Iowa Interstate PESI w/516, BNSF M-GALPEI 7-31-23

Sunday afternoon, I noticed a PESI-type train made up and sitting on TZPR's West Lead in East Peoria, a sure sign that an SIPE was planned soon. Sure enough, SIPE came in this morning and a relief crew was driven to East Peoria to get PESI. Although I shot video just as a cloud bank blocked the sunshine, I think it was a decent encounter. 


CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad by the old (1900) Rock Island depot in downtown Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Monday, July 31, 2023. IAIS 516 and IAIS 705 have 82 cars of mostly grain mash empties, but also two coil steel loads and quite a few loaded alcohol tank cars.

Normally, I would have followed PESI out of town to get it at mainline speed, probably at San Koty. But I knew BNSF's M-PEIGAL was at East Peoria get ready to depart. So I returned to Bridge Junction in time to hear them get permission to depart. Today's train was unusually short, probably because it lacked TP&W interchange cars. 


CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Galesburg IL) comes around the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Bridge Junction wye after crossing the Illinois River late-afternoon Monday, July 31, 2023. Later, the train crosses W. Farmington Road. BNSF 7690 and BNSF 8290 have just 15 cars.

David P. Jordan

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