Peoria Station

Enroute to the downtown library this afternoon, I took a slight detour to check on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad bridge. It had been lowered. Good news. Forty days is a long time to be without this bridge.  After leaving the library, I checked again and noticed a BNSF coal train sitting on the main at Darst Street. Shortly, I heard the crew radio the St. Albans dispatcher for instruction. He informed them that the bridge was open.  Unfortunately, a derail wouldn't respond and a maintainer had to drive out to fix it. It took 1.5 hours for the coal train to finally begin moving across the river.  I hope no one is offended that I didn't shoot the whole train. At 5 mph, that would have taken 15 minutes!  - David P. Jordan

I have a habit since 1995 of catching cool local action the Friday before Galesburg Railroad Days! You'll remember that a BNSF Railway manifest, probably symboled M-GALGAL, pulled 41 cars from Gilson Siding and 51 from Edwards Siding on Saturday, June 18, 2022. When I saw it STILL parked on the New Long Thursday evening, I'd given up hope that i could see it move. But a funny thing happened. I caught a little UP chatter, but couldn't make out any information. A Facebook friend came to the rescue, noting that BNSF 7774 had gotten a track warrant to move over the Union Pacific mainline from MP 83 (P&PU Junction, near Mendenhall Road) to MP 89.2 (Crescent Junction). I later learned that a TP&W crew pulled the train from the New Long out onto the TZPR mainline and SHOVED all the way to Crescent Jct. and into the Illinois & Midland Railroad's Powerton Yard!  I went to Pekin and found BNSF 7774 and BNSF 987 pulling a 92-car train by Alto Pekin LLC along S. 2nd Str...

It is time for my annual update on local airline service.  A summer month is best for this update. I used July in last year's update, and I have every reason to do so this year. Barring last minute changes, the schedules and route map below are accurate. So let's delve into the present situation.  ALLEGIANT AIR Fort Lauderdale service resumed on December 15, 2021, giving PIA ten nonstop destinations on a single carrier. This new destination requires an update to last year's route history. Notably, Allegiant Air is operating all "normal" routes it ever started since it began flying here in 2004.  Las Vegas, NV - March 3, 2004 St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL - December 13, 2006 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ - October 27, 2007 Punta Gorda/Ft. Myers, FL - June 28, 2012 Orlando (Sanford), FL - November 14, 2014 (See Note 1) Destin/Ft. Walton Beach, FL - May 24, 2017 Nashville, TN - June 4, 2020 Sarasota/Bradenton, FL - May 27, 2021 Denver, CO - May 28, 2021 Fort Lauderdale - December...

I haven't posted one of these in awhile, so here it is. Ask a question on transportation and industry. As always, if I don't know the answer, I'll find one. Finally, I need to announce two upcoming posts. The annual analysis of airline service at Peoria Int'l Airport will be posted soon. Schedules and route map will be for July 2022.  I intend to continue my PIA - A History series with a post on 2002. It is hard to believe that was twenty years ago. Although these were 21st century events, much has changed. I think it will be interesting.  - David P. Jordan

This morning's BNSF manifest was re-crewed and moved from Pottstown to the New Long early this afternoon. I wish I'd stayed to see it, but assumed it would sit most of the day. I did, however, catch another TZPR detour.  I saw this Tazewell & Peoria Railroad local moving through the Illinois & Midland RR's Powerton Yard in late afternoon. Scenes are at downtown Pekin (by the old C&IM depot) and Hilliards. TZPR 1351 and TZPR 1521 have 23 cars from BioUrja Renewables and PMP Fermentation Products in Peoria. The two covered hoppers may be buffer cars.  The CRGX-marked tank car, denoting Cargill Inc. ownership, was empty. There were no haz-mat placards. Several alcohol tank cars were also empty. I don't know if the Cargill car arrived on the Iowa Interstate earlier and is being forwarded to a connecting line (yesterday's CN local had some), or is bound for a local industry, such as for loading at Cargill Oil Storage c/o of Gavilon at Creve Coeur, etc.  - Dav...

I had been wondering how BNSF manifests M-GALPEI and M-PEIGAL were affected by TZPR's bridge outage. While I don't have a full understanding of how operations have been modified, the picture is clearer now.  Basically, the bridge outage has forced BNSF to fill sidings with manifest traffic, and even shorten empty feed train (X-SMRPEI) because it won't fit on the New Long in Peoria. Whether the carrier attempts to maintain two cycles per week is unclear, though I don't they do.  Anyway, I received word this morning that a BNSF crew had pulled a manifest from Gilson. I drove out to Kramm Road, a few miles west of Edwards, and waited. Shortly, BNSF 7774 & BNSF 987 came by with 41 cars.  This train may be M-GALGAL peddling M-GALPEI traffic two days' late. Crew worked from Gilson to Pottstown where the train was tied up on the main until another crew could relieve them. More cars were added at Edwards Siding. Radio chatter indicated a "Seven O'Clock GALGAL...

Early this evening, after leaving the downtown library, I heard some chatter about "IC Junction," so I had to investigate.  Honestly, I hoped for another detour - maybe a TZPR-crewed PESI for the Iowa Interstate. That would enable me to get it rolling through downtown Pekin and if it "turned" at Powerton Yard in time, at the Rt. 9 crossing across the river on the Union Pacific.  I first checked Powerton Yard and found no activity. Could the train be leaving East Peoria? Turns out there were two trains, but neither were detours.  I was in downtown Pekin when I heard the crew on IMRR 2108 ask the St. Albans dispatcher for permission from the Ice House to Wesley 8. I turned left onto Rt. 9 to have a look, and found it just coming out of the Pekin yards approaching through the riverfront area. I turned around on S. Cargill Road, headed back into Pekin and set up in the cemetary off Rt. 29. Normally, I prefer to have the sun to my back, but this was a good location.  The...