BNSF and UP Trains at W. Farmington Road, Together! 8-23-22

 I've seen something similar with my own eyes three times prior, but was never able to capture this kind of action on video. 

As background, I've retained a memory from age four, probably in 1978, of seeing C&NW and BN merchandise trains simultaneously at the W. Farmington Road crossing. Mom was driving us home from taking my older brother to school when we stopped to wait on a northbound Chicago & North Western freight. Suddenly, Mom yelled with excitement, "There's another train!" It was going south (geographically), and had to be a Burlington Northern train (which we'd see between cars of the C&NW train). My recollection was of manifest traffic, so this might have been a late No. 104 from Galesburg. 

Thirty-three years passed before I'd again see such a thing. On August 8, 2011, I chased BNSF's L-CHI107 extraboard "Peoria Local" west from town. As I waited at W. Farmington Road, a loaded Union Pacific Kincaid-bound coal train rolled by. Moments before the DPU cleared the crossing, L-CHI107 was in view. I did take a still shot. 

On April 19 this year, a slow driver on Kickapoo Creek Road killed Imy chance to get both an empty westbound BNSF coal train and Union Pacific's MPECL there.

Finally, this afternoon, I recorded Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolling by Milepost 80 a few minutes after entering the mainline at Peoria Junction. UP 5702 has 33 cars. 



As MPECL receded in the distance, I heard distinctive sounds of an approaching train behind me! I made a split second decision to cross in front of BNSF Railway train G-PEISMR (with sufficient time to spare), so I wouldn't be trapped between lines. I then drove to W. Farmington Road and bagged Union Pacific train MPECL crossing W. Farmington Road. BNSF's G-PEISMR (Grain, Peoria IL to Summerfield TX) approached shortly, and for a brief time, both trains were occupying the crossing! 


BNSF 4377-4995 on the point of the 100-car train with 5209 as DPU. 

David P. Jordan

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