Peoria Station

The Iowa Interstate ran PESI too early for me to capture. It was reportedly nearing the North Limit Yard around 1400 hours. When I swung by the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Creve Coeur diesel shop, Canadian National's L557 was just getting ready to leave the Creve Coeur Team Track with CN 5726 and CN 2541, which will probably be "turned" before coupling to its train. I did not stick around as it will likely be dark before departure.    I did see a TZPR Industry Job at the West Yard as I drove the Cedar Street Bridge in Peoria. No sooner did I pull into Leland Street did the crew ask for instructions to East Peoria. The first five cars are empty corn syrup tanks from PMP Fermentation Products. Behind that is an empty sodium hydroxide solution tank car (UN 1824). The seventh car, clearly loaded based on pressed truck coil springs, doesn't look like typical cars used to handle S-45/sodium gluconate. But that may be what it contains. A Komatsu truck chassis load...

I caught the train just north of the Limit Yard but struggled to find a good location without pole shadows. By the time I set up at Chicago Street, clouds had rolled in... CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad by BioUrja Renewables LLC in Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Monday, February 24, 2025. IAIS 716 and IAIS have 45 cars. - David P. Jordan

Another Sunday, another TP&W westbound. I don't know if this is just for the winter, but I like it and hope it continues indefinitely.  CAPTION: Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway train M-EFEP (Manifest, Effner IL to E. Peoria IL) rolls by four locations - west of Secor, Illinois at Cruger, in Washington and at Ernest Street - early afternoon Sunday, February 23, 2025. RCPE 3481, IORY 3472 and CFE 3316 have 38 cars.   - David P. Jordan

I found this just minutes after it pulled up to S. Darst Street in Peoria. Shortly, the TZPR dispatcher gave the crew instructions to depart Darst Street for IC Junction at Pekin. The sun angle was poor, so I elected to try across the river at Hilliards, but that was bad too. I settled on the N. 2nd Street crossing in Pekin, but after the second pause, I moved to a location just south of IC Junction. I make limited use of my tri-pod due to frequent dissatisfaction with the results. Unfortunately, I had moments to set up on the last scene. Train took about eleven minutes to get by my position.  CAPTION: A BNSF Railway coal train is shown crossing N. 2nd Street in Pekin, Illinois early afternoon Saturday, February 22, 2025. Later, the whole train is shown rolling along Rt. 29 toward Illinois & Midland Railroad's Crescent Yard at Powerton. Bound for Kincaid Power Station, BNSF 5884, BNSF 9113 and BNSF 9073 were on the point. BNSF 9087 brought up the rear as DPU.   - Dav...

After seeing SIPE Saturday afternoon, I figured would run PESI this morning, so I managed to catch it once before the Peoria Train Fair. Looks like 35 DDGS and/or gluten feed pellet empties, and five scrap metal loads.    CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls by the E. Linnet Street crossing off Rt. 29 in Peoria Heights, Illinois late-morning Sunday, February 16, 2025. IAIS 712 and IAIS 151 have 40 cars.  A TP&W westbound was seen near Piper City late this morning, so after an hour or so at the Peoria Train Fair, I decided to head east to intercept. I found it just west of El Paso and shot video in five locations between there and Ernest Street.   Today's train has a decent mix, including 12 limestone loads on the head end. A 15-car block of corn could have been pulled from La Hogue. I noticed a few nitrogen fertilizer solution empties. This traffic, with loads originating at Wever, Iowa, may have been reduced afte...

I had to work today so I missed a meet between two Iowa Interstate trains. A northbound, PEDAV, was handled by a TZPR crew from Mosaic Crop Nutrition LLC and handed off to the Iowa Interstate crew at the North Limit Yard. A manifest, SIPE, was coming out of Silvis.  I believe they met at the siding south of Henry.    I did get SIPE. Today's train included a Norfolk Southern geep moving out of Des Moines to Decatur for its 92-day inspection. I'm surprised IAIS 712 wasn't set out at Bureau Junction. Perhaps the next PESI set it out there? It will definitely run sometime on Sunday.    Today's train had potash and mash and/or feed pellet loads and empty gondolas and tank cars. A block of covered hoppers on the head end ahead of the potash cars appeared empty.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) rolls into Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Saturday, February 15, 2025. Three scenes on Tazewell & Peoria Railroad proper...

Driving I-474 westbound this afternoon, I heard brief chatter on BNSF's Peoria Sub frequency, but could not hear any specifics. Turns out, an empty Kincaid coal train was leaving town. I caught up to it after coming off Harmon Highway onto Kickapoo Creek Road. I could not beat it to Pottstown but managed to capture it near the West Siding Switch at Edwards.  CAPTION: A BNSF Railway train of coal empties rolls westbound through Edwards, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, February 11, 2025. Train came from the Kincaid Power Plant on the Illinois & Midland RR. BNSF 8444 and BNSF 9145 have 129 cars. BNSF 6606 and BNSF 6266 bring up the rear as Distributed Power Units. - David P. Jordan

I was able to set up at W. Farmington Road just minutes before this loaded, Powerton-bound coal train rolled by.  CAPTION: A Union Pacific coal train rolls by W. Farmington Road near Peoria, Illinois late-morning Sunday, February 9, 2025. UP 5613 and UP 2610 have 135 loads for NRG Energy's Powerton Station on the Illinois & Midland RR. UP 6284 is DPU.   While lingering on the east side of the river, I heard chatter indicating a Tazewell & Peoria Railroad local was moving on the Peoria side. So I checked it out and found this empty potash train heading toward Bridge Junction. A loaded potash train arrived Friday evening, and this was probably the one sitting along Wesley Road today.  CAPTION: A Tazewell & Peoria Railroad local pulls a train of potash empties at Sanger Street in Peoria, Illinois late-morning Sunday, February 9, 2025. Train is enroute from Mosaic Crop Nutrition LLC south of Bartonville to the TZPR Pekin Main at Grove. TZPR 1352 and IMRR 43 have...

I happened to be in range of radio chatter between TZPR's St. Albans dispatcher and a train this afternoon in East Peoria but did not hear many specifics, other than loads, empties and permission to depart on Wesley 8, and cross the Nickel Plate to IC Junction (Pekin). It was either an Illinois & Midland RR train or Canadian National's L557 local.    Turns out, it was the latter, becoming my first encounter (outside the confines of the East Peoria Yard) this year! Today's train must have had some seasonal ADM traffic (gluten feed pellets?) coming off the Iowa Interstate.  CAPTION: Canadian National Railway train L557 (Local, E. Peoria IL to Decatur IL) rolls along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad double track through Hilliards (Creve Coeur), Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, February 4, 2025. CN 5795 and CN 8002 have 43 cars.   - David P. Jordan

The TP&W delivered two herbicide tank cars to Fort Transfer Company in Morton around 9:30pm last Monday, January 27. I heard the horn, but knew the train was leaving then. I would not have reached a crossing with a good street lamp in time anyway. I hoped to catch the TP&W pulling the empties.    And I did. Of course, I was in East Peoria when I learned that a TP&W job was at Crandall Junction heading toward Morton engine lite. I knew BNSF's M-GALPEI was in town and hoped to catch M-PEIGAL going west. But when I was in East Peoria a little after 1530 hours, M-GALPEI was already crawling the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad yard's Long Tracks. Apparently, it had to wait awhile at Darst Street before receiving permission to enter TZPR property.   I snapped a couple of images of the BNSF train from Columbia Street, but knew M-PEIGAL would not leave until after dark. Then I received a notification that the TP&W was heading to Morton. Priorities. Priorities. ...

I learned that Iowa Interstate brought in an SIPE in the pre-dawn hours Sunday, so the crew would not be rested to return on PESI until mid-afternoon. A pair of SD38-2s indicate SIPE may have been a heavy train, but PESI left with just eleven cars.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) is shown mid- to late-afternoon Sunday, February 2, 2025 shortly after crossing the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge. Subsequently, we see it at the West Yard, the new (1967) Rock Island depot and the North Limit Yard. The final scene at San Koty is on home rails. IAIS 153 and IAIS 150 have eleven cars. - David P. Jordan