Peoria Station

I worked until 5:00pm on Friday, but learned that a TP&W "M-Train" had left East Peoria maybe 30 minutes prior. So instead of going home first, I took off east and found the train between Eureka and Secor, able to beat it to the latter, though not by much (the slow order from earlier this year has been fixed). I got it again in El Paso.    I'm glad I had my camera in the car.    The two units on Friday's train are the newest power seen on the TP&W. Until earlier this year, the OHCR 3329 had been sitting at the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Creve Coeur diesel shop since 2024. BERX 6908 arrived in mid-May, and was quickly pressed into service. BERX is the reporting mark for Genesee & Wyoming Inc's Berkshire & Eastern Railroad, which is the neutral operator of the Pan Am Southern, a company jointly owned by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway. Apparently, C40-8Ws make the BERX 6908, and SD40-2s, superfluous.    Friday's ea...

I saw a Facebook group message about this train just as I was leaving work at 5:00 this afternoon, so I decided to go for it. I caught it in Chillicothe, and was able to capture the first scene at the W. Moffitt Street crossing. I wanted another shot, so I settled on Sparland, which turned out very well! Notables include a loaded GBRX gondola (steel billets?) and three dry bulk fertilizer (urea, phosphate, etc.) loads (cars 22-24), possibly for the Growmark facility at Stuart, Iowa.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest PESI rolls by W. Moffitt in Chillicothe, Illinois late-afternoon Thursday, June 18, 2026. Shortly in early-evening, it was rolling through Sparland. IAIS 700 and IAIS 153 have NS 5281, and 43 cars. After capturing the IAIS train at Sparland, I crossed the river into Lacon and took Rt. 26 to East Peoria, hoping the CN local had not yet departed. I arrived with radio chatter indicating they were still in the TZPR yard. I sat at Wesley for a little while, but after dozin...

Sunday morning, I just missed them setting out a block of manifest (ADM traffic) at the North Limit Yard, but at least got it with the CN-bound grain loads as it rolled along the TZPR by PMP Fermentation Products in downtown Peoria. CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. train ZENOE (Zen Noh Grain Eastbound Loads) rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Uptown Subdivision Sunday morning, June 14, 2026. IAIS 503 and IAIS 506 were on the point. Earlier, manifest cars were set out at the North Limit Yard. Normally, these potash empties move as PEDAV (Peoria IL to Davenport IA), but this one is reportedly bound for the Vermilion Valley Railroad at Danville. All I can think of is that the trainset is going into short-term storage. Routing would be IAIS-Chicago-CSX-Danville-VVRR. Radio chatter indicated Iowa Interstate would take the train to Chicago with a crew change at Bureau Junction.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. train PEBI (Peoria IL to Blue Island IL) rolls th...

I ran some errands after work, but ended up hearing static on the Union Pacific Peoria Sub road channel (CH. 77 - 161.265), but could not make out any details. So I immediately made my way to W. Farmington Road. The green signal indication for a northbound prompted me to park. Minutes later, MPECL showed up. I guess it is still being called earlier (noon to 1:00pm) most days, but the train does sometimes run later.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls by W. Farmington Road shortly after departing Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, June 9, 2026. UP 3044 has 50 cars. - David P. Jordan

I was in the area of the airport, saw an Allegiant Air A320 at the terminal and realized it was going to depart for Sarasota/Bradenton soon. Take offs on Runway 13 are always the best, even if lighting is not.  Flight 2987 left the gate at 1720 hours.  CAPTION: Allegiant Air A320-200 N197NV departs on Runway 13 at Peoria Int'l Airport late-afternoon Sunday, June 7, 2026. Destination is Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida (SRQ). - David P. Jordan

It wasn't a manifest, and had to hold my camera for 9 minutes, 40 seconds thanks to 10mph speeds on TZPR's double track Pekin mainline, but coal trains may be gone from the area in a few years... CAPTION: BNSF Railway train C-NAMPEK (Coal Loads, N. Antelope Mine WY to Peoria/Kincaid IL) rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin double track at Hilliards (Creve Coeur), Illinois late-afternoon Sunday, June 7, 2026. BNSF 9096 and BNSF 9241 were on the point of the 135-car train. BNSF 9098 is DPU. - David P. Jordan