Peoria Station

I learned that Union Pacific's MPECL departed Adams Street Yard a little before 3:00 Friday afternoon, so I took the chance and caught up with it. A possible misunderstanding over a meet with a southbound (which I never saw, but may have been a southbound grain train) at Pioneer (where I stopped and waited, hoping it had not yet ascended the hill) or Edelstein (where radio chatter indicated the train was already past my location).   I may have only caught up to it because the crew had to set out the seventh car, a loaded alcohol tank car, on the old fertilizer spur at Morse. I shot a little video of the train pulling away, and then waited for it to roll by me at the new El Camino station area.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) set out a loaded alcohol tank car on the old fertilizer spur at Morse (near Bradford, Illinois) then pulls away to reconnect with the rest of the train. Later, it rolls by El Camino, future site of a Bartlett Gra...

As usual, I saw something on my way to the downtown library this afternoon after work.    I'm glad I took I-474 instead of I-74 because I came across a three locomotive/two-car Keokuk Junction Railway local waiting at Iowa Junction for traffic to clear before heading on to East Peoria. First, BNSF's M-PEIGAL as just pulling onto home rails at S. Darst Street when I drove by. After catching it at W. Farmington Road a short time later, I returned to Peoria's southside to find an empty Union Pacific Decatur coal train pulling through Adams Street Yard.   The signal at W. Farmington Road was green for a northbound UP, but I don't believe it was the coal empties. A coal empty out of Crescent or a grain empty out of South Pekin are more likely. I ended up going to the downtown library, but should have stayed at W. Farmington Road as not only the Decatur train but also MPECL departed before evening.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Ga...

This morning, I learned that the Iowa Interstate was running an SIPE and PESI today, with the former already enroute. So I waited until it was closer to my area and was able to intercept after it had gone through Chillicothe. Short train, but with a little variety, including empty dry bulk fertilizer cars for TZPR (or TP&W) and a scrap metal load that is presumably consigned to Liberty Steel & Wire Co. CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) is shown late-morning to early-afternoon Saturday, May 24, 2025. Scenes are at Mossville and San Koty on the Peoria Sub, then at the North Limit Yard, Alexander Street and South Street on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Uptown Division. IAIS 150 and IAIS 151 have 33 cars.   After getting back into Peoria, radio chatter indicated that BNSF's M-PEIGAL was building a train in the East Peoria Yard, and that it and TZPR's Lead 2 had to look out for the Iowa Interstate train. Sure enough...

After catching LPD01 on Monday afternoon, I decided to leave work two hours early on Tuesday to catch MPECL. As usual, my plan does not always unfold as I hoped, but I did catch the train, finally, at Camp Grove.    I left work at 1:00pm, and drove directly to Adams Street Yard to confirm that it was gone, which it was. So I headed up I-474, Route 6, US 150, Willow Knolls Drive and finally Brauer Road and waited a few minutes, hoping to hear MPECL growling up Pioneer Hill.    While I did hear sounds I thought could be MPECL, I was smart enough to look north to see the rear end fading in the distance. I could not catch it until Speer, and by then it was too late to set up for video. So Camp Grove was the next spot I tried, and succeeded.    On my way back to Peoria, I caught radio chatter between the dispatcher and train crew. She asked them if they were at Milepost 61. They told her they were at Milepost 47. She had informed that that a vehicle was hi...

I got a surprise on my way to the downtown library this afternoon.   Radio chatter indicated that BNSF's M-GALPEI had arrived, and a string of cars on one of the Long Tracks looked like a good candidate for it. Other radio chatter indicated, however, that another train was asking for permission to depart Iowa Junction (Peoria) for the East Lead in East Peoria, which I later realized was TP&W's EP2 job. But priority was given to Union Pacific's Peoria Wayfreight, or LPD01, which was monstrous at 72 cars. I shot it coming across the river and again as it near home rails at S. Darst Street. One thing for sure, Tuesday's MPECL will be an unusually large train...   (BNSF power tied up on the team track, so M-PEIGAL will grab two more units brought in by NS last week before heading west later, possibly tomorrow morning.) CAPTION: Union Pacific's "Peoria Wayfreight," LPD01, rolls across the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge enr...

I heard the dispatcher give it permission to head north on the Peoria Subdivision, so when it took awhile to catch up to it, I figured it had to be short.    It was.    Kind of a neat one though. Behind the ES44AC were two empty covered hoppers and five loaded tank cars, all placarded as UN 3065, or "alcoholic beverage." I'll dub this one the "Vodka Special." Don't know if the five cars came from BioUrja in Peoria or Alto Pekin LLC or Alto ICP in Pekin.   I'm curious about their destination. Typically, they are consigned to a distillery that is resuming operations after a maintenance shutdown or to a liquor blending and packaging facility. Although the cars are likely to be handled all the way to Silvis, I suspect they will moving back east on manifest CRBI (Cedar Rapids IA to Blue Island IL) to a Chicago connection.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls along the Peoria Subdivision through Mossville, Ro...

On my way to the downtown library early this afternoon I checked out the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria and noticed an Illinois & Midland RR transfer that had just arrived. I stuck around for signs that it would return south shortly, and it did.  CAPTION: An Illinois & Midland Railroad Powerton Roadswitcher is shown on its return trip from sister Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard early afternoon Saturday, May 17, 2025. Locations are Wesley, Hilliards and Pekin, Illinois. A fourth scene shows a runby of the train's power at Distillery Road in Pekin. IORY 5014 and IMRR 2108 have 43 cars.   I missed BNSF's M-GALPEI Friday afternoon, and assumed that when the crew parked their power on the Creve Coeur Team Track, a relief crew might take it M-PEIGAL west later in the evening. Turns out, M-PEIGAL ran Saurday afternoon. I was at the downtown library when it departed, but since I knew it could not be too far west, searched for and enc...

Iowa Interstate's SIPE and PESI trains between Silvis and Peoria are no longer running a regular schedule, so they technically run as extras and turn at East Peoria (usually with a re-crew) the same day. I was at work when Friday's SIPE arrived this afternoon, but I was able to see PESI this evening.    Besides the Incobrasa empties, one notable in today's consist is the 15-car block of dry fertilizer (urea or phosphate) behind IAIS 152.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) departed East Peoria, Illinois early evening Friday, May 16, 2025. The whole train is shown at Chicago Street in Peoria, a power runby is at Fairholm Street. Finally, the whole train is shown on home rails at San Koty. IAIS 152 has 62 cars. - David P. Jordan

When I drove by the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard after work this afternoon, I noticed BNSF power at the south end. I was to late to see M-GALPEI's arrival, but knew I had a chance to see M-PEIGAL flip back west after leaving the downtown library.   The Komatsu chassis load and empty BNSF flat car were pulled by TZPR Industry 2 on Friday. The non-placarded tank car right behind them might well contain distillers corn oil from BioUrja.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Galesburg IL) rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad and onto home rails at S. Darst Street in Peoria, Illinois early evening Monday, May 12, 2025. A short time later, the train rolls toward W. Farmington Road. BNSF 5893 and BNSF 6740 have 21 cars.  - David P. Jordan

As usual, I only hear the TP&W leaving town.   Recent movements indicate the emptied tank car(s) are fetched within 7-8 days, maybe a bit longer.  CAPTION: On National Train Day, May 10, 2025, late-afternoon Saturday, a Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway crew dropped off a single tank car for Fort Transfer Company in Morton, Illinois. TPW 2105 is shown on its lite engine run out of town to Crandall Junction and then on Norfolk Southern Railway's Bloomington District at the N. Main Street crossing. In the final scene, UTLX 671550 is shown on spot for unloading.   - David P. Jordan

Friday was my birthday so I took a vacation day and spent the day looking for action that I would not normally see.    The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Industry 2 job soon became the focus of my attention, as evidenced by 32 minutes of footage! CAPTION: The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's "Industry 2" Job works the Uptown Division between Bridge Junction and the North Limit Yard in Peoria, Illinois on May 9, 2025. TZPR 1352 left East Peoria with 18 cars - four empty flats for Komatsu America Corp. plant, six corn syrup loads, a sodium gluconate empty and sodium hydroxide solution load for PMP Fermentation Products, two empty alcohol and three possible distillers corn oil empties (or buffer cars) for BioUrja Renewables LLC. A tank car between the last two cars for PMP appears to have used as a buffer. Train pulled one chassis load and an empty BNSF flat car from Komatsu and five corn syrup empties from PMP. Last scene shows the train across the river after sw...

After work, I was planning on spending time at the downtown library. I did not think Norfolk Southern's D49 local would make the East Peoria trip as this morning it forward D36 to Holder (east of Bloomington) where it met the road crew. I'm thinking this is the D36 that should have left last evening, but was delayed for some reason. So D49 probably did not have time for much else than to classify D32 and work Rivian and/or Midwest Fiber. But while down in East Peoria checking for any action, I heard radio chatter about tresspassers in the Wesley East area. So I went over there and found RCPE 3481 on the point of storage cars TP&W moved last week to make room for track work at its East Peoria Yard.  CAPTION: The Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway pulled this string of 75 storage cars from Wesley East on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin double track to its home yard in East Peoria late-afternoon Wednesday, May 7, 2025. RCPE 3481 was on the point. Initial sc...

I saw this as I drove down the Cedar Street Bridge this afternoon. I fact, it was already moving by the time I was heading down SW Washington Street. The train pulled up to Bridge Junction and then radio'ed the dispatcher for permission to cross the river into East Peoria.   The tank car on the head end was loaded. It was placed ahead of four empty corn syrup tank cars and one empty sodium hydroxide solution (UN 1824) tank car. Given the absence of a haz-mat placard and its position ahead of cars pulled from PMP Fermentation Products, I'd say it might contain sodium gluconate or perhaps some wastewater sold as liquid feed. Two empty tank cars and two industrial alcohol (UN 1170) were pulled from BioUrja Renewables LLC's Alcohol Tracks.  CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad local rolls toward Bridge Junction in Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Tuesday, May 6, 2025. After a brief wait for a barge, East Peoria-bound TZPR 1351 drags ten cars (three loads, seven empties)...

I don't think D49 ran on Friday, so two days' worth of traffic plus Keokuk Junction Railway interchange  blocked on the head end explains why Monday's return trip to Good Yard swelled to an unusually heavy 58 cars.  I was hoping that there would be at least one Caterpillar tractor load (common on Monday), and that wire rod shipments from Liberty Steel & Wire Co. would have resumed by now on this train.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 (Normal IL to E. Peoria IL turn) is shown mid- to late-afternoon Monday, May 5, 2025 on its return leg from East Peoria, Illinois to Good Yard in Normal. First scene shows the train leaving the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at N. Main Street in East Peoria following by the train attacking the hill at N. Main Street in Morton, rolling along the flat prairie at Deer Creek and finally crossing the Mackinaw River just east of Goodfield. NS 6401, NS 6420 and NS 6968 have 58 cars, all loads. - David P. Jordan

I left work early and glad that I did. BNSF's M-GALPEI was waiting at S. Darst Street to enter Tazewell & Peoria Railroad property until TPW 2105, running engine lite, got clear. Radio chatter indicated a high-wide load, which is unusual for M-GALPEI since Caterpillar ceased assembling wheel loaders, wheel dozers and soil compactors at the Montgomery (Aurora), Illinois plant in 2019. While I could not see any markings indicating its manufacturer, the electrical transformer riding on that eight-axle Kasgro heavy-duty flat car was probably manufactured by Asea Brown Boveri in St. Louis.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-GALPEI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL) rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Southern Division at Krause Avenue in Peoria, Illinois early afternoon Friday, May 2, 2025. BNSF 4101 and BNSF 5014 have 65 cars. Note the electric transformer load on the head end.   The TP&W local had but five cars to grab from Collier Yard, so it did not take ...