Peoria Station

I went back out this afternoon to see Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) leave town, which it did around 4:30. IAIS 152-153-508 had 92 cars (two coil steel loads and 90 empties). Scenes are at the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge, approaching the West Yard, old (1900) and new (1967) Rock Island depots, and entering the North Limit Yard. Finally, the the whole train is shown at San Koty (MP 154.2). - David P. Jordan 

Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) is shown at four locations late morning Sunday, July 31, 2022.   IAIS 508-153-152 have 157 cars (149 loads, eight empties).  There were three alcohol empties, one non-haz-mat tank car and two gondolas, leaving the other two empties to be covered hoppers. Lots of distillers' mash and corn for Peoria! I waited by the Chillicothe Depot and then shot video at Rome before I headed to church. Later, I caught up with it just leaving the North Limit Yard after settng out 63 cars, leaving 94 for East Peoria. Scenes are at Rome, and then downtown Peoria, the West Yard and Bridge Junction on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad. Lastly, we return to Rome to see the whole train. - David P. Jordan

I got to the south end of town early this afternoon to find Union Pacific train MPECL gone from Adams Street Yard. But I head heard some brief chatter on the UP Peoria Sub channel, so I figured I'd best make my way to W. Farmington Road as soon as possible. Despite the slow drivers, I made it in time. I pulled up to the old gas station on the north side of the road (west of the tracks) just as the gates were lowering.  UP 6151 has 44 cars. - David P. Jordan

After leaving the downtown library this evening, I checked the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard to see if Canadian National Railway local L557 (E. Peoria to Decatur IL) was still around, and getting ready to depart.    Turns out, it actually was still in the yard waiting on an empty BNSF coal train out of Powerton to clear Wesley Junction. (It also met a loaded BNSF grain train, which followed the empty coal. This train was loaded on the TP&W.)   I shot the train at four locations. Video shows power runbys at Hilliards and Pekin (N. 2nd Street and IC Junction), and then the whole train at 5th Street near South Pekin. I actually got the entire train at Hilliards but I didn't think its glacial speed was sufficiently entertaining... CN 5696 and CN 5643 left East Peoria with 71 cars, adding five empties from Hanna Steel at Pekin. I think I heard correctly that the train had eight loads.  Note some nearly brand new (2021) CN covered hoppers sprinkled ...

  Norfolk Southern Railway local D32 (Decatur IL to Normal IL) is shown rolling through the west side of Bloomington, Illinois early this evening. NS 3299 and NS 6975  had 14 cars. Normally, D32 passes this spot before sunrise. There are three organic corn loads on the head end (pulled from The Andersons at Mansfield) and two BNGX soybean meal empties for DuPont's Gibson City soybean processing plant (all five "turned" at Good Yard) but most or all of the other nine are for the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at East Peoria. These will be forwarded there Monday by local D49, which is on duty at 6:00am.    - David P. Jordan

I never made it to the downtown library this afternoon, though I had planned to be there.  As usual on Friday afternoon, I drove by Adams Street Yard to find Union Pacific's MPECL made up and ready to leave, though the crew may not have been aboard yet. UP 6151 had 46 cars, including SEVEN boxcars near the head end, and a block of nine empty coal cars on the rear. I decided it would be worth waiting for this one.  Then I heard a horn in Bartonville... I found a slow-moving freight running by Collier Yard with traffic I quickly identified as a TP&W local out of Mapleton. I headed it off at Sanitation Road, expecting it to stop and work the UP/KJRY interchange. Although the train did stop, it was a brief one to radio the TZPR for instructions from Iowa Junction in Peoria to P&PU Junction in East Peoria.  I shot most of the train at Sanitation Road, but only included a brief runby of IMRR 2108. The entire 48-car train is shown at S. Darst Street. As the TP&W trai...

After missing the last few, I finally caught Union Pacific's MPECL this afternoon.  It left early (as I expected), but I got it in one of my favorite spots. Video shows it rolling across W. Farmington Road at 4:00pm. UP 5702 had 37 cars. - David P. Jordan