Peoria Station

I went back out this afternoon to see Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) leave town, which it did around 4:30. IAIS 152-153-508 had 92 cars (two coil steel loads and 90 empties). Scenes are at the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge, approaching the West Yard, old (1900) and new (1967) Rock Island depots, and entering the North Limit Yard. Finally, the the whole train is shown at San Koty (MP 154.2). - David P. Jordan 

Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) is shown at four locations late morning Sunday, July 31, 2022.   IAIS 508-153-152 have 157 cars (149 loads, eight empties).  There were three alcohol empties, one non-haz-mat tank car and two gondolas, leaving the other two empties to be covered hoppers. Lots of distillers' mash and corn for Peoria! I waited by the Chillicothe Depot and then shot video at Rome before I headed to church. Later, I caught up with it just leaving the North Limit Yard after settng out 63 cars, leaving 94 for East Peoria. Scenes are at Rome, and then downtown Peoria, the West Yard and Bridge Junction on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad. Lastly, we return to Rome to see the whole train. - David P. Jordan

I got to the south end of town early this afternoon to find Union Pacific train MPECL gone from Adams Street Yard. But I head heard some brief chatter on the UP Peoria Sub channel, so I figured I'd best make my way to W. Farmington Road as soon as possible. Despite the slow drivers, I made it in time. I pulled up to the old gas station on the north side of the road (west of the tracks) just as the gates were lowering.  UP 6151 has 44 cars. - David P. Jordan

After leaving the downtown library this evening, I checked the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard to see if Canadian National Railway local L557 (E. Peoria to Decatur IL) was still around, and getting ready to depart.    Turns out, it actually was still in the yard waiting on an empty BNSF coal train out of Powerton to clear Wesley Junction. (It also met a loaded BNSF grain train, which followed the empty coal. This train was loaded on the TP&W.)   I shot the train at four locations. Video shows power runbys at Hilliards and Pekin (N. 2nd Street and IC Junction), and then the whole train at 5th Street near South Pekin. I actually got the entire train at Hilliards but I didn't think its glacial speed was sufficiently entertaining... CN 5696 and CN 5643 left East Peoria with 71 cars, adding five empties from Hanna Steel at Pekin. I think I heard correctly that the train had eight loads.  Note some nearly brand new (2021) CN covered hoppers sprinkled ...

  Norfolk Southern Railway local D32 (Decatur IL to Normal IL) is shown rolling through the west side of Bloomington, Illinois early this evening. NS 3299 and NS 6975  had 14 cars. Normally, D32 passes this spot before sunrise. There are three organic corn loads on the head end (pulled from The Andersons at Mansfield) and two BNGX soybean meal empties for DuPont's Gibson City soybean processing plant (all five "turned" at Good Yard) but most or all of the other nine are for the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at East Peoria. These will be forwarded there Monday by local D49, which is on duty at 6:00am.    - David P. Jordan

I never made it to the downtown library this afternoon, though I had planned to be there.  As usual on Friday afternoon, I drove by Adams Street Yard to find Union Pacific's MPECL made up and ready to leave, though the crew may not have been aboard yet. UP 6151 had 46 cars, including SEVEN boxcars near the head end, and a block of nine empty coal cars on the rear. I decided it would be worth waiting for this one.  Then I heard a horn in Bartonville... I found a slow-moving freight running by Collier Yard with traffic I quickly identified as a TP&W local out of Mapleton. I headed it off at Sanitation Road, expecting it to stop and work the UP/KJRY interchange. Although the train did stop, it was a brief one to radio the TZPR for instructions from Iowa Junction in Peoria to P&PU Junction in East Peoria.  I shot most of the train at Sanitation Road, but only included a brief runby of IMRR 2108. The entire 48-car train is shown at S. Darst Street. As the TP&W trai...

After missing the last few, I finally caught Union Pacific's MPECL this afternoon.  It left early (as I expected), but I got it in one of my favorite spots. Video shows it rolling across W. Farmington Road at 4:00pm. UP 5702 had 37 cars. - David P. Jordan

After a trip to Lafayette, Indiana and return, I came home and happened to catch BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL! As I glanced from I-474, I probably mistook an earlier M-GALPEI (parked on the New Long Main for the week!) for an M-PEIGAL on the mainline. After a brief turnaround in Bartonville, all I could see was the M-GALPEI. But then I heard radio chatter about a "BNSF 8386 West." I found it racing under Harmon Highway (Rt. 116), so I tried to get ahead of it. I could have stopped at Pottstown, but the shadows were bad. I opted for Kramm Road, where M-PEIGAL rolled by just before 1900 hours. BNSF 8386 and BNSF 6674 have 45 cars. Sunday isn't the usual day for this train (or counterpart M-GALPEI), but operations on BNSF's Galesburg-Peoria line have yet to recover from the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad bridge outage from May 21 to June 30.  - David P. Jordan

I missed Union Pacific's MPECL (again!) this afternoon, but saw this Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Industry Job holding short of Sanger Street in waiting for the bridge to come down.  Enroute from Kickapoo Yard to East Peoria, TZPR 1352 has just five cars. - David P. Jordan

I usually take the direct route (I-74) to the downtown library. Today, I absent-mindedly took I-474 the south side first.   I'm glad I did, because I noticed the tail end of the Keokuk Junction Railway's East Peoria Turn on its return leg to Mapleton. Video below shows the KJRY local before and after pulling TP&W and Union Pacific interchange at Collier Yard in Bartonville, Illinois mid-afternoon Thursday, July 14, 2022. CEFX 2022 and CEFX 2014 left the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard with ten cars. At Collier, the train added two (head end) and six (rear) from the TP&W and Union Pacific, respectively, swelling it to 18 cars. The empty, open-top hoppers in the consist is interesting... - David P. Jordan

Shortly after leaving the downtown library, I picked up the St. Albans dispatcher giving a TP&W crew permission to run from Milepost 94 (Cruger) to Milepost 106 (East Peoria).  I actually saw an empty, eastbound BNSF grain train at W. Farmington Road at 6:00pm last evening, so I expected the loaded train to head west this evening.  I was correct. Moments later, I heard "westbound" and "BNSF 7912." So I headed to Cruger.  Due to the lowering sun, I thought it best to capture this train of Texas-bound corn loads at Dee-Mack Road, situated between Cruger and Washington. The sun was at a good angle as well.  BNSF 7912 is on the point of 116 corn loads for Texas. BNSF 4238 is DPU. Power runbys are at Dee-Mack Road between Cruger and Washington and at Washington. The former scene is repeated but with the whole train. Before the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's lift bridge failure, TP&W was handling one and even two loaded and empty grain trains each per day fo...

I missed Union Pacific MPECL this afternoon, but got one train while out. An East Peoria, Illinois-bound Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Industry Job moves from Kickapoo Yard in Peoria mid-afternoon Tuesday, July 12, 2022. TZPR 1521 has eleven cars. Train stopped briefly at Darst Street. (A BNSF manifest is parked on the New Long, a sign that operations are still affected by the recent, 40-day bridge outage.) - David P. Jordan

Saturday, July 9, 2022, I caught the arriving UPS 767-300 freighter as well as Allegiant Air, Amerrican Eagle and United Express passenger flights at Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport.  I got mostly arrivals, as that day's departures on Runway 4 were difficult to capture (I missed getting all three Allegiant Air departures while I was in the area). I even got skunked with the UPS departure on Runway 31!  I also missed Saturday's American Eagle arrival from Dallas/Ft. Worth, called it quits and went back Sunday for it. The DFW arrival was late, so I got the Charlotte arrival first. - David P. Jordan

Looking for Union Pacific train MPECL, I came across a BNSF Railway grain train, loaded on the TP&W July 6-7, just having entered BNSF's Peoria Sub at Darst Street. MPECL had left early, but I figured I should wait for the grain train. It finally cleared W. Farmington Road at 1631 hours. BNSF 7108 and BNSF 6167 are on the point with 116 cars. BNSF 6676 is DPU. (If not for an approaching thunderstorm, I would have gotten an empty northbound Union Pacific grain train just two minutes later!) - David P. Jordan

After spending quality time at the downtown library, I checked the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard and Creve Coeur Team Track to see if Canadian National Railway local L557 (E. Peoria IL to Decatur IL) was still here or had left. When I crossed the tracks on Wesley Road, I saw the rear end of it holding Main 2. Turns out, a TP&W-BNSF grain train from Cruger or Chenoa had run down Main 1 ahead of it, and L557 was waiting until the grain train stopped at the end of the double track. So I was able to shoot the CN at Hilliards, get some food and get ahead of the train at Pekin.  CN 5696 and CN 5643 had 63 cars.  Besides the Hilliards scene, I shot a power runby snaking through downtown Pekin. I also got them pulling one lumber and seven steel coil loads for Amerhart and Hanna Steel, respectively. Our train pulled seven empties from Hanna Steel. Finally, after waiting well more than an hour, I got the now 70-car train rolling across Fifth Street near South Pek...

I debated whether to check Adams Street Yard this afternoon before going to the downtown library. I figured it wouldn't hurt, but just before I got there, I heard some radio chatter on the UP channel. I also noticed what looked like a train on the Low Line, now nearly obscured by trees. I turned around, got to Kickapoo Creek Road as quick as I could, and found the train passing the old Molitor Junction area. I decided to shoot my first video at W. Farmington Road.  Normally, I'd be satisfied and head to the library, but this train had a lumber load right behind the power. It has been years since Walnut Custom Homes (now Walnut Custom Components after reorganizing in 2013) has transloaded lumber on the old Atherton Grain Co. elevator track in Normandy. But I hoped this lumber load's position on the train was a clue they might have resumed.  Turns out, the car was for Clinton, Iowa. I don't think there are any rail-served lumber yards there, so I assume the car was misrou...