Last TP&W Local at Morton? 10-14-22

Leaving work Friday afternoon, I heard a horn, a rare sound in Morton these days. 

I couldn't confirm whether the train was arriving or leaving town. I quickly confirmed that it was arriving. But it wasn't really a train. A TP&W crew ran engine lite with IMRR 2108 to fetch an empty tank car from Fort Transfer Company. 

The locomotive stopped short of N. Main Street, giving me a chance to cross. I waited for some time at the Jefferson Street crossing before IMRR 2108 passed. It took but a few minutes, however, for it to head back out with the tank car. 

Sadly, train movements at Morton are rare the past few years. The tank car pulled Friday afternoon was delivered by the last train to visit, on March 14, 2022. That's right, exactly seven months ago! Usually, a loaded railcar is delivered to a customer, and it is unloaded in 1-2 days then pulled away. Not so with TP&W and Morton. 

Unfortunately, the sole remnant of Santa Fe's Pekin District may have seen its last train. As recently as 2008, the line boasted three customers - Fort Transfer, Morton Buildings and Nestle USA/Libby's. Nestle had planned to resume rail after a three-year gap for seasonal shipments, but this never materialized (flooding, boxcar issues, etc.). For many years now, Morton Buildings had been purchasing much of its lumber from wholesalers, trucking it to its truss manufacturing plant on Erie Court rather than receiving all directly by rail.

By early 2015, Fort Transfer was the line's sole customer. That is when TP&W embargoed the line due to poor track conditions, but opposition by Fort Transfer led to reactivation in the spring. Traffic levels never recovered, however. This firm has received only one load of herbicide in 2022. 

Most herbicide shipments, which come from Louisiana, are seasonal, spanning January to July. While we can hope negotiations are underway for a new deal which might revive the line's traffic in 2023, we must be wary of such optimism. 

At least we have memories. 

Video locations are in Morton (Jefferson Street, N. Main Street, Nebraska Ave.), Crandall Junction, at N. Main Street on Norfolk Southern's Bloomington District, and finally, backing into the East Peoria Yard.

- David P. Jordan