While waiting for Union Pacific train MPECL to depart, I caught a TP&W local, probably EP1, on its return leg to East Peoria from Collier Yard. Tallow and zinc oxide empties stand out to identify the train's earlier activities.
CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway local, returning to East Peoria after making a Collier Turn, rolls across the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge mid-afternoon Friday, February 3, 2023. TPW 5009 and MQT 3407 have 17 cars of Mapleton and UP interchange traffic.
The Union Pacific train finally left, and I shot video in rapidly fading light at W. Farmington Road.
CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls by W. Farmington Road late afternoon Friday, February 3, 2023. UP 7828 has 48 cars. Note eleven boxcars containing Amsted Rail/Griffin Wheel Div. (Keokuk, Iowa) traffic and 13 covered hoppers on the rear (save for the last car) from zinc oxide producer Waelz Sustainable Products (Clymers, Indiana).
Last Friday evening, Union Pacific ran an MMCPR (Manifest, Mason City IA to Proviso IL) down the Peoria Subdivision. It ran an MMTPR (Manifest, Marshalltown IA to Proviso IL) last evening and another MMCPR this Friday evening. All three were enroute to the Alton & Southern Railway's Gateway Yard in East St. Louis, which is probably where these trains' traffic ends up anyway. I caught the latter two, and just after sunset managed to capture video of the latest MMCPR rolling under BNSF's Mendota Sub near Buda. UP motors 5374-5812-2475-5494-6792-5868 had 75 cars of agricultural traffic. Train stopped briefly for dispatcher radio chatter then resumed its journey. MPECL waited at Edelstein Siding for MMCPR's passage. Word is that Union Pacific is experiencing a traffic meltdown at Proviso Yard (near Chicago), and is detouring or re-routing many trains to unplug the mess. I doubt the problem is anywhere close to being solved so expect more such ...
Rising air fares and reduced jet service plagued PIA in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Despite some moderate success in its efforts to convince carriers to cut fares and increase service, nothing could prevent the blow Peoria received in mid-January 1991. Let's review events by airline. My primary source is the North American Edition of OAG's July 15, 1991 Desktop Flight Guide . AMERICAN AIRLINES/AMERICAN EAGLE (Simmons Airlines/Flagship Airlines) Although it added (resumed, technically, after 29 years) Peoria to its network late in 1991, news preceding American Airlines' re-introduction of Chicago jet service rated much media coverage throughout the year. A March 15 Peoria Journal Star story indicated that service could begin in August. Progress came on May 8 when the Federal Aviation Administration proposed modification of the High Density Rule to allow for jet aircraft of up to 110 sets to use slots designated for commuter flights. The rule change would be in ...
To understand events of 1980, we must begin in late-1979. The completion of the Interstate 474 bypass (and Airport Road interchange) on December 20 that year expanded PIA's catchment area, but unfortunately failed to compensate for an increasingly difficult period in local aviation history. The UAW Local 974 struck area Caterpillar Tractor Company plant on October 1, 1979, forcing a reduction in manufacturing and logistics operations. The walkout ended in mid-December but reduced corporate (and probably leisure) travel, impacting passenger traffic at the Greater Peoria Airport. On October 6, 1979 the Federal Reserve changed its monetary policy as a means to slay inflation, resulting in much higher interest rates. Already suffering from rising unemployment, the national economy plunged into recession from January to July 1980. From May 5 through June 1, Ozark Air Lines was shut down due to a mechanic's strike. As a consequence of each event noted above, PIA passenger...
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