KJRY EP Turn 1-2-26

Based on activities just a week ago, December 26, I was hoping that Union Pacific's MPECL would leave at least a few hours late, but when I arrived the south side of Peoria around 3:30 Friday afternoon to find ,MPECL gone and a Union Pacific crew shoving an empty coal train (received from Decatur via Canadian National) off the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad and onto the Low Line toward Peoria Junction.

 

Apparently, as of December 2025, most Decatur coal routed to CN at Peoria (actually TZPR's Pekin double track) now originates at the Gateway Mine near Coulterville, Illinois instead Wyoming's Powder River Basin. So trains must "see-saw" on the Nickel Plate in East Peoria to be positioned in the right direction. If UP and CN hadn't removed the direct connection at South Pekin in March 2002...

 

Anyway, once the UP coal empties cleared onto home rails at Darst Street, the Keokuk Junction Railway local's conductor lined the switch and the train moved across Darst Street and Krause Avenue, only to stop before clearing Darst. Barge traffic delayed movement for over a half-hour. The KJRY train could have pulled up a little further to avoid blocking Darst Street, but perhaps there was a good reason they did not. 

 

The pressure-differential covered hopper behind the trio of blue geeps was likely loaded with corn starch, followed by ten corn syrup tank cars. A block of 16 covered hoppers were likely loaded with corn at Farmers Elevator of Sciota. The five gondolas on the rear are scrap metal loads pulled from Hitchcock Scrap Yard in Canton. 

CAPTION: The Keokuk Junction Railway's East Peoria turn is shown running on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad in Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Friday, January 2, 2026. River traffic stopped the train short of Sanger Street for more than 30 minutes, causing traffic to backup on Darst Street. The whole train is shown at Sanger. LTEX 3837, LTEX 3836 and LTEX 3010 have 32 cars.

 

- David P. Jordan