Peoria Station

The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge outage has forced a re-route of a Havana-bound wind turbine tower train. Instead of moving on BNSF Railway to TZPR's Pekin main at Hilliards, it was delivered to Union Pacific at Kansas City and routed via St. Louis and interchanged to the Illinois & Midland RR at Ridgely (Springfield). I intercepted it just south of Oakford, turned around and got into town in the nick of time! BNSF 8055 and BNSF 4992 have 66 cars. BNSF 4278 was DPU. Locations are Oakford, E. County Road 1100 N. (near Havana Regional Airport) and pulling through the wye into Quiver Yard just east of Havana. The train originated at Vestas America Wind Technology in Minnequa, Colorado and was routed BNSF-Kansas City-UP-Springfield-IMRR to Havana Rail & Dock at Havana, Illinois.  - David P. Jordan

I got it...the first Iowa Interstate manifest to be handled by over a temporary detour route between Peoria and East Peoria, which includes the Union Pacific's Illinois River Bridge at Pekin. A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad crew was handling this one.  The TZPR's own bridge is down for at least a month, and emergency trackage rights over the Union Pacific went into effect on Wednesday, May 25. IAIS 705 and IAIS 506 have 83 cars. Scenes are in Peoria, Bartonville, Sommer, Pekin and Hilliards (Creve Coeur). - David P. Jordan

Now that the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge is out of service for repairs (estimated to be three weeks), the only alternative is to detour traffic over the Union Pacific between Crescent Junction (near Pekin) and the UP-TZPR connection near Sommer. The CN track geometry train moved this way on Wednesday. An Iowa Interstate train tied up at the North Limit Yard around noon Friday, with plans to have a TZPR crew pull it through town and then across the UP bridge to Powerton. It isn't clear whether the crew will runaround its power there and run up the double track to East Peoria, but a lot of outbound empties are ready to head north. Hopefully, they will do this on Saturday.  Also Friday afternoon, I got my first detour move! Anyway, a Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway crew handled an empty BNSF coal train from the Illinois & Midland Railroad's Powerton Yard to Peoria via Crescent Junction, Union Pacific's Peoria Subdivision and TZPR's S...

When I drove by Adams Street Yard this afternoon, MPECL was gone. A learned shortly that it was being assembled by the LDP01 crew, which is operating via the Peoria Sub and Pekin Bridge, Crescent Junction, Powerton Yard and...if I heard correctly, the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin double track. This is a temporary arrangement for the TZPR bridge is back in service, hopefully later this week. The MPECL crew was said to be on duty at 1800, and sure enough around 1730, I did find a rather lengthy cut stretching from SW Adams Street's viaduct almost to the TZPR connection at the other end. I had other plans, so I didn't see it depart, though there is evidence that this train (or another) stalled on Pioneer Hill. When I went home this evening, I noticed a single unit holding the main at Pottstown.  Anyway, I did capture Canadian National Railway local L557 departing East Peoria. Video shows it rolling by Hilliards in late afternoon. Later, the train is shown shortly aft...

I don't always catch these special movements, but Sunday was a little more convenient as I was already close by. A track geometry train, borrowed from Canadian National, moves along the Iowa Interstate Railroad's Peoria Subdivision Sunday afternoon, May 22, 2022. The IAIS received it from CN at Council Bluffs, Iowa and returned it (via the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad) to CN at Peoria.  IAIS 710 leads CN 4791 and two cars. Locations are Henry, Sparland, Mossville, San Koty and in between. (Locations are shown in the video.) - David P. Jordan

I usually don't post anything here on BNSF's Chillicothe Subdivision, because it doesn't really serve the immediate metro area, but I make an exception today because I had no idea a caboose would bring up the markers on this afternoon's M-GALCHI. BNSF Railway train M-GALCHI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Chicago IL) rolls by N. Centerville Road just east of Edelstein, Illinois early afternoon Sunday, May 22, 2022. BNSF 1409 and BNSF 3100 have 78 cars, including an ex-Santa Fe caboose! - David P. Jordan

Thanks to excessive heat and/or the train leaving early, I haven't been able to catch MPECL for two weeks. It left early today as well. I'm glad I got to Adams Street Yard in time... I shot video of Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) crossing W. Farmington Road about 3:50pm. UP 8221 has 34 cars. (Note crossing has been renewed since my last video at this location on May 6. Work was done May 9-13). - David P. Jordan

The Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway received this empty grain train from BNSF Railway this afternoon.  The carrier has been getting a lot of these the past month or so, for loading at both Cruger (Grainland Coop) and Greenfield (Prairie Central Coop) for Texas destinations. Several ran last year. Reportedly, this was the second train of BNSF power and grain empties to pass through Washington, Illinois today. The first one went to Cruger. BNSF 7642 leads 114 grain empties; BNSF 4687 is DPU. Train is bound for Prairie Central Coop's Greenfield elevator between Meadows and Chenoa. - David P. Jordan

I've been spending some quality research time at the Bloomington Public Library. I was there Monday and Wednesday evening, as well as this evening. Inevitably, I would see a moving train, but arrived too late for Union Pacific's MBNAS but did manage to see Norfolk Southern local D36 depart Good Yard for Decatur.  Video above shows it rolling across W. Market Street on Bloomington's west side. NS 3375 and NS 3228 have 22 cars.  The first eight cars were local cars, either pulled or to be spotted, but "turned" at Good Yard after arriving on D32. The last 14 arrived earlier this afternoon from the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard on D49.  Centerbeam flat cars aren't too common on the Bloomington District, so I'm unsure if this one was emptied at the TP&W's East Peoria Yard for Morton Buildings, or if it was here for another reason (misroute?).  - David P. Jordan

I went to Adams Street Yard this afternoon as usual, but Union Pacific train MPECL was delayed for about two hours. A southbound coal train had to clear Peoria Junction first. Given the two-hour delay, I suspect MPECL's crew and/or the Peoria Subdivision dispatcher decided it best to wait in case they stalled on the double track on account of a heavier consist and wet rails. The video at the link below shows MPECL rolling across W. Farmington Road. UP 2733 has 53 cars, including a block of ten boxcars from the Keokuk Junction Railway, followed by a block of 18 empty asphalt tank cars from the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad. - David P. Jordan

My first encounter with Canadian National Railway local L557 ( E. Peoria IL to Decatur IL) in two months! In the video, the train is shown first at Derby Street in Pekin pulling three lumber (for Amerhart) and three steel coil loads (for Hanna Steel) off the siding. Due to rainy weather, I didn't record switching movements at Amerhart and Hanna Steel.  After delivering these cars to local industries, the crew shoved an empty boxcar pulled from Amerhart into the consist and headed south. IC 1024 and CN 8894 have eleven cars. I hadn't seen a boxcar at Amerhart for awhile. It was good to see the load and empty being handled by the CN local crew today! - David P. Jordan

As far as I know, TP&W normally handles Tazewell & Peoria Railroad (TZPR) interchange in both directions, so seeing a TZPR transfer to the TP&W yard was a real treat. And I almost missed it. I did see TPW 5009 and TPW 5010 running engine lite across the TZPR's Illinois River Bridge early this evening. I think they had just dropped corn loads for ADM (BioUrja) South Yard, so I decided to cross the river to investigate other things. As I drove the Cedar Street Bridge, I picked up some radio chatter which I interpreted as instructions giving the TP&W crew permission to cross W. Washington Street and run the Peoria Sub to Farmdale and return.  Turns out, a Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Lead Job using TZPR 1521 was given those instructions. I checked TZPR's Creve Coeur Team Track for signs of the BNSF local (only two GE's were there, probably off a recent wind turbine tower train for the Illinois & Midland RR) and then returned to East Peoria in time to see ...

With overcast and rain, I debated going after today's Union Pacific train MPECL this afternoon. Heading west on I-74, I picked up chatter between crew and dispatcher and decided to park at W. Farmington Road and wait. I only needed to wait a few minutes.  Video shows it rolling across W. Farmington Road shortly after departing Peoria. UP 5843 has 34 cars. - David P. Jordan