Peoria Station

Canadian National Railway brought this from Decatur up to TZPR's double track at Grove at midday, and I happened to see it crossing the river around 4:00pm. But I missed a departing Keokuk Junction Railway local but I saw that last Friday anyway. CAPTION: A northbound Union Pacific train of coal empties rolls by W. Farmington Road shortly after leaving the Low Line at Peoria Junction late-afternoon Wednesday, March 26, 2025. UP 5889 and UP 6325 have 144 cars.   - David P. Jordan

I happened to be approaching the SW Washington Street intersection coming off the Cedar Street Bridge when I caught a glimpse of a train to the southwest. No headlight, so it appeared to be a train having just crossed the river (like me!). I headed down SW Washington and as I crossed the SW Adams Street viaduct, caught a glimpse of a short BNSF manifest. I waited at W. Farmington Road and caught this racing by me. I decided to get it one more time, at Kramm Road a few miles west of Edwards.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL rolls by W. Farmington Road near Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Monday, March 24, 2025. It is shown again at Kramm Road, a few miles west of Edwards. BNSF 4075 and BNSF 6052 have 15 cars. Note two Komatsu truck chassis loads on the head end.   A did go to the downtown library for a little bit, but left early on account of Iowa Interstate PESI's impending departure. When I returned to the south side, I caught a short TP&W local, likely returning...

I had just pulled into the downtown library parking lot when I heard the TZPR dispatcher give M-GALPEI instructions into the East Peoria Yard. So I decided to check out the action. When I arrived Sanger Street, I saw a Union Pacific Decatur-bound (via CN) coal train pulling off the Low Line in the distance at Darst Street. Lighting was better across the river so I contemplated shooting video at Hilliards until I noticed BNSF's M-GALPEI waiting at Darst Street for the UP train to clear.    I will take a manifest over a unit train any day. CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-GALPEI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL) has entered the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad in Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Friday, March 21, 2025. BNSF 7441 and BNSF 4111 have 52 cars.   After the BNSF train cleared, I knew a Keokuk Junction Railway local would cross the river and head back to Mapleton. But I wanted to continue my research and returned to the downtown library. I left early, and caug...

I caught a glimpse of it on Tuesday, but could not turn around and get video, so I checked on Canadian National's L557 this afternoon, and found it at Hilliards. Had I decided to make a right on Rt. 29 instead of a left, and then Wesley Road, I would have missed it!    Some notes:   - The loaded ADM covered hopper is serving as a buffer for the empty sodium hydroxide solution tank car, which came from PMP Fermentation Products.   - The two pressure-differential covered hoppers are interesting, as I've seen similar cars on BNSF, which I believe contain urea loaded at Dakota Gasification Company's Beulah, North Dakota production facility. Those are routed to TP&W for a consignee in Indiana. Not sure why these cars were on today's L557 though, unless a local processor (Alto?) is using them.   - The fifth car is the tank car (UTLX 671525) pulled by TP&W at Fort Transfer in Morton on Tuesday. This one should be a herbicide empty returning to Syngenta ...

American Eagle is adding a third daily roundtrip between Peoria and Dallas/Ft. Worth. When I checked chnges on Charlotte and Chicago-O'Hare frequency and equipment early next month, I had not gotten far enough up the calendar to noticed that Envoy Airlines dba American Eagle is adding a late-morning turnaround to its schedule between Peoria and Dallas/Ft. Worth on Friday, April 4. Like the mid-afternoon turnaround and the Remain-Overnight (RON) flight, the new one will use 76-seat Embraer 175 equipment.  Although Charlotte service is cut from three to two roundtrips, Chicago-O'Hare gets three roundtrips, and now for the first time since larger, two-class equipment (initially Canadair CRJ900s) was introduced in February 2017, Dallas/Ft. Worth gets three roundtrips!  - David P. Jordan

Like usual, I went to Peoria after work. Enroute to the downtown library, I hoped to see the Keokuk Junction Railway's East Peoria turn. With no sign of it, I crossed the river and found CN 2541 and CN 8892 on the Creve Coeur Team Track. A couple of vehicles parked nearby indicated the L557 crew had arrived.   About that time, I learned the Norfolk Southern local D49 had already been cleared to depart the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad, and that the TP&W would follow with a lite engine move to Crandall and then Morton to fetch the tank car spotted at Fort Transfer on March 8.    I knew I was too late to see the NS, but I never miss a chance to catch a train where I live!   Intrerestingly, as I waited along the NS at N. Main Street, just outside of Morton, for the TP&W train heading back to East Peoria, I learned that the KJRY local had been cleared to enter Tazewell & Peoria Railroad property at Iowa Junction...   ...and as I drove I-474, I c...