Union Pacific MPECL 4-4-23

A tornado warning deterred me from getting Friday's train. No such thing this afternoon, though it seems there is one on the ground in Fulton County as I write this! 

I've noticed the past few weeks that MPECL has had tank cars with CHS markings. CHS (Cenex HarvestStates) is a soybean processor, but the cars were empty on trains leaving town so I figured they were being used in tallow or some other kind of animal fat service to the TP&W-served Evonik chemical plant in Mapleton. They display no haz-mat placards. 

This evening, I noticed a tank car with CHS markings in the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard. UP and TP&W have a direct connection, so tallow service is unlikely. Mayve CHS is sending soybean oil to the Gavilon-owned facility on Wesley Road like Cargill? I'm sure I'll investigate further when I can. 


CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls across W. Farmington Road shortly after departing Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Tuesday, April 4, 2023. UP 9025 has 49 cars.

- David P. Jordan

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