Peoria Station

Business at Hitchcock Scrap Yard Inc's Canton property has been picking up a bit.  After an apparent lull from February activity, more regular operations have been noted in recent weeks. In fact, twice since mid-May the Keokuk Junction Railway (KJRY) has spotted a couple gondolas at a time here. Another car shown above arrived Wednesday.  Those prior cars carried markings (OMNX) used by OmniSource Inc., a Fort Wayne, Indiana-based metal recycler owned by Steel Dynamics Inc. While most observers have assumed Hitchcock would load scrap metal here and ship it to in Keokuk (Amsted Rail Griffin Wheel Div.) and perhaps Bartonville (Alter Metal Recycling/Keystone Steel & Wire), it appears all traffic is inbound, reportedly junk from auto parts plants. Loads are coming from Norfolk Southern. It is good to see a new rail user in Canton (the only one actually) and new business on the Keokuk Junction Railway. Hopefully, the relationship will be long and generate a substan...

Having avoided the worst effects of the mid-1970s recession, Peoria was considered a "prosperity pocket." Major area employers like Caterpillar, Bemis, Hyster, Keystone Steel & Wire, Pabst, WABCO) actually posted record sales in 1974. Caterpillar sales grew another 21.6 percent in 1975 and the company employed 33,600 in the area at the start of the year. Some 8,000 had been added to the payroll since 1965 (mostly since 1971) and was expecting to add up to 9,000 more, mostly by 1980. So the local economy was good when Ozark Air Lines decided to expand its Peoria service offerings.  NEED FOR AN O'HARE ALTERNATIVE After the last flights shifted from Midway Airport in mid-1962, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport became the world's busiest. Since then, Peoria travelers had relied on O'Hare for most domestic and international connections, but increasing congestion from rapidly growing traffic prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1969 to...

I finally had a chance to create the third and final part of my Pioneer Industrial Railway documentary.  I intended to create this in April, but didn't have time due to a Florida trip and adjusting to a job change. As with the other two, I provide narration over photos and video. Part I Part II - David P. Jordan

It is about time they notice. Wind turbine components have been stored in the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard for more than two months - in full public view. It took awhile for the local "newspaper of record" to report on it. Even if they lacked sufficient information, they could have run a photo. Better late than never, I guess. Fortunately, the article posted late Tuesday confirms that the components are for the Walnut Ridge Wind Farm in Bureau County. Blades, tower sections, hubs and nacelles have sat longer than expected because the developer (Landwehr Construction Inc.) wanted to truck them out on Wesley Road, Route 29 and then I-474. But Wesley Road couldn't handle the size and/or weight of some of the materials. An alternative route onto Columbia Street, West Washington Street, Main Street and then US 24 east is planned for the last week of June through the last week of September. The company will ship two turbines (requiring nin...

Recently, I obtained a copy of the Official Airline Guide's June 1974 North American Edition.  That month, Ozark Air Lines scheduled weekday 24 departures out of the Greater Peoria Airport.  Compare this to 27 weekday departures in September 1973 .  Among the changes... MILWAUKEE service, begun June 9, 1953, ended January 7, 1974. Peoria's economic links to Milwaukee included the three local Pabst Brewing Co. plants and a Caterpillar Tractor Company components plant in the Beer City. But both firms owned private aircraft so business travel between the two cities via commercial airline had to be rare. Multiple stops (Moline, Rockford and Madison) were inconvenient anyway. In September 1973, NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, DC. flights were routed, - St. Louis-Springfield (IL)-Peoria-Champaign-Washington Dulles-New York LaGuardia - Peoria-Champaign-Washington Dulles-New York LaGuardia - Kansas City-Moline-Peoria-Washington Dulles-New York LaGuardia All were o...

After seeing reports of these trains for several years, I finally caught one.  Monday morning, I received a headsup that Union Pacific was running a northbound baretable train ("baretable" is railroad industry lingo for empty intermodal cars) on its Peoria Subdivision. Union Pacific train ILMG3R-04 originated somwhere south of St. Louis and was destined to Global 3 at Rochelle, Illinois. The Peoria Sub was a convenient route for this movement. Lone SD70M 4424 leads 100 empty intermodal well cars past Milepost 59, which is the north end of Edelstein Siding.  - David P. Jordan

I've been busy in recent weeks, but I plan to resume PIA - A History posts in May.  I recently purchased an Official Airline Guide, North American Edition for June 1974 so the next post will likely compare service in September 1973 just prior to the Arab Oil Embargo. The post after that will focus on Ozark Air Lines' service expansion, an apparent attempt to pacify the Greater Peoria Airport Authority in its effort to break the carrier's long monopoly.  - David P. Jordan

Allegiant Air resumed Peoria-Destin/Ft. Walton Beach nonstops today.  The service operated for several months last year on a seasonal basis beginning May 24. Present service is offered Wednesdays and Saturdays. The last flights operate August 29.  - David P. Jordan

A new era in American rail passenger travel began January 13, 2018.  Nearly thirty-five years had passed since one could ride a regularly-scheduled, privately-operated intercity passenger train in the United States. When the Denver & Rio Grande Western discontinued its tri-weekly Denver-Salt Lake City Rio Grande Zephyr  on April 24, 1983 no one believed another railroad would one day introduce private, intercity rail passenger service.  Amtrak's May 1, 1971 startup eliminated most such service. Holdouts included the aforementioned D&RGW train, the Rock Island's Peoria Rocket and Quad City Rocket and the Southern Railway's four remaining trains, including its flagship Washington, DC-New Orleans streamliner, Southern Crescent .  Smaller carriers such as the Chicago South Shore & South Bend, Georgia Railroad (mixed trains only) and Reading System continued to operate such services as well. A seventh holdout, Erie Lackawanna's Cleveland-Youngst...