A320 equipment. On the former, they will arrive here at 7:17pm and depart at 8:02pm. The on the latter, arrival is at 2:04pm and depature is at 2:49pm. - David P. Jordan

I'm unsure how long this train has been sitting on Edelstein Siding.  I've blogged before on Union Pacific Railroad's MPECL, which predictably leaves Peoria around 4:00pm every Tuesday and Friday afternoon.  Copunterpart MCLPE operates at night, departing Clinton, Iowa close to midnight and arriving Peoria before sunrise, Wednesday and Sunday. Only on the longest days of the year in late-spring and early-summer, can one catch this run with hope of the sun shining. So I was excited to find the nocturnal MCLPE sitting out in the open along Union Pacific Road. UP locomotives 8502 & 5038 have 31 cars. The Peoria Wayfreight (LPD01) crew will likely fetch the train Monday morning.  - David P. Jordan

I've seen this unit before, but it led on my second encounter. Norfolk Southern ES44AC #8114 displays the colors of the original Norfolk Southern Railway . I got word this afternoon that it was leading a westbound baretable train on BNSF Railway's Chillicothe Subdivision. There are advantages living close to a major mainline and this is one of them. Video shot just east of Princeville.  My first encounter occurred on August 9, 2013 on Norfolk Southern Train D46. Second unit behind NS 2700, the 22-car train was departing East Peoria for the return trip to Normal. Video (above) shot in East Peoria, at Farmdale Trestle, Goodfield and Carlock.  - David P. Jordan

If you wish to see a train, stay trackside somewhere along BNSF Railway's Chillicothe Subdivision.  It is that time of year that the Christmas merchandise rush requires extra sections of many of the regularly scheduled trains. I parked at a country road crossing (Milepost 141.55) just east of Princeville late Sunday morning and captured five train movements in an hour. I just missed a westbound autorack train. Train information as follows: - EB w/BNSF 7949-984 and 106 platforms - EB w/BNSF 7671-4334-7125-3835 and 69 platforms - WB w/BNSF 4425 & NS 7558-2511-8860 and 101 platforms - EB w/BNSF 7863-6399-8036-6043 and 85 platforms - EB w/ BNSF 5246-1114 & NS 9898-2584-8125 and 73 cars The last train was H-GALNSI (High Priority Manifest, Galesburg IL to Norfolk Southern Interchange), which BNSF will hand off to Norfolk Southern at Streator, Illinois. There, the train becomes Train 10R for Elkhart, Indiana.  - David P. Jordan

I caught BNSF Railway's "Peoria Local" this morning! The train, officially "M-GALPEI" (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL), departed Galesburg about 0830 hours. I caught it rolling through Yates City forty-five minutes later. I shot a power runby at Oak Hill and some stills at Edwards and W. Farmington Road. BNSF 2286, BNSF 2889 and BNSF 3019 have 32 cars (7 loads, 25 empties). It was good to see two out of three geeps leading this train still wearing Burlington Northern's Cascade Green paint. Twenty-two years have passed since BN and Santa Fe created Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. But for the holiday, this train would have run on Thursday.  - David P. Jordan

On January 11, 1968 the Peoria Journal Star published passenger, air mail, air express and air freight figures for the Greater Peoria Airport in 1949-1967. Traffic grew rapidly in this period and 1967's passenger tally was nearly ten times that of 1949.  1949 - 23,976 1950 - 22,903 1951 - 26,961 1952 - 32,524 1953 - 40,353 1954 - 48,336 1955 - 68,058 1956 - 82,257 1957 - 94,915 1958 - 90,873 1959 - 98,214 1960 - 94,986 1961 - 91,573 1962 - 104,189 1963 - 119,723 1964 - 143,277 1965 - 177,831 1966 - 199,816 1967 - 232,324 TERMINAL EXPANSION Meanwhile, terminal expansion plans progressed. The original building, which opened in May 1959, allowed for expansion to twelve gate positions, six of which would be needed by 1980 when 350,000 passengers were expected to pass through. Officials settled on a 58,000 sq. ft., two-level addition to the main terminal and a linear concourse to be built out front. Work began on December 16, 1968.  ...

Last month proved Peoria International Airport's biggest October ever regarding passengers.  According to this press release .  The General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA) saw a record October with 56,290 passengers, surpassing that month's previous record of 54,580 passengers in October 2014. Director of Airports, Gene Olson, noted that PIA saw record figures the first three months of this year, but traffic softened in April and September. The latter was probably due to seasonal suspensions of Allegiant Air nonstops to both Orlando-Sanford and Destin/Fort Walton Beach. The former resumed November 15 and the latter is expected to return next spring.  That the airport posted an October record without these services suggests strength to other markets or that passengers found alternatives to these Florida points. Fare competition between American (Charlotte) and Delta (Atlanta) probably is a factor here.  Olson believes that ...

I've been busy with other things, but I'll probably add another post to my PIA - A History series this weekend. It will cover the 1968-1969 period, primarily reviewing the story of Ozark Air Lines' expansion to the East Coast. - David P. Jordan

Don't forget... ...the Peoria Train Fair is Sunday, November 19, 2017! The show is held twice a year (third Sunday in Feburary and November) at Illinois Central College's East Peoria campus. Official time is 10:00am to 3:00pm. Adult admission is $3.00. Kids under 12 get in free! - David P. Jordan

A lone Kansas City Southern unit pulling a train of 76 cars out of Peoria? Did I mention this is an Iowa Interstate train? The KCS unit, an SD70ACe, arrived East Peoria Thursday afternoon on an empty Norfolk Southern grain train. Two other units continued to Des Moines, Iowa as Iowa Interstate train NS-PEDM (Norfolk Southern haulage - Peoria IL to Des Moines IA). The KCS unit was left behind for the next PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL), which ran Saturday morning. Video shot in Rome, Illinois. - David P. Jordan

I got lucky after work this afternoon. This morning, a friend informed me that BNSF Railway's day-late M-GALPEI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL) was on its way. I was resigned to the fact that I'd miss it, but imagine my surprise about 2:00pm when I learned that it was still sitting at S. Darst Street in Peoria waiting for the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad (TZPR) to fix a broken rail! Immediately after crossing the river I found the train moving! I shot video at the only spot where the low mid-afternoon November sunlight was good. Video shows the train running on TZPR trackage heading to East Peoria. A pair of SD40-2Rs, 1565 and 1578, and GP38-2 2033 pull 41 cars across ADM's River Track at Bridge Junction. - David P. Jordan

It is time for Q & A! Feel free to post your questions in the comments section on any transportation topic. If I don't have an answer, I'll find one. - David P. Jordan

I chased Iowa Interstate's PEDAV (Peoria, IL to Davenport, IA potash empties) from Bridge Junction in Peoria north to SanKoty this afternoon. IAIS 153 & 707 have 103 cars. Two of four scenes contain different perspectives. They are: Ft. of Chicago Street, S. Water Street (downtown Peoria), from Goodwill Industries lot looking at train moving through the North Limit Yard (McClugage Bridge area) and the whole train at SanKoty by Quality Metal Products. All but the last were on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad. It is the time of year that potash traffic is heavy. Canadian Pacific Railway originates unit trains of about 105 cars in Saskatchewan and hands them over to the Iowa Interstate in Davenport, Iowa. The Iowa Interstate delivers to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad, which delivers them to Mosaic Crop Nutrition's barge dock and warehouse south of Bartonville. David P. Jordan