TP&W M-EPEF 3-7-26

A number of TP&W manifests of late have had short consists when departing East Peoria. Days of operations still seem to vary, but short consists either mean more frequent runs or a lull in business. That lull, if a factor, is probably seasonal. 

 

I learned of the train's departure from East Peoria around midday Saturday. It was a short consist, and eleven of the cars and one locomotive (IORY 3492) were on that transfer I caught Friday afternoon. But I decided to chase starting at Washington. After that, I cured an empty stomach and caught up to the train again at Secor. I usually bid adieu at El Paso, but knew pickups were planned at both Gridley and Meadows. These may be the first times I've seen TP&W pickup eastbound soybean loads at these local elevators that are consigned to Incobrasa Industries in Gilman. 

 

I included video of the Gridley pickup. I stayed at Chenoa to watch a southbound Union Pacific intermodal train and Amtrak's San Antonio-bound Texas Eagle race through town. When the latter cleared, the TP&W freight crossed the diamond only minutes later. 

CAPTION: A Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway eastbound freight, sometimes called "M-Train" or MEPEF (Manifest, E. Peoria IL to Effner IL), rolls through Washington, Illinois early afternoon Saturday, March 7, 2026. Later, it is shown at Secor and El Paso. The train grew in length after eight cars were pulled at Gridley and a dozen more at Meadows. Final scene shows the 32-car train crossing Union Pacific's Joliet Subdivision at Chenoa in mid-afternoon. IORY 3492 and TPW 5009 left East Peoria with a dozen cars.

 

- David P. Jordan