Peoria Station

Peoria Int'l Airport handled 689,416 passengers in 2019.  That number that beats 2018's 672,594 passengers, which itself was a record. So traffic grew 2.5 percent in 2019. More details can be found in the airport's press release here . December's 56,328 passenger tally was itself the year's eighth monthly record.  More good news is that Republic Airways dba United Express is introducing larger planes in the Peoria to Chicago-O'Hare market beginning with an evening arrival at 6:56 on Thursday, February 13 and 5:45 morning departure on Friday, February 14. An Embraer 170 equipped with 70 seats will supplement four other roundtrips operated by Trans States Airlines (one using an Embraer 145) and Air Wisconsin (three using Canadair RJ200s). The larger equipment will be here for at least a couple of months, according to this Peoria Journal Star story . If business is sufficient, then use of the Embraer 170 will continue.  - David P. Jordan

Allegiant Air will begin Peoria-Nashville flights beginning June 4.  That's according to this WEEK TV-25 article posted today. Previously, Ozark Air Lines offered same-plane service in both directions in 1980-1982 and American Eagle offered nonstop service in 1991-1995. Look here for more details as they become available. UPDATE: Flights will be offered on Thursdays and Sundays into November. On both days, they will arrive Peoria from Nashville at 9:13pm and depart for Nashville at 9:58pm. UPDATE 2 (Jan. 18):  The Peoria Journal Star article dated January 15 provides us with some interesting information. First, the airport authority first discussed Nashville service with Allegiant Air two years ago. Second, the airport estimates it handled a record 679,000 passengers in 2019. That's only slight above 2018's 672,594 passengers. Final numbers should be announced soon.  - David P. Jordan

Peoria Int'l Airport will break another passenger record in 2019, but not reach the 700,000 mark.  That's the conclusion I make based on a December 31 Facebook post . In it, we learn the airport handled 633,088 passengers through November. December figures aren't tallied, but it seems unlikely they'll exceed 66,912 passengers, which is required to reach the 700,000 mark. No doubt it will be close, probably at least 50,000 passengers, so I expect PIA to handle somewhere between 685,000 and 690,000 passengers in 2019. Not the 700,000 milestone, but a record nonetheless. - David P. Jordan

When steam was king, the world was in black and white, or at least most television broadcasts in that era were in black and white. So I present this montage of steam action in black and white! I was fortunate to experience numerous mainline steam excursions between 2004 and 2019. Most of these are thanks to the Iowa Interstate Railroad, but the Monticello Railway Museum, Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway and Union Pacific Railroad are also represented here. Action is mostly in Illinois with some in Indiana and Iowa. The final scene, however, is in Colorado on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad's 3-ft. gauge line. Steam engines shown are MILW 261, IAIS 6988, IAIS 7081, NKP 765, SOU 401, UP 4014 and DRGW 463. (Save for the first scene, all other video is available on my YouTube channel, and in color!) - David P. Jordan

I caught Norfolk Southern local D49 in both directions on Christmas Eve 2019. Around noon, the westbound train was led by NS 3375 (a SD40-2) and NS 5126 (a GP38-2) led 29 cars out of the train's Good Yard (Normal, Illinois) home for the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard. I caught D49 at the Harding Road crossing near Morton and again off Veterans Road in the Farmdale area. Four stills in the video above show the train's activities in East Peoria, including a scene at Wesley after setting out NS 5126 on the Creve Coeur Team Track. The eastbound train, led by solitary NS 3375, had 13 cars, all loads from Liberty Steel & Wire Co. (formerly Keystone Steel & Wire), is shown rolling under the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway's famous Farmdale Trestle, and again at the Harding Road crossing. Despite Christmas Eve being recognized as a holiday by many businesses, railroads can operate like it was a normal. This was demonstrated by Tuesday...

Sunday afternoon, a BNSF Railway coal train being handled by a Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway crew, derailed two locomotive and two coal loads south of Bartonville. Ironically, Union Pacific's ex-Peoria Terminal Co. line (Iowa Jct. to Hollis) is temporarily out of service due to poor track conditions. So trains (presumably the Keokuk Junction Railway's Mapleton-East Peoria transfers and TP&W's Kolbe Local as well) have been using the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Kickapoo Main between Iowa Junction and the Union Pacific connection, approximately three miles of Union Pacific mainline through the Sommer connection onto the Keokuk Junction Railway line.  The train had already entered the UP mainline when the derailment occurred. The rear locomotives derailed before it cleared the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Kickapoo Main, tying up both lines.  - David P. Jordan

AccessAir's plans to offer Peoria nonstop and direct flights to multiple major destinations thrilled those of us who remembered (or learned of) the good old days of the 1970s. And for a time in 1999, service levels and available (and projected) service began to resemble those days. Yet, this fantastic revival was cut short by all too familiar circumstances. The Greater Peoria Regional Airport saw a lot of change and drama in 1999, so this post will only cover that year. Let us first look at happenings by individual airlines. ACCESSAIR After its April 18, 1997 public announcement of plans to serve Peoria, this carrier consumed nearly two years to start operations. Difficulty obtaining slots at New York-LaGuardia Airport prompted consideration of Newark International Airport (also slot-controlled) on a temporary basis. Then in late 1998, the carrier entered into a deal with Northwest Airlines to lease two unused slots until April 4. After final regulatory approval, the ca...