Canadian National L557 3-3-22

I knew CN's Peoria Local, L556, had been using a pair of IC black units this week - IC 6250 (SD40-3) and IC 1000 (SD70), so after work, I drove to Creve Coeur hoping to see them lead L557 south. I wasn't disappointed, as the train was leaving TZPR's East Peoria Yard as I crossed the double track on Wesley Road.

I shot a few stills at Wesley and then waited at Hilliards to shoot video. The train, running Main 1, slowed to a crawl and stopped short of the Grove crossover to wait for an empty BNSF coal train to go by. When it resmed its run, it crossed to Main 2.

I got some power runbys at North 2nd Street in Pekin and again at Koch Street after the train picked up a lumber load and eight coil steel loads for Amerhart and Hanna Steel, respectively.

IC 6250, IC 1000 and CN 2639 have 64 cars. The first 38 cars were ADM empties, probably last contained feed. The other 26 were "normal traffic" including alcohol, distillers' grain mash and carbon dioxide gas. An empty tank car (l/c sodium hydroxide solution) and empty gondola (l/c scrap metal) were from PMP Fermentation Products and Liberty Steel & Wire, respectively.

(Runbys at Hilliards, and two places in Pekin start the video. The last segment shows the whole train at Hilliards.)

- David P. Jordan