Canadian National L557 8-28-25

I was forced to work two hours over this afternoon, but this being a Thursday, I decided to hcheck on Union Pacific's MBNAS at Bloomington. The train had apparently departed just before I arrived.

Amtrak 318, which MBNAS usually waits to pass before departure was running over an hour late, and had only just left Springfield. I figured the dispatcher instructed MBNAS to leave a little early and take a siding at McLean, Athol (Lincoln) or further south. 

 

Green signal indications, however, told me that a southbound was already lined through Normal and Bloomington, so I headed south of I-55 and exited at McLean where the signal was still dark. That's when I learned of the CN local's activities in Pekin. So to ensure at least some of my time and gas wasn't wasted, I headed west on Rt. 136, and then followed the CN's Peoria Sub as best I could hoping for an encounter. 

 

I ended up going all the way back to Pekin. I stopped at Hanna Drive and thought I saw a headlight to the north. Sure enough, L557 blew for the Derby Street crossing and headed south. 

 

Notables on today's consist were an empty coil steel car pulled from Hanna Steel. Lots of covered hoppers (including blocks of loads and empties with ADM and leaser markings, the rest likely DDGS, gluten feed and/or meal from Alto), an empty sodium hydroxide solution (caustic soda) from PMP Fermentation Products, a couple of denatured alcohol loads and a beverage alcohol tank car bringing up the rear. 

CAPTION: Canadian National Railway train L557 (Local, E. Peoria IL to Decatur IL) rolls out of Pekin, Illinois after switching Amerhart Ltd and Hanna Steel Corp. shortly after sunset Thursday, August 28, 2025. CN 8830 and CN 5654 have 38 cars.

- David P. Jordan