Iowa Interstate PESI, TZPR-crewed Potash Empties

This may have been the first PESI since before the July 4 holiday. 

When I went to Bloomington/Normal July 4 to see ALS 2204 lead Union Pacific MBNAS, I noticed Norfolk Southern D32 sitting in Good Yard unclassified. There were probably nine coil steel loads embedded in the short consist. I would bet that these arrived TZPR on Wednesday and seven of these are only now moving towards the consignee in Perry, Iowa via transload at Altoona. The number of empty grain mash cars would make up two PESIs! 


CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) is shown crossing the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge shortly after leaving East Peoria, Illinois mid-day Saturday, July 8, 2023. IAIS 513 leads NS 5242 and 124 cars. Later, the train crawls by the new (1967) Rock Island depot at Morton Street, and finally, rolls along home rails at San Koty. At the North Limit Yard, the crew moved the first covered hopper ahead of the steel coil loads. 

I knew a Tazewell & Peoria RR crew had taken IAIS 707 and 702 engine lite to fetch an empty potash train from Mosaic, but I didn't expect it to follow PESI so closely through the North Valley.
In fact, as PESI atopped at the North Limit Yard and moved the first covered hopper ahead of the seven steel coil loads, so I was trapped until PESI completed its work and got out of the TZPR crew's way. The potash empties were stuffed in the North Limit Yard. I'm guessing 707 and 702 were run back to Wesley engine lite and coupled to the DAVPE potash loads brought into town last night or early this morning. 


CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria RR crew used IAIS GP38-2s 702 and 707 to pull an empty potash train from Mosaic Crop Nutrition LLC's barge terminal and warehouse south of Bartonville, taking it directly to the North Limit Yard for storage. The train, shown passing the new (1967) Rock Island depot at Morton Street in downtown Peoria, Illinois, had to wait for Iowa Interstate PESI, which was moving ahead of it, and also doing work at the North Limit Yard. 

David P. Jordan

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