Peoria Station

The first trainload of wind farm components for Walnut Ridge Wind Farm in Bureau County arrived East Peoria early Monday. On Tuesday, they were unloaded.  A cut of 18 flat cars still loaded with Vestas wind turbine towers sits on track B-19 at the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard. As evidenced by towers sitting on the ground at left, many others had already been unloaded before I recorded this scene Tuesday afternoon, February 27, 2018.  - David P. Jordan

They're here... After being delayed four days by severe flooding at Watseka, Illinois, Union Pacific delivered a wind turbine components train to TP&W there Sunday evening.  A combined mixed freight and about 34 wind turbine tower loads arrived East Peoria early this morning. The cut of tower loads was still in TP&W’s East Peoria Yard this afternoon. The towers, destined for unloading at the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard, display Vestas markings. Vestas North America manufactures these at a Union Pacific-served plant just south of Pueblo, Colorado so it seems likely where the train originated. - David P. Jordan

For the first time in several years, wind turbine components will be arriving East Peoria by train.  The Walnut Ridge Wind Farm will erect up to 106 towers this fall between in Bureau County, Illinois. The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad (TZPR) is part of the logistics chain that will see components arrive on flat cars.  A large section of railroad property in East Peoria is being prepared for the project. Cranes are on site (see photo) that will be used to unload components from railcars and re-load them to specially-equipped trucks which will haul them to the construction site. In past years, the Toledo Peoria & Western Railway's East Peoria Yard has been used for this purpose. Sister TZPR's facilities must be a better fit for the latest local wind energy project, and a good indication that components will arrive on multiple carriers. UPDATE (Feb. 22) - The first wind turbine components train just departed Villa Grove, Illinois on the Union Paci...

The Pioneer Industrial Railway (PRY) began operations twenty years ago today, February 20.  On February 18, 1998, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Peoria, Ill.-based Pioneer Railcorp assumed the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway's contract with the City of Peoria and Village of Peoria Heights to operate the Peoria, Peoria Heights & Western Railroad.  PRY ran its first train on February 20. It was forced to vacate the line in August 2005 but returned in January 2008 when the federal Surface Transportation Board restored its operating rights. Part I covers the period from 1998 to 2004 when the City began its efforts to convert most of the PPH&W, or "Kellar Branch," into a recreational trail. When I get time to create it, Part II will focus on the legal fight with the City in 2004-2005 and the failure of rail service in 2006-2007 that led to PRY's restoration. Update (March 14, 2018):  I have sufficient material for three parts. Part III will conclude...

Last Friday evening, Union Pacific ran an MMCPR (Manifest, Mason City IA to Proviso IL) down the Peoria Subdivision. It ran an MMTPR (Manifest, Marshalltown IA to Proviso IL) last evening and another MMCPR this Friday evening. All three were enroute to the Alton & Southern Railway's Gateway Yard in East St. Louis, which is probably where these trains' traffic ends up anyway. I caught the latter two, and just after sunset managed to capture video of the latest MMCPR rolling under BNSF's Mendota Sub near Buda. UP motors 5374-5812-2475-5494-6792-5868 had 75 cars of agricultural traffic. Train stopped briefly for dispatcher radio chatter then resumed its journey. MPECL waited at Edelstein Siding for MMCPR's passage.    Word is that Union Pacific is experiencing a traffic meltdown at Proviso Yard (near Chicago), and is detouring or re-routing many trains to unplug the mess. I doubt the problem is anywhere close to being solved so expect more such ...

UPDATE: It has come to my attention, that United Suppliers sold its Henry plant to Unity Envirotech LLC last September. Changes to the post below reflect that information.  First the news the Peoria Journal Star didn't report... In October 2015, Arden Hills, Minnesota-based Land O'Lakes Inc. and Ames, Iowa-based United Suppliers combined their fertilizer and seed business. Two years later, on October 1, 2017, the combined business was re-branded as "Winfield United Crop Nutrients." Around September 21, United Suppliers sold its Henry plant to Unity Envirotech, LLC .  At least Peoria's "newspaper of advertisements, crime, politics, sports (and occasional records)" is reporting the expansion of Unity's Henry, Illinois plant and conversion from granular fertilizer manufacturing to ammonium nitrate production. In more good news, AgriSulfur LLC may build a sulfuric acid plant adjacent to the expanding Unity facility. That plant, if built,...

Time for more Transportation Q & A! Expect another PIA - A History post in the next couple of weeks. It will cover the 1973-1974 energy crisis and its effect on local airline service. Of course, there was aother drama, and that will be covered as well. Until then, 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

Hitchcock Scrap Yard received the first railcar today at its new Canton property. Early Thursday afternoon, a westbound Keokuk Junction Railway train dropped SOU 63029, an empty gondola, on the short siding adjacent Hitchcock's newly-leased property.  Last October, the Canton-based scrap metal processing and recycling firm entered into a lease with the City for property on the south side of the former International Harvester Company property. An article in the Fulton Democrat was the basis for this blog post .  The gondola parked adjacent Hitchcock property will probably be dismantled for scrap. That is because the car was built in March 1968 (see below).  The Association of American Railroads (AAR) restricts railcars manufactured before July 1974 to 40 years in interchange service unless rebuilt. Cars exceeding 40 years can still be operating in captive service on one carrier, however.  Hitchcock may be planning to use is new property to ...

NINETEEN SEVENTY-TWO marked a decade since Peoria was a Trunk Airline stop. Although Ozark Air Lines offered expanded service in recent years, the Greater Peoria Airport Authority (GPAA) began sniffing around for an additional carrier. Meanwhile, Peoria was about to witness the birth of a second, locally-based commuter airline. M. A. T. S. AIRLINES In December 1971, Chicago & Southern Airlines president Richard Willard detailed plans for a new commuter airline to link Peoria with downtown Chicago (Meigs Field), Davenport, Detroit, East St. Louis (Bi-State Parks) Gary, Indianapolis and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Initially, it was to be called "Central Illinois Airline" and operate De Havilland DH-114 Herons . Eventually, remanufacturered Herons, called Saunders ST-27s, would be acquired by the new airline, a division of Peoria-based Manufacturers Air Transport Service (C&SA and MATS had stockholders in common). Willard was named division's vice-president and gen...

I still don't have hard numbers, but this article  tells us that Bloomington-Normal's Central Illinois Regional Airport suffered a 12 percent decline in passengers in 2017. That drop means CIRA handled about 335,000 passengers last year. In 2016, it handled 381,109. Delta Connection's decision to drop Detroit service in July 2016 and the reduction of Minneapolis/St. Paul flights from one to two last year had to hurt local traffic.  Director Carl Olson cites a decline in business travel for the drop. As a result, the airport is looking at air cargo as a catalyst for growth. FedEx Express, which shifted its cargo flights from Peoria to CIRA, has grown there with potential for more.  For Olson, FedEx’s growth at CIRA is an example of how other companies in the industry might find success in this area. “We sit not only within the largest population concentration in the state after the Chicago metro area, but we’re also two hours from Indianapolis, two hours from...