Peoria Station

Union Pacific's MPECL left Adams Street Yard around midday today as usual, but rainfall, slick rails and a single unit hauling 64 cars always risks stalling on Pioneer Hill.    And it did stall. Which enabled me to catch up with it. I knew of the train's status before I left work (and voted), and took the risk of driving miles to catch it. I got to it at the County Road 100 N crossing. The train was to make a set out here, so I arrived just in time.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls along Storage Siding near Bradford, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Train left Adams Street Yard around the usual time midday, but stalled on Pioneer Hill, had to cut its train into two sections and re-assemble it before proceeding north. UP 6213 has 64 cars. (A car set out here.)   - David P. Jordan

These are the tank cars TP&W tried to deliver on July 12 with TPW 5009, but could not due to some issue with Norfolk Southern track at Crandall. They were finally delivered in September.  CAPTION: Sunday, November 1, 2026, brought a rare visit to Morton, Illinois by the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway. TPW 2105 arrived engine lite to pull three empty herbicide tank cars from Fort Transfer Company. Scenes are at W. Jefferson Street and N. Nebraska Avenue. The crew ran their locomotive around the tank cars in between for the shove out of town toward Norfolk Southern's Bloomington District at Crandall. - David P. Jordan

Bloomington-Normal, Illinois' Central Illinois Regional Airport passenger volume is up in 2026. According to the airport authority's regular meeting minutes for September 2026 , enplanements are up 12.5 percent January to August over the same period in 2025. August 2026 traffic is up 8.3 percent over August 2025.  Enplanements (boarding) are only half the story, but deplanements are similar. We know that CIRA handled about 325,000 passengers in 2025, so if we assume the 12.5 percent increase holds through December (depending on the month), then 2026 traffic will be about 365,000.  This figure is still well short of the 421,519 passengers handled in 2019 and far below the facility's all-time record of 579,265 in 2011. But the increase through August shows a healthy recovery from COVID-era cutbacks.  Delta Connection's addition of a third daily Atlanta nonstop is cited for the increase, though Allegiant Air's seasonal Phoenix-Mesa nonstops, set to return November 20, ...

I learned this train was cleared to depart East Peoria, so I went to downtown Pekin for some night video. The streetlamps are pretty good here for night video.    This evening's return leg to Crescent and Powerton yards has what appeared to be mostly plastic loads (pressed truck coil springs, tags). Slag and plastic empties and a tank car (possibly empty) are on the head end while four dry sorbent (trona) loads for Kincaid bring up the rear.  CAPTION: An Illinois & Midland Railroad Powerton Roadswitcher has nearly completed an East Peoria turn to interchange with the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad. It is shown in Pekin, Illinois Thursday evening, October 29, 2026 a few miles away from Crescent and Powerton yards. CFE 3316 has 37 cars. - David P. Jordan

  This train came out of the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard and East Lead, so it must have setout cars there enroute to Collier.  CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway local, probably EP2, rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad by Krause Avenue and Darst Street in Peoria, Illinois late-morning Tuesday, October 27, 2026. IMRR 2108 has five phosphate loads for Collier Yard (Growmark's Mapleton terminal is the consignee). After renewing a book at the Peoria Public Library's downtown campus, I stepped outside and headed to my car when I heard the distinctive sound of a locomotive horn. I headed toward the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Uptown Subdivision to investigate. Sure enough, HESR 2107 was dragging a train of Iowa Interstate interchange cars toward East Peoria. Train had 22 mash cars for ADM's Hilliards barge loadout, six tank cars (probably containing soybean oil for Cargill c/o MacroSource's North Pekin facility) and...

I was off work Friday, mainly to block Saturday, on which I planned to leave for the Lexington Group meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Turns out, I did not need it after all, but glad I took it anyway. It was quite productive... CAPTION: Iowa Interstate ZENO-E (Zen-Noh Grain, Eastbound) is shown entering the Peoria Subdivision at Bureau Junction, Illinois late-morning Friday, October 16, 2026. Later scenes are at Putnam, Henry, Sparland, Chillicothe and Rome. IAIS 707 and IAIS 700 have 92 grain empties for interchange to Canadian National on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin double track at Hilliards. In early evening, a new crew has manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) just coming off the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge at Peoria, Illinois. IAIS 707 and IAIS 700 have NS 5193 and 70 cars. I ended my chase of Iowa Interstate's ZENO-E after Rome, realizing that Union Pacific's MPECL would probably leave Adams Street Yard around noon....