Peoria Station

On July 11, the Federal Aviation Administration extended its Chicago-O'Hare flight cap for another year. Central Illinois media took nearly two weeks to report the effects on United Express service to Bloomington-Normal and Champaign-Urbana.  As expected, United Express must delay service to both cities by at least another year. Before the flight cap extension, four daily roundtrips were slated to begin on October 24.  Bloomington-Normal's WGLT 89.1 FM radio reported the story here . Champaign-Urbana's WCIA Channel 3 reported the story for its viewers here .  It seems that the FAA's flight cap will prevent service from starting to either city, and there is no longer a start date. The previous delays were frustrating to CIRA, as signage, staffing and ticketing were ready for the start of service when originally set to start on May 7.  - David P. Jordan 

I had to work until 5:00pm today, but managed to catch a westbound TP&W road freight between Secor and Eureka. My first attempt failed as a cloud hid the sun for most of the train's passage. I got it again at the crossing adjacent the Evergreen FS plant. I again attempted a runby at Cruger, but the train paused here for a crew change. I had other plans, so I went home.  CAPTION: A westbound Toledo, Peoria Western Railway "M-Train" passes the Evergreen FS fertilizer facility east of Eureka, Illinois late-afternoon Wednesday, July 22, 2026. A short time later, the train pulls up to Cruger for a crew change. IORY 3492, TPW 3443, IORY 3472 and TZPR 2133 have 95 cars . As usual, I checked an earlier video and can match eleven cars to a Hoosierlift-Luthy (siding east of Monticello) turn I caught Sunday on its westbound return run. (Information is not 100% certain, but very likely).  CCLX 819 (sorbitol empty from NS at Logansport, to Mapleton) AEX 8193 (DDGS from The Ander...

For those wanting to see it, the locomotive and train is viewable from the east side of Union Pacific's Bloomington Yard. It will depart at 8:15 Saturday morning for Springfield, Girard and St. Louis.  CAPTION: Union Pacific's 1.2 million pound 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" steam locomotive pulls through Uptown Station at Normal, Illinois mid-afternoon Friday, July 17, 2026. Shortly, the train shoved into the Bloomington Yard where it will remain until Saturday morning. A bonus was AgRail LLC's rare SD18M, WIRX 1229, switching the elevator on the yard's west side. Behind UP 4014 were two extra tenders (UPP 809 and UPP 814), diesels UP 1616 and UP 1776, and a dozen cars. - David P. Jordan

I learned this train was setting out cars at South Pekin (for pickup by L557 to Emden on Thursday), so I figured I had time to get it on TZPR. Turns out, I had about ten minutes to spare when I arrived Wesley. The signal indication for Main 2 was yellow so I knew a northbound was lined up from Pekin. I turned around and found it at Hilliards. Back to Wesley I went!    The first four cars, covered hoppers, were loaded. Most of the empty tank cars following had 1201 (fusel oil) placards. The last two covered hoppers were loaded as well.    Tonight's L556 was much earlier than usual. I'd guess that a yard crew or another local dragged its cars from Decatur to Mount Pulaski. The L556 crew then went on duty at the latter. I saw L556 arrive Wesley at 1800 one day several years ago. Normally, this train arrives Pekin and enters TZPR property well after dark, even on the longest days.  CAPTION: Canadian National Railway train L556 (Decatur IL to E. Peoria IL) roll...

For an unconfirmed reason, Union Pacific re-routed train MDMNL via the Peoria Subdivision today.    This train normally runs via via Kansas City. Lots of products of ethanol plants, wet corn mills and soybean processors in north Central Iowa and the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern (RCPE) at Mankato, Minnesota. Cargill's plant at Fort Dodge, Iowa seems to be represented. Traffic from South Dakota Soybean Processors (probably the Volga, SD plant) and bentonite from Belle Fourche, SD on the RCPE are notable. The coil steel car (75th car) was loaded, though it is unclear where it orginated. There were four empty plastic pellet cars as well.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MDMNL (Manifest, Des Moines IA to N. Little Rock AR) rolls from a crew change at Chester L Road just north of South Pekin Yard on the Peoria Subdivision late-afternoon Tuesday, July 14, 2026. The train paused for a northbound empty grain train to get clear on South Pekin Siding and then departed. UP 8720-...

Just before 1:00 this afternoon, I learned that a TP&W job was leaving East Peoria for Crandall and then Morton. So I headed out to Crandall and waited. The TPW 5009 and a single tank car (which I assume was a herbicide load, though the coil springs weren't pressed as one would expect for a load) stopped, the conductor detrained.   The usual routine is to pull up to Crandall on Norfolk Southern's Bloomington District, pull past the switch, then the conductor lines it for the train and the train shoves into the siding. After that, they line the switch into the connection, pull onto the TP&W's Morton Industrial Spur, and then shove toward Morton.    Something must have been wrong with the mainline switch. The crew shoved west of it and waited for awhile. By mid-afternoon, the crew shoved the train back to Farmdale and into the East Peoria Yard.   At least I saw the train come as far as Crandall, and a rare instance of shoving back to East Peoria on the NS...