Peoria Station

After work, enroute to the downtown library, I stopped in East Peoria for gas and then drove by the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard to check if Norfolk Southern D49 was still in town. I saw nothing of it, though I spotted KJRY power preparing to couple onto an outbound train.   So I crossed the river on the Cedar Street Bridge, glanced toward my left and noticed a headlight which I quickly concluded was a BNSF train awaiting dispatcher's instructions. Sure enough, I heard the TZPR dispatcher giving M-GALPEI permission from Darst Street to "the hump." They were to drop the train on A-39 and pickup the outbound (M-PEIGAL) on A-22.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-GALPEI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL) has just entered Tazewell & Peoria Railroad property at S. Darst Street in Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Monday, January 6, 2025. BNSF 5809 and BNSF 5016 have 26 cars. - David P. Jordan

I missed M-GALPEI's arrival this morning before 10:00, but it appears to have been made up of 27 tank cars, possibly all TP&W-bound nitrogen fertilizer solution loads from Koch Nitrogen (OCI Iowa Fertilizer Co.) at Wever, Iowa. I did stick around to see M-PEIGAL though.    I don't know if this was a third cycle for the week, or if it was operated late due to New Year's Eve/New Year's Day. Normally, M-GALPEI/M-PEIGAL cycle on Mondays and Thursdays with a third cycle as needed on Saturday (usually) or Sunday.  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Galesburg IL) crosses the Illinois River mid-afternoon Saturday, January 4, 2025. Later, the whole train is shown crossing Sanger Street a short distance away. BNSF 3973 and BNSF 4085 have 25 cars. - David P. Jordan

After a wild goose chase thinking a late-MPECL might be climbing through Pottstown toward Pioneer on the double track, I learned that Iowa Interstate PESI had permission to depart East Peoria.    Typical of recent PESIs, seven scrap metal loads bring up the rear. There were also two industrial alcohol (UN 1170) loads, probably two gluten feed or meal loads, and an empty tank car with ADM markings. The rest were likely mash empties, though the Mississippi River is on its seasonal shut down (probably from Keokuk north) so gluten feed empties are possible as well.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls by Morton Street in Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Friday, January 3, 2025. Running on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Uptown Division, IAIS 707 and IAIS 153 have 68 cars.   - David P. Jordan