Norfolk Southern D49 7-8-25

It took long enough for Liberty Steel & Wire to begin shipping coiled wire rod by rail. Workers were recalled to both the steel and rod mills and wire mills in March. Maybe regular rod traffic will prompt NS to improve service on the Bloomington District? My last encounter with a D49 handling coiled wire rod was slightly more than a year ago, on July 1, 2024! 

 

I heard two weeks ago that Norfolk Southern did not run a D36 (Normal to Decatur) for three days in a row! Decatur's yard has been a mess for years now, and crew shortages continue. In the past, Norfolk Southern has bounced back from either a self-inflicted traffic meltdown (post Conrail split in 1999) or loss of business due to recession (2008-2009), but business seems to have stagnated and then dropped off the past six years.

 

Although D49 is carded to run Monday thru Friday, an East Peoria turn may happen at most three times a week. Unpredictable service, higher pricing, and lack of crews to run trains are major factors in loss of business. If those issues can be worked out, then perhaps the Bloomington District can prosper with predictable operations and increasing tonnage. 

 

Norfolk Southern recently extended its Short Line Improvement Project from an initial 40 partners in 2024 to all shortline connections. Genesee & Wyoming Inc's Illinois & Midland RR, Tazewell & Peoria RRand TP&W, as well as Patriot Rail's Keokuk Junction Railway, can help generate a lot more traffic. So can the Bloomer Shippers Connecting Failroad at Gibson City. So let's hope to see a turnaround in local NS business in coming months and years. 

CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 (Normal IL to E. Peoria Turn) is shown at Harding Road near Crandall, Illinois on its return leg to Good Yard in Normal, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, July 8, 2025. NS 6972 and NS 6923 have 49 cars, including 16 coiled wire rod loads from Liberty Steel & Wire Co's Bartonville plant, indicating a revival of production and markets for that venerable manufacturing complex.

  

- David P. Jordan