Peoria Station

After work this afternoon, I checked to see if Iowa Interstate train PESI was ready to leave.   Sure enough, IAIS 152 was on the point of the train, parked on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's West Lead and stretched into the East Peoria Yard. I didn't know how long it had been there so I headed for the downtown library. But radio chatter confirmed that a Tazewell & Peoria Railroad crew had received permission to depart the East Peoria Yard for the TP&W yard.   I immediately headed for a bridge and set up at E. Washington Street. I nearly missed it due to impatience, but then I didn't hear a horn at N. Main Street. Fortunately, E. Camp Street has a convenient U-turn as well as a place to park trackside.  CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad yard job rolls under Interstate 74 in East Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Monday, December 30, 2024. TZPR 1351 has 20 cars (19 grain empties, one alcohol load) for the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway. ...

I was already up north moments from my parked car when I heard the horn, either at Alta Road or Ridgeview Road (Pioneer) further south. W. Farmington Road seemed like the best place to get this one, and it arrived barely a minute after I parked.  CAPTION: A Union Pacific coal train is shown at W. Farmington Road near Peoria, Illinois early afternoon Sunday, December 29, 2024. UP 5886 and UP 8618 have 135 loads with UP 6256 as DPU. Later, the train rolls by Cilco Lane at Sommer, shortly before entering Crescent Junction at the Illinois & Midland Railroad's Crescent Yard at Powerton. I kind of expected this one to be in the area today, after being loaded at Prairie Central Co-Operative's Greenfield (Chenoa) rail loop. A TP&W crew took it all the way to Pekin on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroads double track where a UP crew waited.  CAPTION: A Union Pacific grain train rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's double track main in Pekin, Illinois early-a...

Run-through IAIS power on P&PU/TZPR dates to the late-1980s. In fact, a first, vague memory of IAIS power was in downtown Peoria in 1989. I saw a geep on the riverfront line from one of the intersections at SW Washington Street. I probably knew about the IAIS already due to the June 1989 "Regionals in Review" TRAINS article. CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad crew runs a train of potash empties through Peoria, Illinois early afternoon Saturday, December 28, 2024. Train came out of Mosaic Crop Nutrition LLC south of Bartonville and was handed off to the Iowa Interstate Railroad at the North Limit Yard. Shown between S. Darst Street and Krause Avenue, IAIS 707 and IAIS 718 have 105 cars.    The usual Friday run of MPECL was annulled, probably due to crew issues. It seems that either the LPD01 local crew or MPECL's crew assisted with CGMBV's attack up Pioneer Hill. After that, an empty grain from for TP&W moved from Edelstein to the Low Line and park...

I left work early when I learned that Union Pacific was running a loaded, northbound coal train on the Peoria Sub!   And when it appeared nothing was running smoothly, I wonder if I could have seen this train anyway had a I not left work early.   The first delay was a GFL garbage truck hitting the truss bridge over Rt. 29 at Pekin. Union Pacific had to send out someone to inspect the bridge for damage. Fortunately, there was no damage to the track structure, and the train was cleared to depart South Pekin.    Next, soggy weather and wet rails are a problem for loaded, northbound coal trains, but distributed power assisted the train's attack up Pioneer Hill, preventing a stall.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train CGMBV (Coal, Gateway Mine IL to Beverly IA) rolls by W. Farmington Road mid-afternoon Friday, December 27, 2024. Later, after fighting Pioneer Hill, the train runs past Akron Services Inc. at Akron. UP 7891 and UP 6198 on the point, 134 coal loads and UP 6246...

When I swung by Adams Street Yard for second time today just before 3:00pm, and saw that Union Pacific's MPECL had already departed. So I turned around and headed up I-474 and then Rt. 6, jogged US 150 and up Rt. 91.  I decided to check the signal on Alta Road. It is normally green for southbounds, but today it was dark. Hoping the train hadn't yet made it to this location, I went to Ridgeview Road and parked by Pioneer. Not a minute later, I hear MPECL coming up the hill...   Today's train must have been called for 2:00pm and departed Adams Street Yard about 30 to 40 minutes later. Given the single unit and relatively lengthy train (though mostly empties), I'd guess it took nearly 50 minutes to reach this location.    New Year's Eve should be another opportunity to see this train.  CAPTION: Union Pacific MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) crests Pioneer Hill on Peoria, Illinois' northwest side mid-afternoon Tuesday, December 24, 2024. UP 7226 has ...

After work, I caught two area train movements. First, was this Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Lead/Yard Job bound for ADM Grain Co. at Hilliards. All were loads, but I'm unsure if these contain distillers dried grain ("mash") or gluten feed pellets.   Mash moves year-round but it is that time of year for the latter, though the short cut suggests that traffic isn't moving down here on the Iowa Interstate (or any carrier), at least not yet.   Usually, feed pellets from ADM in Cedar Rapids and Clinton, Iowa move to the Hilliards barge loadout and terminal elevator when the U. S. Army Corps. of Engineers closes the Mississippi River to commercial shipping for three months from Keokuk north, starting in early December.  CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Lead/Yard Job pulls out of the East Peoria Yard and through Wesley East enroute to ADM Grain Co. at Hilliards (Creve Coeur), Illinois mid-afternoon Monday, December 23, 2024. TZPR 1352 has 21 cars. I knew a...

After work this afternoon, I headed toward the downtown library as usual, but radio chatter lured me to my first of three encounters.   A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad Industry Job was at BioUrja Renewables' South Yard (crews and dispatchers still call it "ADM South Yard") asking permission to shove back out to Bridge Junction and then cross the river. A problem with a switch, signal, or some hardware was delaying this movement momentarily, which enabled me to get into position just in time.    Libery Steel & Wire Co's temporary (hopefully) suspension of operations most certainly has decreased business handled by the old "Kickapoo Job." Alter Metal Recycling has been sending processed scrap metal to new markets, though, in place of short-haul switch movements. Most of this seems to be moving via the Iowa Interstate to a consignee in the Chicago area.    The TZPR local train was probably switching one of the asphalt terminals (Interstate Asphalt Co...