Peoria Station

I was off work Friday, mainly to block Saturday, on which I planned to leave for the Lexington Group meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Turns out, I did not need it after all, but glad I took it anyway. It was quite productive... CAPTION: Iowa Interstate ZENO-E (Zen-Noh Grain, Eastbound) is shown entering the Peoria Subdivision at Bureau Junction, Illinois late-morning Friday, October 16, 2026. Later scenes are at Putnam, Henry, Sparland, Chillicothe and Rome. IAIS 707 and IAIS 700 have 92 grain empties for interchange to Canadian National on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin double track at Hilliards. In early evening, a new crew has manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) just coming off the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge at Peoria, Illinois. IAIS 707 and IAIS 700 have NS 5193 and 70 cars. I ended my chase of Iowa Interstate's ZENO-E after Rome, realizing that Union Pacific's MPECL would probably leave Adams Street Yard around noon....

D47 is probably a regular assignment now, as some of us have caught it a few times during the past week. The Good Yard-based local, D49, was moved to an early evening (1800) call time in late-August, so it seemed inevitable that with Rivian's R2 production set to increase substantially, a daytime job would be needed to handle other work such as the Tazewell & Peoria RR interchange.  Given its appearances at East Peoria in the afternoon and early evening hours, D47's call time is obviously somewhat later than 0600 hours, and is probably no earlier than 0800. This evening's train would not have returned to Good Yard until about 2000 hours. There is a possibility, however, that the train has no regular call time, and works only after D32 arrives Good Yard from Decatur, which can vary a lot.  Whatever D47's arrangement, its afternoon appears enable me to see both arrival and departure on some days. Early darkness won't be a problem either, given the bright street li...

I happened to catch M-GALPEI having just entered Tazewell & Peoria property at Darst Street, so I headed to the riverfront for the only really good lighting left. Then I went to the library intending to catch M-PEIGAL later. What I did not count on was that M-PEIGAL left earlier than I figured it would, and that Norfolk Southern train D47 was cleared to run from Farmdale to P&PU Junction and into the East Peoria Yard at the same time. Fortunately, I got both! CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-GALPEI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL) rolls across the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Illinois River Bridge at Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Friday, October 9, 2026. BNSF 7429 and BNSF 1109 have 20 cars. In early evening, counterpart M-PEIGAL rolls by Kramm Road, a few miles west of Edwards, Illinois. I heard some radio chatter from the MOP giving instructions into the yard as well as where the outbound was, but didn't pickup the train symbol or control points. So I checked t...

I went to the Farmdale area almost immediately after work and encountered Norfolk Southern D47 on its trip back to Good Yard at Normal.  When D49 moved from a morning to an evening call time on August 24, it seemed likely that a daylight job would be put on soon to support increased Rivian output.  Hopefully, D47 is actually a regular job now, and an East Peoria turn is one of its regular duties. (This seems likely; a commenter on the video wrote that he saw it yesterday behind the Dollar Tree in East Peoria.) CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Train D47 (Normal IL to E. Peoria IL) rolls through the Farmdale area of East Peoria, Illinois on its return leg to Good Yard in Normal, mid-afternoon Thursday, October 8, 2026. NS 7011 and NS 7034 have 60 cars. - David P. Jordan

Late this afternoon, I shot this image of the new control tower now under construction at General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport. View looks east-southeast from the passenger terminal parking lot.  This structure is located east of the existing tower, and is actually closer to the Byerly Aviation business aviation terminal (out of view at left). Construction is expected to be completed in 2027. By then, the old tower, will have been in operation for 68 years! - David P. Jordan

Early Sunday afternoon, I learned that the TP&W was handling a grain extra out of Chenoa for Union Pacific at Peoria. This was the second train in as many days, one had been pulled from Grainland Farmers' Cruger elevator on Saturday. I did not see it, but understand it was also delivered to Union Pacific at Adams Street Yard. Apparently, the two carriers have decided to shift their interchange point for grain trains from Crescent/Powerton near Pekin or the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's double track mainline to Adams Street Yard/Low Line in Peoria. Saturday's Cruger train is reportedly bound for Mexico via Eagle Pass, Texas, and Sunday's Chenoa train is probably going to Mexico as well.  CAPTION: The Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway ran this grain extra from Prairie Central Coop's Greenfield (Chenoa), Illinois rail loop Sunday afternoon, October 4, 2026. UP 5731, UP 8785 and UP 5640 were on the point of 115 loads. Train is shown at Cruger, Washington, Ea...

I went looking for a loaded TP&W-UP grain extra coming out of Cruger this afternoon, but never found it, but I did notice the green signal indication at W. Farmington Road before 5:00pm. About 30 minutes or so later, this comes by...   (Loads tend to run via St. Louis.) CAPTION: Union Pacific train SPESJ (Special, Peoria IL to South Junction CO) rolls by W. Farmington Road after departing Crescent, Illinois late-afternoon Saturday, October 3, 2026. UP 9799 and UP 6552 have 72 empty wind turbine flats. Empties came from Havana via the Illinois & Midland Railroad. - David P. Jordan

When I left work at 3:00pm Tuesday afternoon, I learned that Union Pacific's MPECL had left Adams Street Yard later than usual, and was reported at Harmon Highway (Rt. 116) on Peoria's southwest side about 30 minutes earlier. I debated whether to try and catch it. I had left my camera in the car just in case.   Given the time it would take to get to the Union Pacific's Peoria Sub due to traffic and construction, I told myself "no" and went home. Minutes later, I learned the train had paused at W. Farmington Road due to an issue with the twelfth car dropping its air and went for it... CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) is shown south and again north of Camp Grove, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, September 29, 2026. NS 7613, UP 5726 and UP 2742 have 88 cars. Slower-than-usual speed may be due to a rough-riding gondola in the block of 35 maintenance-of-way cars on the rear. - David P. Jordan

Cool temperatures, overcast, stay home after work weather...until I learned of an interesting Iowa Interstate movement.    I caught SIPE just south of Mossville, and shot video at San Koty then again as it entered the North Limit Yard. The train stopped briefly for the conductor to detrain. When I left it around 1830 hours, the train was preparing to shove into the North Limit Yard. When finished, both units would run engine lite through Peoria and across the river to fetch a LOADED grain train received Canadian National.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) rolls by San Koty, Illinois early evening Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Later, the train enters the North Limit Yard and Tazewell & Peoria Railroad property. IAIS 151 and IAIS 511 have 44 cars. I decided to go back into Peoria to see if I could capture IAIS units pull that loaded grain train from CN through one of the brightly-lit street crossings in downtown Peoria. B...

The first 60 cars (22 loaded Incobrasa, 38 plastic empties) were probably from the Illinois & Midland RR, and the two IMRR geeps were probably on the transfer run from Powerton! CAPTION: An eastbound Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway M-Train, sometimes called M-EPEF (Manifest, E. Peoria IL to Effner IL), rolls by W. Bittersweet Road in Farmdale, Illinois shortly after leaving the East Peoria Yard early-evening Friday, September 18, 2026. TPW 3481, IMRR 2108 and IMRR 2084 have 77 cars. - David P. Jordan

Co-habitating before they can even set a wedding date! NS 7614 leads UP 5726 and 35 cars for Peoria late Tuesday afternoon on MCLPE. This train seems to have been running earlier for the past month. Used to be called late-evening at Clinton, Iowa on Sundays and Wednesdays, and arrive Peoria sometime before the LDP01 job went on duty at 0800. Seeing these trains in the afternoon and evening on Sundays and Wednesdays indicates a much earlier call time, likely late-morning.  CAPTION: Union Pacific MCLPE (Manifest, Clinton IA to Peoria IL) rolls by Milepost 80, the old Molitor Junction, in Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Wednesday, September 16, 2026. NS 7613 and UP 5726 have 35 cars for Adams Street Yard where the train will be shortly The old Milwaukee Road bicentennial unit is cool. Even better, it visited Peoria! I was asleep when it arrived the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard, probably early this morning, on Norfolk Southern's now-nocturnal D49 local. But go...

A late departure enabled me to capture MPECL after work Tuesday, just like the good old days before November 2024... This train had 28 empty covered hoppers on the head end that are of the type used for trona shipments to NRG Energy's Powerton Station.  Behind these were six loaded corn syrup tank cars, and nine more further back. These are almost certainly from the Keokuk Junction Railway-served Roquette America's Keokuk, Iowa wet corn refinery. If so, routing is KJRY-UP.  I don't think I've seen that many loaded corn syrup tank cars on MPECL since winter 2022 when Roquette shifted business temporarily to KJRY-UP when BNSF was threatened with a labor strike.  CAPTION: Union Pacific MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls by W. Farmington Road shortly after leaving Adams Street Yard in Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Later, the train crests Pioneer Hill on Peoria's northwest side. UP 5726 has 71 cars. - David P. Jordan

Since the local media won't provide updates... If I read this correctly, almost all of Viridis Chemical LLC's assets were sold to BioUrja Capital LLC with the transaction planned to take place by July 1, 2026. This news item is dated May 8 , and appears to be the most recent update in Viridis' bankruptcy.  So it appears that BioUrja Renewables LLC, on whose property Viridis leased to build an acetic acid plant in 2025, has taken possession. Whether they intend to dismantle it and sell the equipment (including the Praj dehydration unit still at the Port of Houston) or finish construction and operate it is unknown at this time. As of today (September 14, 2026), the plant remains intact.     If the plant had started operations as intended by late-2025 or early-2026, it is likely that a rail siding from the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad would have been installed for loading tank cars.  - David P. Jordan

List, It is always good to see one of the local G&W shortlines working. This job crossed the river with empty tank cars for BioUrja and BNSF's M-GALPEI waited its turn to cross the river.  CAPTION: The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's "Industry 4" crosses the Illinois River into Peoria, Illinois late-afternoon Wednesday, September 9, 2026. TPW 2105 has ten cars for the West Yard. I was surprised to see BNSF run an M-GALPEI on Wednesday when it ran (and flipped back as M-PEIGAL) on Tuesday. Tuesday's train would have run Monday if not for the Labor Day holiday. I'm not complaining though. Maintaining frequency is a good thing...  CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-GALPEI (Manifest, Galesburg IL to Peoria IL) rolls by Pottstown, Illinois late-afternoon Wednesday, September 9, 2026. Later, the train is shown on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad near Bridge Junction enroute to East Peoria. BNSF 7825 and BNSF 6871 have 22 cars. I learned that an empty Union Pacifi...

I noticed the yellow signal indication for Main 1 at Wesley, so I lingered betweent her and Hilliards. The train finally came. The short consist reflects the recent holiday.  CAPTION: The Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin Local (possibly Industry 3) rolls by Hilliards (Creve Coeur), Illinois on the double track main. Shortly, it enters the East Peoria Yard area at Wesley. IMRR 43 has eight cars. I arrived too late to see M-GALPEI before crossing the river, but did notice its power heading through the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard. The train probably ran a day late due to the holiday. Perhaps M-GALPEI was a big train, otherwise four units is odd.  I tried to capture M-PEIGAL a third time, but left W. Farmington Road only to see the gates activate through my rearview mirror. I ended up catching a going away scene at Pottstown. CAPTION: BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Galesburg IL) rolls across the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's...

Despite the heat and humidity, I went out this morning after learning an an Iowa Interstate ZENO-E train was due into Peoria. At San Koty (a few miles north of Peoria), I made a right from Rt. 29 across the track and parked by the Firefighter training center with seconds to spare before I heard the horn. The train had a block of manifest cars on the head end. I can confirm that there were 23 as they were set out at the North Limit Yard, and the empty coil steel car was last. Sometime in early afternoon, the rest of the train crossed the river and left it on Main 2 at Hilliards, breaking it at the elevator access road crossing.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate train ZENO-E (Grain, Atlantic IA to Peoria IL) rolls by San Koty, Illinois a few miles from the North Limit Yard in Peoria, Illinois, where 23 manifest cars on the head end were set out. The 111 grain loads will go to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin double track main. IAIS 501 and IAIS 506 have 134 cars. In mid-afternoon,...

The story hasn't been posted online yet, but WMBD TV-31 (Peoria) ran a story on Thursday's 6:00pm broadcast on air travel during the upcoming Labor Day weekend.  Most noteworthy is that Peoria International Airport's Director of Operations, Gene Olson, told the station that passenger volume has been running five percent below last year , though he notes that these second place numbers are still pretty good. If this trend continues, then 2026 passenger traffic will probably be about 40,000 less than 2025's record 812,396, or about 772,000. I expected this because the airport has not posted anything publicly on monthly passenger numbers this year. They are quick to do that when there is a record month. If there is no record month, only the full year's stats are released by mid- to late-January in the following year. It should not be this way. Monthly passenger and cargo statistics should be released regardless, and faithfully reported by local print and television med...

After work today, I planning to check out Bartlett Grain Co's recently-completed "El Camino" (Sheffield) elevator on Union Pacific's Peoria Subdivision, but when I saw the green signal indication for a southbound at Edelstein, I decided to follow the line closely in hopes of catching a train movement.  Tall corn can obstruct trains where there are no parallel roads, so my progress was slow. On Sundays and Wednesdays, there is always a possibility that MCLPE will run early, and this Wednesday it did. Turns out, had I gone to El Camino first thing, I would have gotten both, and in better lighting. Train consist is typical. Notables are four salt boxcars for TP&W and five corn syrup loads (one as first car, used as a buffer for an empty alcohol tank car) consigned to TZPR-served PMP Fermentation. A lone empty Ozinga (OZIX) 2-bay covered hopper indicates Union Pacific is getting some outbound cement materials (slag and coal ash) business. CAPTION: Union Pacific trai...

I learned that an Iowa Interstate PESI was at East Peoria this morning, and later was able to shoot video of it at San Koty, a few miles out of the North Limit Yard. This train of 92 cars may have had only ten loads. The last six cars of the second block of covered hoppers were loaded. Two denatured alcohol (UN 1987), an iron oxide load (CIGX gondola) and a coil steel load (NS coil care car) were the others. NOTE: IAIS 152 was coupled to a PEDAV (potash empties) this morning and afternoon, but I saw no sign of a crew, probably tomorrow.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls along home rails at San Koty, Illinois late-morning Sunday, August 30, 2026. IAIS 503 has 92 cars. Incobrasa Industries' massive expansion at Gilman, and purchase of the American Milling Co. feed mill and barge dock at Crescent (Pekin) has created sufficient volume for the TP&W to run East Peoria-Powerton turns for direct interchange with the Illinois & Midl...

The TP&W ran an eastbound "M-Train" for the second late-afternoon/evening in a row today.    I don't know if it was some kind of extra movement to handle "hot" cars, but most were loads - five nitrogen fertilizer solution loads and at least one bag dust load from BNSF (via TZPR); two denatured alcohol, two beverage alcohol and one industrial alcohol load from TZPR and two salt boxcars and five phosphoric acid tank cars from Union Pacific.  CAPTION: An eastbound Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway M-Train, sometimes known as M-EPEF (Manifest, E. Peoria IL to Effner IL), rolls through El Paso, Illinois early evening Monday, August 24, 2026. This was the second such train two days in a row. IORY 5007, TPW 5015 and TPW 5009 have 26 cars. - David P. Jordan