Peoria Station

I took a half-day off work, and decided to check on Union Pacific's Tuesday/Friday MPECL, which has been called as early as 1100 hours lately. Sure enough, when I drove by Adams Street Yard around 1130, the crew was already on board. Minutes later, they called the dispatcher for instructions to go north.    As soon as I noticed MPECL moving, I headed toward Kickapoo Creek Road. The midday November sunlight is actually pretty terrible on north-south oriented rail lines, but Pottstown offers decent lighting due to the curve just south of the crossing.    But then I caught up to BNSF's M-PEIGAL, which was gained speed too quickly to beat to Pottstown, so I opted for Edwards. I only had a minute to spare on that one. Interestingly, 14 of 19 cars on Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Industry Job returning to East Peoria from Kickapoo Yard were on this train, including those six covered hoppers.  CAPTION : BNSF Railway train M-PEIGAL Manifest, Peoria IL to Galesburg I...

I left work early when I learned that Union Pacific was running a loaded, northbound coal train on the Peoria Sub!   And when it appeared nothing was running smoothly, I wonder if I could have seen this train anyway had a I not left work early.   The first delay was a GFL garbage truck hitting the truss bridge over Rt. 29 at Pekin. Union Pacific had to send out someone to inspect the bridge for damage. Fortunately, there was no damage to the track structure, and the train was cleared to depart South Pekin.    Next, soggy weather and wet rails are a problem for loaded, northbound coal trains, but distributed power assisted the train's attack up Pioneer Hill, preventing a stall.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train CGMBV (Coal, Gateway Mine IL to Beverly IA) rolls by W. Farmington Road mid-afternoon Friday, December 27, 2024. Later, after fighting Pioneer Hill, the train runs past Akron Services Inc. at Akron. UP 7891 and UP 6198 on the point, 134 coal loads and UP 6246...

This past summer, when I happened to catch Union Pacific's MPECL switching Akron Services twice, my camera battery was low, so shooting switching action was limited. I had to complete the action with my phone camera, which has poor quality zoom capability.   The past two weeks, UP has switched Akron Services, but the LPD01 crew performed this chore in the morning using the MPECL train and then tying up at Edelstein for the regular road crew in the afternoon.  Finally this afternoon, I was able to catch this action with my camera battery fully-charged. The only downsides were overcast and early sunsets... But I got it. A little blur here and there, but not bad.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls across W. Farmington Road near Peoria, Illinois a late afternoon Tuesday, November 21, 2023. UP 7334 and UP 8870 have 61 cars. Later, it stops to pull three empty anhydrous ammonia tank cars from Akron Services, giving it 64 cars. ...

When I drove by Adams Street Yard a little after 1530 hours this afternoon, the train was already gone. Based on the past few MPECLs, I just went up to Edelstein to see if had been left there by the LPD01 job. When I arrived a little after 1600, I saw nothing. So I backtracked to Akron and waited. Turns out, the train had departed Adams Street shortly before I arrived and was attacking Pioneer Hill as I raced up I-474 Rt. 6 and Rt. 88. I photographed three anhydrous ammonia tank cars on spot at Akron Services and then the train showed itself. The twelve zinc oxide covered hoppers (21st through 32nd cars) were on Saturday's TP&W westbound road freight.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls by Akron Services Inc, Akron, Illinois, late-afternoon Friday, November 17, 2023. UP 8934 has 47 cars. Note three anhydrous ammonia tank cars spotted for unloading in the background. David P. Jordan

I checked Adams Street Yard after work this afternoon, but the yard was empty! No MPECL! So I decided to head up to Edelstein Siding, where I found it parked near the north end. Better yet, the crew van arrived just ahead of me! It appears that the the LPD01 crew repeated its Friday routine so it could pull an empty anhydrous ammonia tank car from Akron Services.  The sun had set by the time the train departed but I think I managed some decent video with my phone camera (I forgot my regular camera).  The ammonia empty is the sixth car back in compliance with FRA regulations to have five cars separating locomotives from Toxic Inhalation Hazard (TIH) or Poisonous Inhalation Hazard (PIH) load or empties.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls out of the north end of Edelstein Siding near Speer, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday,  November 14, 2023. UP 8870 has 49 cars, including an empty anhydrous ammonia tank car (6th in consist) p...