Peoria Station

It is always good to catch a long TP&W freight on the East End mainline.    Minutes after a notice on a local Facebook group that a TP&W eastbound freight was approaching Washington, I left the house and drove to Cruger. Watching its passage, I noticed that the two locomotives on Saturday evening's transfer to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad - TPW 5009 and IORY 5007 - were on this train. I did not stick around for it due to darkness, but I assumed they would return with eastbound traffic.    Today's train has a decent variety of rolling stock -    1 tank car (soybean oil empty) 9 tank cars (nitrogen fertilizer solution loads) 1 tank car (denatured alcohol load) 2 tank car (industrial alcohol loads) 12 covered hoppers (phosphate empties) 2 tank cars (sorbitol loads) 1 tank car (corn syrup empty) 1 tank car (methylamine anhydrous empty) 1 tank car (dimethylamine anhydrous empty) 5 covered hoppers (phosphate empties) 25 covered hoppe...

Heading home from Peoria early this evening, I noticed a TP&W train at the west end of the East Peoria Yard so I exited I-74 to investigate. Minutes later, the crew of EP-X received permission from the St. Albans dispatcher to run Farmdale to P&PU Junction and into the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard. Most cars are for BNSF's next M-PEIGAL, probably Monday.  CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway EP-X, (East Peoria Extra Switcher) pulls into the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard early evening Saturday, October 25, 2025. IORY 5007 and TPW 5009 have 59 cars. - David P. Jordan

After work, I usually head to downtown library, but I did not make it on Friday afternoon because there were too many trains.    I just barely caught the Keokuk Junction Railway's local operating an East Peoria turn. I shot it the last place I could - the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River bridge.    CAPTION: The Keokuk Junction Railway's weekly East Peoria turn is shown in both directions on Friday afternoon, October 24, 2025. LTEX 6437, LTEX 3837 and LTEX 3836 have 17 cars for interchange with connections via the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad. LTEX 3836, LTEX 3837 and LTEX 6437 left East Peoria with 14 cars. Driving the Cedar Street Bridge into Peoria, I saw the Keokuk Junction Railway local entering the Bridge Junction wye at Sanger Street, but also a distant headlight that was clearly a BNSF train. My hopes were fulfilled when I reached Darst Street to find a short M-GALPEI ready to follow the Keokuk Junction Railway across the river.  ...

I exited I-74 in East Peoria, jogged E. Washington and then left onto E. Camp Street and heard a faint locomotive horn to the west. Approaching N. Main Street, I noticed an orange geep with a string of tank cars negotiating the Tazewell & Peoria Railroads Farm Creek bridge. I took a u-turn and set up off E. Washington Street for video.    Althought TZPR 2133 belongs to sister Tazewell & Peoria Railroad, this was clearly a TP&W train. Corn syrup and sorbitol tank cars belonging Ingredion's Crystal Car Line (CCLX) and leasing firms, two methyl chloride empties, an unidentified chemical empty (UN 3082), tallow empties, and 22 phosphate empties returning to CSX in Indiana were all from Mapleton industries. I'm unsure if this was a Collier Turn returning home or a through run by the old Kolbe Local.  CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway local rolls along home rail in East Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Wednesday, October 22, 2025. TZPR 2133 has 37 ca...

I was heading into Peoria on the Cedar Street Bridge, looked toward the southwest and noticed the tail end of a train having just crossed the river. I caught it eventually and determined that it was probably a TP&W train, so I headed for Sanitation Road in Bartonville and waited.  CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway local, probably EP2, negotiates the through truss bridge spanning Kickapoo Creek in Bartonville, Illinois shortly after entering the Union Pacific-owned ex-Peoria Terminal Co. line mid-afternoon Tuesday, October 21, 2025. TPW 2056 has six cars, likely all phosphate loads consigned to Growmark at Mapleton.   - David P. Jordan

When driving southbound on Rt. 6 around noon today, I turned on my scanner and happened to hear the Iowa Interstate dispatcher giving the railgrinder a track warrant from Yard Limits Peoria to Bureau Junction. Naturally, I turned around and headed for the IAIS.  CAPTION: An Iowa Interstate crew runs a Loram Railgrinder northbound on the Peoria Subdivision early-afternoon Sunday, October 19, 2025. Equipment is reportedly heading to Silvis, Illinois for storage. Locations at San Koty, Mossville (twice), Rome and Chillicothe. - David P. Jordan