Peoria Station

I wanted to get MPECL for the last time this year. I succeeded, but got a not-so-unexpected guest... I saw with my own eyes trains on both lines at this location in 1978 and 2011. I captured it on video for the first time August 23 this year. Now, I've done that twice! CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls by W. Farmington Road near Peoria, Illinois late afternoon Friday, December 30, 2022. UP 7102 has 55 cars. Before it cleared, an empty BNSF coal train appeared. So for the second time this year, I captured simultaneous BNSF and Union Pacific action at this location! - David P. Jordan

I got a heads up that the northbound Canadian National local went through Delavan this morning around 8:00. Normally, northbound locals (L556) run on Mondays and Wednesdays, so the holiday has them behind one day. Anyway, I wondered if they may might try to get back on schedule and run the southbound this afternoon. Turns out, the local had to tie up short of Hanna Drive at Pekin due to a water main break somewhere on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad! (Today's high temp reached 63F, so melting snow and soft ground following last week's bitter cold will do that!) At first, I thought it was a loaded feed pellet train for BNSF, but when I heard the TZPR dispatcher give the CN train permission from IC Junction (Pekin) to Wesley 8, I realized it was the local. The train was mostly covered hoppers, which made it appear to be a unit train from the angle I saw it.  I shot the train at two locations. The crew asked the TZPR dispatcher if they had any outbound cars, but I couldn't ...

In 2002, the Greater Peoria Regional Airport regained its status as Central Illinois' busiest air passenger facility. That was the good news, but the storm clouds of uncertainty, continuing security concerns and turmoil in the airline industry continued to plague the outlook for local airline service. Let's review airline service changes which occurred that year.  AMERICAN CONNECTION (Trans States Airlines) At the start of 2002, this carrier offered seven weekday departures to St. Louis. Traffic was recovering post-9/11, so it resumed an eighth on January 8. April schedules show a ninth had been added, though newspaper coverage in late-June indicates service had been reduced to seven again. Frequency was brought back up to nine roundtrips on September 4. These flights operated with a mix of 68-seat ATR-72, 48-seat ATR-42 and 29-seat Jetstream 41 turboprops.  AMERICAN EAGLE (American Eagle Airlines) When 2002 began, weekday departures to Chicago-O'Hare totaled four. Passenge...

I probably saw this train at Darst Street yesterday. It came in behind a loaded coal train that may have been sitting on the BNSF main short of the TZPR connection all weekend.  Anyway, grain shuttles being loaded at TP&W-served Cruger and Greenfield (Chenoa) elevators have a 24-hour turnaround. So if you see an empty go eastbound one day, you will see the loads go back west the next day.  CAPTION: A BNSF grain shuttle, probably loaded with corn at Grainland Coop's TP&W-served Cruger elevator, rolls by W. Farmington Road shortly after departing Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Tuesday, December 27, 2022. BNSF 9348 and BNSF 7484 were on the point of the 116-car train. BNSF 8395 is DPU.  - David P. Jordan

Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, many companies, including my employer, recognize Monday as a day off. The railroads, however, seem to have geared back up to normal operation today. I decided to take advantage of that. Although I saw no sign of Norfolk Southern local D49 or BNSF's M-GALPEI, I did capture Union Pacific's LPD01 job classifying MCLPE at Adams Street Yard. I expected a run to TZPR at East Peoria first but instead they were to make a run to the KJRY and TP&W interchange at Collier Yard in Bartonville. Not everything went as planned. See caption for details.  CAPTION: Union Pacific's LPD01 Job, also known as the "Peoria Wayfreight," shoved cars of KJRY and TP&W interchange down the TZPR toward Iowa Junction late-morning Monday, December 26, 2022. UP 2746 had 15 cars.  Plans changed when the conductor realized that flangeways at Clarke Street were packed with ice. Concerned over a derailment, the crew heading back to Adams Street Yard...

TP&W-served elevators at Cruger (Grainland Co-Op) and Greenfield/Chenoa (Prairie Central Co-op) have been loading BNSF grain trains lately. I caught a TP&W crew taking one from BNSF at Darst Street in Peoria on east. After getting video just past Eureka, I went home.  Both elevators load these trains quickly, so TP&W has them running back west within 24 hours.  CAPTION: A TP&W crew dragged an empty (MT) grain train from Darst Street at Peoria to Prairie Central Co-Operative's Greenfield rail loop just west of Chenoa, Illinois early afternoon Sunday, December 18, 2022. BNSF 4686 lead 113 cars; BNSF 7270 and BNSF 3807 brought up the rear. - David P. Jordan

This train left Silvis at 1130 hours this morning so I hoped I could see it after work. Sure enough, I drove straight to Peoria and uptown to find it entering the North Limit Yard!  The first eleven cars are made up of a couple of ADMX covered hoppers, four elcohol empties, an odd empty pressure differential covered hopper (TCMX 440176) and four soybean oil loads for Cargill Oil Storage c/o Gavilon.  The other 30 must be a block of gluten feed pellets, which move from ADM's Cedar Rapids and Clinton, Iowa plants in the winter months when the Upper Mississippi River is closed to commercial navigation. CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Uptown Division late afternoon Monday, December 12, 2022. IAIS 513 has 41 cars.  - David P. Jordan

It has been a month, but I finally caught Union Pacific's MPECL leave town this afternoon! Although Tuesday's train would have been better for variety as well as heavy boxcar traffic, today's was no less appealing. This was probably the longest MPECL I've ever seen. Most cars were either storage cars from KJRY, TP&W or both, and a heavy block of dry sorbent (trona) empties on the rear. Nine zinc oxide loads from TP&W were a nice addition, confirming that Waelz Sustainable Products' Clymers, Indiana plant has been favoring Peoria over Watseka interchange.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) crawls by MP 80 shortly after departing Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Friday, December 9, 2022. UP 5819 and UP 5466 were on the point of the 127-car train. - David P. Jordan

I saw a report late this morning that BNSF's M-GALPEI had left Galesburg with BNSF 5488 and NS 9775 on the point, hoping it would take just enough time to deliver to TZPR in East Peoria, couple to (and build?) M-PEIGAL and be running as I drove over the SW. Adams Street Viaduct at 3:30 this afternoon.  (It has happened like that before, why not again?) Anyway, I didn't get my wish, but did come across a TP&W local on the Union Pacific's ex-PTCo line, stopped short of Iowa Junction. The crew radio'd the TZPR dispatcher and moved as soon as the conductor lined the switch. A BNSF coal train would follow it across the river. After that, the TZPR job would get its chance.  Actually, I was lured there by radio chatter mentioning TZPR 1351 switching at Illinois Street. I was too late for that, but did notice a BNSF boxcar spotted inside the south end of Liberty Steel & Wire Co's Wire Mill. Incidentally, as the TP&W local (EP1) prepared to enter TZPR trackage, 1...

CAPTION: Action at Edelstein, Illinois on BNSF Railway's Chillicothe Subdivision early afternoon Sunday, December 4, 2022 included two westbound and one eastbound intermodal trains.   Then I saw a southbound freight on the Iowa Interstate's Peoria Sub...   So 18 of the train's 24 cars were a mix of ADM and leased covered hoppers typically in grain mash service from Cedar Rapids to Creve Coeur. The four on the rear might contain corn screenings or some other product (gluten meal, etc), but the 14-car block on front is interesting.  Given the time of year, I wonder if the winter feed pellet business is beginning to trickle in? Hopefully, the IAIS is getting that business.    In between those already mentioned, we have two empty ethyl alcohol (UN 1170), one covered hoppper that might be an organic grain load from western Iowa and three soybean oil loads for Cargill Oil Storage c/o Gavilon.   CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) rol...

I happened upon this after getting some lunch in East Peoria. The crew got a track warrant before putting the train together, but once they did, took off.  I had been wanting to check out the Ernest Street location for awhile, and figured I could make it. I'm glad I did. Train has 60 loads. The boxcar on the head end is a salt load consigned to Sweetener Supply Corp. at Wolcott, Indiana. There are quite a few nitrogen fertilizer solution tank cars, probably for at least two or three consignees, most notably The Andersons at Walton, Indiana.  There are two blocks of gondolas assigned to Liberty Steel & Wire Co's Bartonville steel mill. These are laden with steel billets for the sister plant at Georgetown, South Carolina, and will be interchanged to CSX at Lafayette, Indiana for movement southeast.  CAPTION: Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway train M-EPEF (Manifest, E. Peoria IL to Effner IL) rolls across Ernest Street near Washington, Illinois mid-afternoon Saturday...