BNSF M-PEIGAL 3-14-22

The additional hour of evening light has already provided a quality encounter!

As I left the downtown library before 6:00 Monday evening, I caught some chatter, making out only "Darst Street." I knew the Union Pacific local crew was fnished for the day, so a BNSF train seemed likely. I wondered if M-GALPEI had arrived, but when I drove across the SW Adams Street Viaduct, I saw that M-PEIGAL was sitting on the Peoria Sub main ready to go west!

I didn't have to wait long for the train to begin rolling west. Even better, I was able to capture video of it in two locations.

The first was just south of the Harmon Highway (Rt. 116) bridge along Kickapoo Creek Road. Next, the train stopped short of W. Farmington Road so the conductor could walk the train across it, likely due to a reported gate and/or signal malfunction.

BNSF 7995 and BNSF 729 (still in Santa Fe Warbonnet colors) had 69 cars. Two Caterpillar D10T track-type tractor loads were up front. The white KFTX tank cars contain steepwater from Alto Pekin LLC. The 20th car was a tallow empty from the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway. Three FXE-marked gons are steel ingot empties returning to Mexico. Starting with the 22nd car (BNSF 436972), ending with the 66th were from the TP&W. The BNSF car was loaded, possible containing urea loaded at Growmark in Mapleton, which was followed by two soybean meal loads from Incobrasa in Gilman. Four empty salt boxcars, a plastic empty and another salt boxcar were probably from Indiana. These were followed by 35 nitrogen fertilizer solution empties returning to Iowa Fertilizer Co. in Wever, Iowa. An asphalt empty, distillers' grain load and an empty gondola brought up the rear. So if you include the 20th car, 45 cars were from TP&W! All carload business handled via the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard, but business from this one connecting line-haul carrier is becoming significant!

- David P. Jordan