UP Coal Loads, Monster Coal MTs, TP&W Local 3-2-25

Busy morning. 
 
I bagged three and missed one. I knew that a loaded Powerton-bound coal train was racing down the Peoria Sub, so I pulled off I-474 at Bartonville, headed down US 24 and set up at Mendenhall Road. The train showed up minutes later. 


CAPTION: Union Pacific train CNRPW (Coal, N. Rochelle Mine WY to Powerton IL) rolls by Mendenhall Road south of Bartonville, Illinois late-morning Sunday, March 2, 2025. UP 8139 and UP 6239 were on the point, with UP 6730 bringing up the rear as DPU.
 
While the UP Powerton coal train approached, I heard a locomotive horn, but in the other direction. I figured a TP&W train was running along the parallel ex-Peoria Terminal Co. line. Sure enough, shortly after the UP coal train cleared my position, a TP&W local out of Mapleton rolled by. It stopped at Collier Yard to pick up two zinc oxide empties from the Union Pacific. This gave me time to shoot video of a monster 270-car train of coal empties that Union Pacific combined in southern Illinois. I got that in between scenes of the TP&W local. From W. Farmington Road, I headed east through the city, and onto I-74 to cross the river, arriving East Peoria just in time. 


CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway local is shown entering Bartonville, Illinois on the Union Pacific's ex-Peoria Terminal Co. line late-morning Sunday, March 2, 2025. Later, it is shown in East Peoria approaching its home terminal. TZPR 2133 has 23 cars from Mapleton industries. Two zinc oxide empties from the Union Pacific were picked up at Collier Yard in Bartonville.

At 270 cars, this Union Pacific train of coal empties must be a record. Not long ago, a loaded coal and loaded coke train (from Roseport, MN) were combined at Sterling for movement south via the Peoria Sub. I could not see it, but others did. Good thing I was able to catch today's monster. 


CAPTION: Union Pacific combined two empty 135-car coal trains in southern Illinois for movement via the Peoria Subdivision back to the Powder River Basin. Train symbol was CIMNA (Coal MTs, Cook Coal Terminal IL to N. Antelope Mine WY). The 270-car monster is shown at W. Farmington Road midday Sunday, March 2, 2025. UP 7007 and UP 9571, mid-train DPUs are UP 5483, UP 2584 and UP 5466. On the rear is UP 8483. One car was loaded. 

- David P. Jordan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bartlett Grain Co. LP to Build Elevator on UP Peoria Sub!

Image
Bartlett Grain Co. LP's Bureau County facility will be similar to its Canadian Pacific Kansas City-served South Jacksonville, Illinois facility, shown May 2, 2020.  Bartlett Grain Co. LP is planning to build a $50 million grain loading facility in Bureau County, Illinois. Media reports here and here  tells us Bartlett Grain will build on 155 acres east of Rt. 40 and north of Interstate 80 between County Roads 1700 and 1745 East. The complex, complete with a rail loop capable of loading up to 120 cars, will employ 25 to 30.  Rail service will be provided by the Union Pacific on its Peoria Subdivision, which runs from Nelson south to Barr. Grain will be shipped to Mexico.  - David P. Jordan
Read more

Union Pacific's LPD01 Derails Due to Vandals 11-18-24!

Image
Union Pacific's LPD01 job leaves and departs Adams Street Yard in Peoria on July 1, 2024.   I hope the judge makes an example of these two clowns!   Union Pacific's LPD01 job was either going to or returning from Collier Yard to work the Keokuk Junction Railway and Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway interchanges. Damage to the locomotive explains why Adams Street Yard and the adjacent Low Line are still full of cars.    Peoria County Sheriff's Office Facebook Page:    Train Derailment Arrests Peoria County Incident #24-7190   (Peoria County, IL) - On Monday, November 18th, 2024, at approximately 3:00 pm, Peoria County Sheriff's Deputies were notified by the Bartonville Police Department of an incident where BPD officers had two males detained for derailing a train near the train crossing on Sanitation Rd (100 block) just outside of Bartonville. The Union Pacific Locomotive Engineer saw the males near the derailing device and called Bartonvil...
Read more

PIA - A History: Chicago & Southern Airlines Crash Oct. 21, 1971

Image
The only fatal Peoria-area plane crash involving a scheduled air carrier occurred October 21, 1971 when Chicago & Southern Airlines Flight #804 went down while attempting to land in poor weather conditions. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident report can be viewed here , but I'll summarize the crash, what led up to it and the aftermath.  ILL-FATED FLIGHT #804 Chicago & Southern Airlines began flying between Peoria and Chicago's Meigs Field on July 7, 1969. Beech 18S and DHC-6 "Twin Otter" aircraft were used for its flights, the former type at Peoria. In 1970, C&S introduced an aircraft known as the ATECO Westwind II. It was a Beech 18S with heavy modifications including a seven-foot fuselage extension, two turboprop engines and a tri-cycle landing gear. An ATECO Westwind II operated ill-fated C&S Flight #804. It departed Meigs Field at 11:20 a. m. October 21, 1971 for Peoria and Springfield with 14 passengers. Airline pres...
Read more