BNSF H-GALIHB, Union Pacific MPECL 7-11-23

I drove by Adams Street Yard this afternoon after work and noticed that Union Pacific's MPECL had already left. 

I knew that if the train left early for whatever reason, there might be empty anhydrous ammonia tank cars to pull from Akron Services, so I turned around and head up I-474/Rt. 6 and Rt. 91 to check. When I arrived, I concluded the train had already passed as the two tank cars there last Friday were gone. 

And just like a cat and a red laser pointer, when I heard then saw BNSF's H-GALIHB in the distance, I decided to chase it. 

CAPTION: BNSF Railway train H-GALIHB (High Priority Manifest, Galesburg IL to Indiana Harbor Belt) rolls by Blue Ridge Road near Chillicothe, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, July 11, 2023. BNSF 8131, BNSF 5992 and BNSF 5538 have 112 cars. 

As soon as I was done shooting video of H-GALIHB at Blue Ridge Road (just west of Chillicothe), I learned that MPECL had been sitting on Edelstein Siding the whole time, and was about to depatt north! Since I was already in the area, I decided to catch up to it, which I finally did at the Illinois Route 40 crossing just south of Buda. The sixth and seventh cars are the anhydrous ammonia tank cars pulled from Akron Services earlier this afternoon. 

CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) is shown at the Illinois Highway 40 crossing near Buda, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, July 11, 2023. UP 5447 has 57 cars.

- David P. Jordan