Norfolk Southern D49, Iowa Interstate SIPE 9-5-24

I left work two hours early for an appointment, but had over an hour to kill, so with the knowledge that Norfolk Southern's D49 local was already on the east end of the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard around noon, I decided to check it out. 
 
I arrived East Peoria on Interstate 74, got off on East Washington Street and made a left onto East Camp. But as I approached the North Main Street crossing, preparing to turn left, there it was.
 
The Norfolk Southern local was rolling through the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Farm Creek through truss/plate girder bridge, and I had to wait what seemed like an hour (actually five minutes) to make my turn. I decided it best to backtrack on the Interstate and wait for D49 at North Main Street near Morton. 
 
My decision was a good one, as I could hear D49 attacking the hill minutes after my arrival. After it had passed, I decided to try again, managing to capture another runby at Dee-Mack Road, just west of Deer Creek. 


CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 (Normal IL to E. Peoria IL Turn) is shown at N. Main Street near Morton, Illinois on its return leg to Good Yard in Normal early afternoon Thursday, September 5, 2024. Later, it approaches Deer Creek. NS 6431 and NS 6968 have 30 cars. Note two Caterpillar tractor loads on the head end.
 
The new schedule for Iowa Interstate manifests SIPE and PESI means predictability, and after my appointment, knew it had passed Sparland around 1600 hours. So I headed west again and found it near Mossville. I turned around and set up at the Quality Metal Products entrance road in the San Koty area. 
 
The train's short consist makes me nervous that the same thing is happening as two years ago. Back then, also just after Labor Day, Iowa Interstate implemented a schedule for these trains to run three weekly cycles. In fact, I believe the schedule is the same. Anyway, ADM grain mash (DDGS) traffic collapsed shortly thereafter and the trains returned to extraboard status.
 
Hopefully, traffic will hold and actually increase with the fall grain rush. Reportedly, CHS is returning its Pekin river elevator to operation, cleaning out brush and trees from the rail sidings and dump it. I have not seen any cars there since 2016. Back then, it was common to see IAIS-marked covered hoppers there for unloading, indicating corn and/or soybeans from Central and Western Iowa origins was being transferred there to barges. 


CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) rolls by the old San Koty station area shortly before entering the North Limit Yard in Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Thursday, September 5, 2024. IAIS 507 and IAIS 715 have 29 cars for the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at East Peoria.
 
David P. Jordan

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