Peoria Station

The crew was aboard this train, parked on the double track at Grove, from at least 1530 this afternoon. Radio chatter indicated the crew needed to grab a unit sitting on TZPR's Creve Coeur Team Track. That and river traffic delayed the train from crossing the river until about 1730 hours. It was clear on UP property by 1745.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train CDEBM (Coal Empties, Decatur/Peoria IL to Belle Ayr Mine WY) is shown crossing the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge into Peoria, Illinois and then stopping briefly to enter home rails at Darst Street. UP 7519, UP 6658 and UP 7665 have 128 cars.   - David P. Jordan

It has been awhile since Norfolk Southern's D49 has made an East Peoria turn late enough for me to see the return leg after work. When I got to East Peoria, and heard the dispatcher give it permission from P&PU Junction to Farmdale, I realized that I forgot my camera, so the phone camera had to do. I believe the train had 15 loads and 17 empties.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 (Normal IL to E. Peoria turn) is shown departing the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at P&PU Junction in East Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Monday, February 23, 2026. Later, the train is shown on home rails at Farmdale and again at Deer Creek. NS 6923 and NS 6972 have 32 cars.   - David P. Jordan

For the third Friday in a row, I took a half day off work, hoping those Caterpillar tractor loads would be on Union Pacific's MPECL. They were on it until they were not, unfortunately, but while waiting for MPECL's departure, Norfolk Southern's D49 snuck out of town with a short train. I heard radio chatter about it leaving, went back across the river and found it already clear of P&PU Junction. I found a spot and waited. It was my first encounter with this train in 2026! CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 (Normal IL to E. Peoria IL turn) is shown on the return leg shortly after entering home rails at East Peoria, Illinois early afternoon Friday, February 20, 2026. NS 7034, NS 6923 and NS 6963 (GoRail) have nine cars for Good Yard.   Several Caterpillar tractor loads, a rarity on the Union Pacific, were switched out by MPECL's crew just minutes before departure. Although disappointed, the train had nine of those "Omaha Track" gondolas used by...

I barely caught this one in time.   I was still in East Peoria when I heard the MOP gave the KJRY instructions into the East Peoria Yard. The traffic lights at the Cedar Street-MacArthur Highway and SW Washington Street are always inconvenienty long-winded as well. I pulled onto Sanger Street just as the dngineer was blowing for the crossing. I guess a going away shot out my car window was better than nothing...   I left the downtown library too late to capture the return leg out of East Peoria. It cleared the Tazewell & Peoria RR at Iowa Junction about 1745 hours. It was dark anyway. Train will probably run west from Mapleton Friday morning, sometime after 0900.  CAPTION: The Keokuk Junction Railway's East Peoria Turn rounds the curve at Sanger Street in Peoria, Illinois shortly before crossing the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge mid-afternoon Thursday, February 19, 2026. LTEX 6437, LTEX 3010, LNW 3807 and LTEX 3836 have 31 cars.  ...

I guess I'm assuming that these feed trains CN has resumed delivering to BNSF via Peoria are the Summerfield, Texas trains. Distributed power is new to this operation. The one I saw February 8 had but two locomotives on the point and no DPU. In the past, these trains usually rated three locomotives on the point.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway gluten feed train G-PEISMR (Grain, Peoria IL to Summerfield TX) rolls by W. Farmington Road shortly after leaving Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Wednesday, February 18, 2026. BNSF 5253 and BNSF 7382 have 100 cars. BNSF 9275 is DPU.   I finished shooting the BNSF feed train at W. Farmington Road, returned to my car and in just a few minutes, this loaded Union Pacific coal train rolled by. I had to go to Cilco Lane at Sommer to get ahead of it. Lighting by this time wasn't so good, but this is only the second UP train I've seen this year.    CAPTION: A loaded, Powerton-bound, Union Pacific coal train rolls by Cilco Lane at Sommer,...

With such a huge consist, there was a good chance this train was going to stall. Fortunately, it did not. 😀 CAPTION: The Keokuk Junction Railway local is shown crossing the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge into Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Monday, February 16, 2026. Shortly, it rolls by Krause Avenue and Darst Street. LTEX 3836, LTEX 3010 and LTEX 6437 have just two cars, both empty. (Train will grab UP interchange at Collier Yard in Bartonville before tying up at Mapleton.) Monday's M-PEIGAL was unusually lengthy but it had no loaded OZIX 2-bay covered hoppers as I had hoped. (I'm leaning toward the idea that Ozinga Cement Co's new TZPR-served barge-rail transfer facility on BioUrja's Riverside Track, ex-Rock Island Belt Line, may be sending coal ash and/or slag to a ready mixed concrete facility via BNSF at Montgomery, Illinois. Can't confirm yet.) CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Galesburg IL) curves...