Peoria Station

Peoria Int'l Airport was visited by not one but two big jets Tuesday, August 27. A Boeing 747-400 stopped here in early evening for what appears to have been a military charter. The plane, operating as Atlas Air Flight# 8083 on a Houston (Bush Intercont'l)-Peoria-Anchorage-Fukuoka, Japan itinerary, arrived at 8:14pm and departed at 11:42pm. The big plane was parked at the Ronald W. Burling Cargo Terminal ramp between flights. Also visiting Tuesday was a United States Air Force KC-10 Extender, a military tanker based on the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 tri-jet. Unfortunately, I could only capture these planes at night, but at least managed to record the historic events. - David P. Jordan

This one is pure speculation... ...but there is reason to believe it will happen.  Allegiant Air added Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida to its map in April 2018. The city's international airport serves a metropolitan area of over 700,000 but also generates a huge number of tourists. This year, the airline has added fifteen points from its newest southwest Florida "Focus City."  In April, seven new routes - to Cleveland, Columbus (OH), Grand Rapids, Harrisburg, Nashville, Richmond and Syracuse - were started from the southwest Florida community. This week, the airline announced eight more to be added in November 2019. Destinations will be Des Moines, Flint, Fort Wayne, Knoxville, Louisville, Rockford, Illinois; St. Louis (Mid-America) and South Bend. Note small cities like Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana and Rockford, Illinois are among points to be served later this year. Thus, twice-weekly nonstops are not out of the realm of possibility for Peoria. ...

The Keokuk Junction Railway's F-unit fleet is going into storage this week.  New owner Brookhaven Rail Partners acquired legal control of Pioneer Railcorp a few days ago and is already making changes to one shortline's motive power fleet. Reportedly, the KJRY will run a transfer with PREX 1750 & 1761 (and probably a GP20) from Mapleton to East Peoria and return Monday, and west to LaHarpe on Tuesday. PREX 1752 is already at LaHarpe. The latter will be the final run for these units in freight service. (credit to Steve Smedley) The above video captured an eastbound KJRY transfer on Saturday, February 9, 2019.  - David P. Jordan

It is that time of year again! Although changes may be few overall, I like to post an annual review of air service happenings at the Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport. Let's start with a run down by air carrier. (Above video shot July 13, 2019.) ALLEGIANT AIR Allegiant Air offers nonstops to six destinations from Peoria - Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford, Phoenix-Mesa, Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers and St. Petersburg/Clearwater. Destin/Ft. Walton Beach service is seasonal, ending after September 3. The Las Vegas-based carrier is offering 18 weekly departures in July 2019. See below for details. Monday - Las Vegas, Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers Tuesday -  Phoenix-Mesa, St. Petersburg/Clearwater Wednesday -  Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Las Vegas, Orlando-Sanford, Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers Thursday -  Phoenix-Mesa, St. Petersburg/Clearwater Friday -  Las Vegas, Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers Saturday -  Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, Orlando-Sanfo...

One thing for sure, if Peoria Int'l Airport posts a monthly passenger record, we'll know about it through a press release or reporting by Peoria's newspaper of record. And if there isn't a record, there won't be a press release, or an article by Peoria's newspaper of record.  Fortunately, records are frequent, and PIA posted another for May 2019. According to this article , 61,848 passengers passed through the local facility that month. That is the most for May of any year and the third busiest in the airport's long history. May 2019's numbers are 2.6 percent higher than those posted in May 2018. Airport officials are still reviewing June figures, hoping for another record. During the first five months, PIA has handled 280,905 passengers, which is 2.7 percent higher than the same period in 2018. - David P. Jordan

The  Peoria Journal Star  posted a story online Saturday (and in print on Sunday) that caught my interest: Peoria gains a 'Super Site' . The "Super Site" in question is the Medina Plains Corporate Park in northwest Peoria. The State of Illinois' Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity recently designated the park as one of 15 sites which "...has undergone a qualification process that assures it is up to standards developers require for large industrial projects." Originally called "Growth Cell 2," it was first touted for industrial development in 1995. The article describes its location "The Peoria site is located between Radnor and Allen roads, off the west end of Townline Road near Walmart Supercenter and the North Branch of the Peoria Public Library. It's south of Illinois Route 6 and north of the Pioneer Industrial Railway tracks." Criteria for a "Super Site" includes a minimum of 250 acr...

Time for more Transportation Q & A! Feel free to post your questions in the comments section on any transportation topic. If I don't have an answer, I'll find one. I am still working on the next "PIA - A History" post that will cover the years 1997-1998. - David P. Jordan