Peoria Station

It is good to see blocks of ADM covered hoppers still moving in the warm weather months. Some of you may recall that shortly after the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) implemented scheduled SIPE and PESI trains three cycles per week just after Labor Day in 2022, this business suddenly vanished. The newly scheduled freights were abolished after just a few weeks and replaced by as-needed extras.  The Cedar Rapids and Clinton, Iowa (CP) feed pellet traffic returned this past winter as usual, and it appears the year-round mash/DDG business that vanished last September is back!  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) rolls by the old San Koty station area a few miles from Peoria, Illinois early evening Wednesday, May 31, 2023. IAIS 515 has 68 cars for the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at East Peoria. - David P. Jordan  

Despite the holiday, Union Pacific's MCLPE came into Adams Street Yard as usual, or at least it was there on Monday afternoon (normally, it arrives before the LDP01 goes on duty at 0800 hours). The local job didn't run Monday so I figured they'd classify MCLPE, work the TZPR, TP&W and KJRY interchanges and build MPECL in time for its regular Tuesday run.  I was correct, but as late as 1630 hours today, it didn't appear that a crew was aboard. Instead, I waited at W. Farmington Road for a BNSF feed train which CN brought into town Monday afternoon, complete with BNSF power. I should have stayed there or checked Adams Street Yard again, as I would have caught MPECL.  I shot the BNSF feed train around 1700 hours. The UP train likely passed by there around 1745 hours. The train had a block of loaded ADM covered hoppers, something unusual which would have been nice to see. Having just one unit (UP 8387), some cars were left behind, so Friday's train should be rather ...

Today's Norfolk Southern local D36 out of Bloomington/Normal had mostly D49 traffic. Seven soybean meal empties on the head end will be set out for DuPont at Gibson City. The CRDX car was an organic corn load pulled from The Andersons facility at Mansfield. Notable traffic from Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard includes corn syrup. gluten meal and scrap metal from the Keokuk Junction Railway, plastic pellets and granulated slag from the Illinois & Midland Railroad, a Komatsu truck chassis, alcohol from BioUrja and/or Alto Pekin LLC or Alto ICP, and carbon dioxide refrigerated liquid from Messer's Pekin facility. Nine loaded autoracks on the rear contained Rivian vehicles assembled at the Normal plant. Such shipments appear to be frequent these days, thanks to significantly higher production levels this year. Present volume isn't what Mitsubishi generated but Rivian expects expects to build 50,000 vehicles in 2023 (double 2022 levels). In 2024 it inte...

I had to work two hours overtime but caught the KJRY on its return run back to Kolbe early this evening. The eastbound arrived Kolbe just after midnight. They may run west to LaHarpe Thursday and perhaps back east Friday before this holiday weekend.  CAPTION: The Keokuk Junction Railway's East Peoria Turn is shown early evening Wednesday, May 24, 2023 just south of Bartonville, Illinois on its return leg to Kolbe. LTEX 3848, PREX 2003 and LTEX 6437 have 22 cars. - David P. Jordan 

Zinc oxide traffic from TP&W-served Waelz Sustainable Products' Clymers, Indiana plant seems to have dried up or been diverted to another route (Watseka?) for the time being.  MPECL had two of these cars on April 18, seven on April 21, none on April 28, May 5, May 9, one on May 12, and none on May 16 or today (I missed the April 25, May 2 and May 19 trains).  Since last summer, they were almost always part of the consist. Covered hoppers carry SRIX and SIRX markings. Hopefully, this lull is temporary.  CAPTION:   Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) enters the double track at Pottstown, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, May 23, 2023. UP 5682 and UP 8557 have 79 cars. - David P. Jordan

After church, I checked the progress of industry track and siding realignment in Princeville. The contractor must have been working (if at all) on the west end, as there has been no progress by the road crossing for the past month or so. I happened to be there when an eastbound stack train roared by... CAPTION: An eastbound BNSF Railway stack train roars by Princeville, Illinois early afternoon Sunday, May 21, 2023. BNSF 6772, BNSF 4635 and BNSF 6946 were on the point. BNSF 6812 and BNSF 4988 were DPUs. Shortly after shooting the BNSF stack train, I learned that a TP&W-BNSF grain shuttle had departed Cruger for East Peoria. I made it to Ernest Street in Washington with just a few minutes to spare! CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway crew drags a BNSF grain shuttle by Ernest Street in Washington, Illinois early afternoon Sunday, May 21, 2023. BNSF 7032, FXE 4088 and BNSF 3705 were on the point. Train was loaded by Grainland Coop at Cruger.  - David P. Jordan 

Just before leaving work this afternoon, I found out that an Iowa Interstate freight had received permission to leave the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard. So I intended to drive up I-74, turn right on NE Adams and head north on Rt. 29 until I caught up to it.  But I heard "Pottstown" on my scanner, and I realized I had a chance to see Union Pacific's MPECL train like I usually do on Friday.  I never found the UP train, so I went into town, decided it best to use I-74 and Route 6 to get north as fast as possible. Sure enough, as I waited to turn left onto Rt. 29, I saw the headlight of an approaching train!  I didn't think my first attempt at video in Mossville was completely satisfactory, so I did it again (this time with my phone) at Rome. I simply combined both videos, raw and unedited. I like the Rome one best, but both are good.  While most of today's PESI was made up of distillers' dried grain (mash) empties, there were quite a few s...

List, Late this afternoon, I learned that a CN crew had arrived TZPR and moved the local power off the Creve Coeur Team Track. So I waited at Hilliards for it to appear, which it did about 1755 hours. The train was untypically short, however, with just three tank cars.  SHPX 210891 was loaded, but displayed no haz-mat placards. I'm unsure if this car contains soybean oil, shipped from "Cargill Oil Storage" c/o Gavilon Inc's Creve Coeur fertilizer mixing plant, animal fat shipped from the Darling Ingredients transload at Illinois & Midland Railroad's Quiver Yard in Havana, or something else. (BioUrja Renewables LLC has had non-placarded tank cars on its Riverside Track almost since purchasing the distillery from ADM on November 1, 2021. BioUrja was said to be planning to manufacture biodiesel here, which could be loaded into tank cars. Whether they're actually making biodiesel here is unclear.) TCBX 177143 is a sodium hydroxide solution car (UN 1824), empti...

I nearly missed it on account of a slow motorist on Kickapoo Creek Road. No boxcars from KJRY nor zinc oxide loads from TP&W, but I'm glad I made the effort. I should have crossed the river immediately afterward as I missed Norfolk Southern local D49 leaving town shortly after 4:00. Reported power was NS 6975 and NS 6122 with a Komatsu chassis load up front, some FE Trading scrap metal gons, and the usual tank cars and covered hoppers. Much of this, I'm sure, was delivered by KJRY yesterday afternoon.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls across W. Farmington Road mid-afternoon Tuesday, May 16, 2023 shortly after leaving Adams Street Yard in Peoria, Illinois. UP 7826 has 35 cars.   - David P. Jordan 

I just missed seeing the local before crossing the river into East Peoria to interchange with the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad, but didn't see it in time. I understand it was pretty short. But the the crew had to build its outbound from two tracks (A-18 and A-21, if I remember correctly) so it left much longer.  It appears the last 40 cars were from Tthe Tazewell & Peoria Railroad. That means the head 28 cars, including 17 empty boxcars, were pulled from the Union Pacific at Collier Yard.  CAPTION: The Keokuk Junction Railway's Mapleton-East Peoria Turn is shown on its return leg early evening Monday, May 15, 2023. CEFX 2014, LTEX 3848 and LTEX 6437 have a heavy 68 cars. The whole train is shown at S. Cameron Lane at the west end of the Hollis Pass. Shortly, the power cuts off at the S. Powell Street crossing near Mapleton. - David P. Jordan 

I was heading north anyway but got my route chosen for me... Most of the tank cars have beverage alcohol placards. I'm thinking these are bound for points east via Chicago interchange, either to a distributor or an actual distillery, blending and/or packaging operation.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls by several locations early afternoon Saturday, May 13, 2023. IAIS 518 has 38 cars, mostly DDGS (mash) empties and alcohol loads. Scenes are at Henry, Putnam, Bureau Junction and just east of Tiskilwa.   - David P. Jordan

Not much to brag about, but at least it had one zinc oxide loads. I was starting to wonder if that traffic was moving via Watseka instead of Peoria. CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls by W. Farmington Road shortly after leaving Adams Street Yard in Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Friday, May 12, 2023. UP 5373 has 22 cars. - David P. Jordan

After a vain attempt to catch Canadian National L557 this afternoon, I decided to head to Lincoln and catch Amtrak 318 and Union Pacific MBNAS.  CAPTION: Amtrak No. 318, the Missouri River Runner/Lincoln Service (Kansas City MO to St. Louis MO and Chicago IL), rolls to a stop at Lincoln, Illinois late-afternoon Thursday, May 11, 2023. A few blocks north, the train is shown again leaving town. IDTX 4606 has seven cars. CAPTION: Union Pacific train MBNAS (Manifest, Bloomington IL to Alton & Southern) rolls by Amtrak's Lincoln, Illinois depot early evening Thursday, May 11, 2023. UP 4656 and UP 4985 have 43 cars. I usually get the MBNAS train at Bloomington or Shirley, but I like Amtrak's Lincoln depot as a location for filming in the mid- to late-afternoon. I'll probably do more of this.  After capturing these two movements, I received a heads up that an empty Union Pacific grain train with five motors was heading up the Illinois & Midland RR to Barr and South Pekin...

I actually heard the horn just seconds before getting into my car at work.. Per another source, the FE Trading gons were scrap metal loads from Hitchcock's Canton transload consigned to Steel Dynamics in Butler, Indiana (which makes sense with all the junk loads moving the other direction in subsidiary OmniTrax gons).  The two BNSF covered hoppers were loaded with organic corn at Consolidated Grain & Barge Co's Burnside elevator and consigned to Rohrerstown, Pennsylvania. All were interchanged from the Keokuk Junction Railway via the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at East Peoria.   CAPTION: Norfolk Southern train D49 (Normal IL to East Peoria IL turn) rolls by Deer Creek, Illinois on its return leg mid-afternoon Tuesday, May 9, 2023. NS 7014 and NS 3228 have 24 cars.   Going east to get the NS train risked missing my usual encounter with Union Pacific's MPECL, but I was able to catch it on the city's northwest side. Although a short train pulled by a single moto...

This afternoon and evening, I managed to catch three catch three local movements. I knew the Norfolk Southern train had already departed East Peoria, so I left work and immediately drove to Crandall. I glanced down Harding Road to see it had just passed. I was able to get ahead of it and shoot a runby with my phone at Deer Creek.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 rolls through Deer Creek, Illinois on its return leg to Good Yard in Normal, Illinois mid-afternoon Friday, May 5, 2023. NS 6975, NS 3328 and NS 7014 have just seven cars.   After successfully capturing the Norfolk Southern train, I went home, grabbed my laptop and a snack, and headed for Adams Street Yard. Scanner chatter, however, indicated the train was already getting its track warrants. So I went directly to W. Farmington Road and waited, but not for long. The train's short consist was due to lack of KJRY interchange thanks to Mississippi River flooding. TP&W interchange seems lacking as well, but...

Just before leaving work this afternoon, social media provided a heads up that Canadian National's L557 local had permission to leave East Peoria with work to be done at Pekin and Emden. I figured I could intercept it at Pekin. Sure enough, that is where I found it. When I arrived, the crew had already pulled four empties from Hanna Steel. Due to backlighting, I elected not to capture them shoving several coil steel loads into the plant. I did, however, capture switching operations at Amerhart Ltd's facility. After that, I waited at 5th Street for the train's imminent departure.  After Delavan, I made a vain attempt to capture Union Pacific's MBNAS at Lincoln. I figured it would appear around 6:45 or 7:00, but there was no sign of it. Now I wish I'd stayed with the CN local at Emden.  Finally, I managed a final video as the train banged across the Union Pacific diamond at Lincoln.  CAPTION: Canadian National Railway train L557 (Local, E. Peoria IL to Decatur IL) is...