Tazewell & Peoria RR Pekin Local - Feb. 5, 2023

Mild weather and trains! On January 2, a Tazewell & Peoria Railroad switcher was working in the background as I shot an IMRR local run by Hilliards. So today's encounter is actually the first time I specifically shot video of a TZPR train this year!


CAPTION: The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin, Illinois-bound local is shown at Wesley (Creve Coeur) and Pekin early afternoon Sunday, February 5, 2023. TZPR 1351 has 20 DDGS, Gluten Feed and alcohol empties for any of three Alto Ingredients facilities.

I should also note that IMRR 43 was switching ADM's Wesley Road barge loadout, pulling all but one grain mash empty. Eight loaded tank cars (most or all displaying Cargill markings) were left on Main 2, blocking access to the elevator crossing. I left to shoot the Pekin local in its namesake and when I got back IMRR 43 and those ADM and Cargill cars were gone.

I later realized that the TZPR crew had already pulled these cars from Cargill Oil Storage c/o Gavilon nearby. This confirms that soybean oil not only arrives here by rail but is actually being shipped out by rail as well. I can confirm that most arrives on the Iowa Interstate (from a Crandic-served Cedar Rapids plant, and possibly an NS-served Des Moines plant). Some may arrive on the Union Pacific as well, since I've seen empty Cargill (CRGX) marked tank cars on MPECL recently.

I've also seen CRGX empties on CN's L557 local, though I can't confirm whether counterpart L556 delivers loads to TZPR. CN serves Cargill soybean oil refineries at both Cedar Rapids and Sioux City, Iowa. 

Outbound shipments could be just an occasional affair. I did see evidence of such traffic on Iowa Interstate's PESI trains in March and April 2022. Kinda of strange to have soybean oil routed down here on the Iowa Interstate only to have a portion re-loaded/re-consigned to go out on the same carrier!

- David P. Jordan

 

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