TZPR Local, Two UP Grain Trains & MPECL 7-7-23

Glancing north from I-474, I could see that this one had already left Kickapoo Yard. I drove to Krause Avenue with only a few minutes to spare.

CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad local, enroute from Kickapoo Yard to East Peoria is shown at Darst Street in Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Friday, July 7, 2023. TZPR 1521 has nine cars.

While hoping MPECL would depart shortly, I noticed the southbound signal at W. Farmington Road was green, indicating a train was near. MPECL would have to wait. It turned out to be a loaded grain train, probably from Rock River Lumber & Grain at Sterling. I watched the video twice to make sure I didn't miscount. There were 99, not 100, cars on this train.

CAPTION: A Union Pacific grain extra rolls by W. Farmington Road near Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Friday, July 7, 2023. UP 7517 and UP 4219 have 99 loads with UP 3014 as Distributed Power Unit.

I waited awhile and decided to check on MPECL when I discovered that what I thought was an empty BNSF grain train left at Darst Street waiting for a TP&W crew to take it across the river and then eastward to Cruger or Chenoa turned out to be a loaded train. It had moved west, and was parked along Kickapoo Creek Road a mile south of W. Farmington Road. 

I can only speculate what was going on, but earlier I noticed two units on the east end. The crew may have been setting one out on the New Long so they could shove the train back east (including head room on the TZPR) so it could be moved to the west (front) end of the train. 

Unaware of what was going on, I turned around and returned to W. Farmington Road would be moving shortly. I waited and I waited, and it didn't move. But another UP southbound was lined up - this time an empty grain train, probably for Encompass Grain & Rail at Allen Station. 

CAPTION: An Union Pacific train of grain empties rolls by W. Farmington Road near Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Friday, July 7, 2023. UP 7258, UP 3075, UP 9024 and UP 8237 have 110 cars.

Finally, MPECL left in the early evening.

My camera battery died as I was shooting MPECL shoving the anhydrous ammonia tank car into Akron Services' siding this evening. So I had to improvise with my phone camera. Between large bugs, my own clumsiness trying to zoom in and out and some creative editing, I think this was the best I could do.

Akron Services is probably the active only carload customer left on Union Pacific's Peoria Sub now that the former Atherton Grain Co. (now Rock River Lumber & Grain) no longer receives potash at its Normandy elevator. Walnut Custom Homes hasn't transloaded lumber on the elevator siding there for probably 15 year now. The old FS fertilizer facility at Morse (near Bradford) hasn't received any cars for probably 20 years, and the last revenue carload on its siding was probably a transformer load in 2007. So whenever I can capture switching activity at Akron Services, I do. Maybe if the Pioneer Industrial Railway is re-activated, MPECL (or LPD01) will switch the Pioneer Jct. interchange with some regularity?

CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls across W. Farmington Road shortly after departing Peoria, Illinois early evening Friday, July 7, 2023. Later, the crew delivers an anhydrous ammonia tank car to Akron Services at Akron, Illinois. UP 4068 left Peoria with 44 cars.

David P. Jordan