Canadian National L557 9-25-25

I heard radio chatter about a Keokuk Junction Railway train, though I could not confirm whether it had just arrived the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard or was about to depart. I did, however, catch Canadian National Railway's L557 local leaving on the south end. 

 

A contractor (L. B. Foster, I think) is replacing crossties on Main 2 at Hilliards, so L557 used Main 1 instead. The conductor rode the steps on the lead unit as it passed track equipment. Given the train's glacial passage, I decided on a second try just south of IC Junction in downtown Pekin. 

 

The train did not stop in town to pick up any local cars for Amerhart or Hanna Steel, though it may have had empties to pull from Hanna Steel, which they might switch on the train's rear end. 

CAPTION: Canadian National Railway train L557 (Local, E. Peoria IL to Decatur IL) rolls gingerly on Main 1 of the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin doubletrack at Hilliards (Creve Coeur), Illinois as it passes a contractor's track equipment late-afternoon Thursday, September 25, 2025. Later, the train enters home rails at IC Junction in Pekin. CN 8830 and CN 2282 have 31 cars.

- David P. Jordan