Gritty, Industrial Railroading - TZPR Switches Gavilon at Creve Coeur!

 


Early Friday evening, I happened upon a Tazewell & Peoria Railroad switch engine (TZPR 1352) pulling eight tank cars along Wesley Road on the double track Pekin mainline. The tank cars displayed no haz-mat placards. Some had Cargill (CRGX) reporting marks. I quickly realized a yard crew was about to deliver them to Gavilon Fertilizer's nearby facility. 

The video above shows most switching moves. In summary, the crew first pulled a tank car already on spot and set it over to another tracks (NOTE: there are three parallel tracks on the plant's south side, and one on the east side). Then, they spotted the eight tank cars, four on each of two tracks. The crew then returned to the East Peoria Yard. 

Note at the 9:18 mark, 1352 struggles to gain speed up the steep incline. They first tried to move four tank cars, then three. After the conductor made a cut for the first two, 1352 could pull. 

The tank cars contained soybean oil, which moves to Peoria periodically on the Iowa Interstate Railroad. Cargill markings indicate this product was shipped from that company's Cedar Rapids, Iowa soybean processing/soy protein West Plant, which is served by the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway. 

Gavilon Fertilizer LLC, at 1139 Wesley Road, owns fertilizer distriburing and mixing facilities first operated by Tuloma Gas Products in 1966. Tuloma (TULsa OklahOMA) merged with American Oil Co. (Amoco) in 1968. Successors include Cropmate (using the "AgriBasics" trade name) and ConAgra Fertilizer Co. Gavilon purchased this facility in 2008. 

- David P. Jordan

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