Peoria Station

This is the third Tuesday in a row that Norfolk Southern's D49 local has left East Peoria around 1600 hours. They don't seem to be coming up on Mondays anymore, and a second run is made on Thursdays or Fridays. At least the accummulation of traffic makes for nice-sized trains heading back to Good Yard in Normal.   This afternoon's train had three Caterpillar D11 tractor loads. I could only glance as they passed, but I believe the information card on the tractors said South Africa. There were more of those empty Primient (Tate & Lyle, STSX) corn syrup tank cars.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 (Normal IL to E. Peoria IL turn) departs East Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Later, it is see rolling by the TP&W crossing at Crandall Junction. NS 7021 and NS 6923 have NS 3067 (from Des Moines) and 51 cars (40 loads/11 empties). Note three Caterpillar D11 track-type tractor loads.   - David P. Jordan

As usual, I only heard the horn as these units blew across W. Jefferson Street heading out of town. Just one tank car, UTLX 671525, was left for Fort Transfer Company.  CAPTION: Saturday morning, March 8, 2025, a TP&W local crew out of East Peoria, Illinois ran down Norfolk Southern's Bloomington District to Crandall Junction and thence the Morton Industrial Spur to deliver a tank car to Fort Transfer Company. Video shows TPW 2056 and TPW 5008 returning engine lite. - David P. Jordan

The TP&W delivered two herbicide tank cars to Fort Transfer Company in Morton around 9:30pm last Monday, January 27. I heard the horn, but knew the train was leaving then. I would not have reached a crossing with a good street lamp in time anyway. I hoped to catch the TP&W pulling the empties.    And I did. Of course, I was in East Peoria when I learned that a TP&W job was at Crandall Junction heading toward Morton engine lite. I knew BNSF's M-GALPEI was in town and hoped to catch M-PEIGAL going west. But when I was in East Peoria a little after 1530 hours, M-GALPEI was already crawling the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad yard's Long Tracks. Apparently, it had to wait awhile at Darst Street before receiving permission to enter TZPR property.   I snapped a couple of images of the BNSF train from Columbia Street, but knew M-PEIGAL would not leave until after dark. Then I received a notification that the TP&W was heading to Morton. Priorities. Priorities. ...

The three-unit lashup sure made for an interesting scene when the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway delivered its first carload of liquid herbicide to Fort Transfer Company this evening. Not one six-axle unit but two!  CAPTION: The Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway made a run to Morton Wednesday evening, February 28, 2024 to deliver one herbicide load to Fort Transfer Company. MQT 3407, IMRR 2108 and TPW 3441 provided an interesting lashup for a single carload on a little-used industrial lead! Most action takes place at Crandall where the TP&W switches from Norfolk Southern's Bloomington District (used to and from East Peoria) to the Morton Industrial Spur, a remnant of Santa Fe's Pekin District.   - David P. Jordan

I learned around 1:00 this afternoon that Norfolk Southern local D49 was spotted moving west near Deer Creek, so when I left work two hours later, I immediately headed for Crandall Junction.  Sure enough, I could see the headlight in the distance when I crossed the NS on Tennessee Ave.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 rolls by Crandall Junction mid-afternoon Thursday, February 22, 2024. Running the return leg of its Normal to East Peoria turn, NS 7000 has 17 cars.   - David P. Jordan

I caught it again this afternoon. I was already aware that Norfolk Southern train D49 had permission to leave the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard at 1439 hours, so when I left work, I turned on my scanner and turned left on Main Street.  Moments later, I heard the crew tell the dispatcher they were approaching Crandall, and I could see tank cars rolling in the distance. Fortunately, I made it to the Harding Road crossing in time to capture the scene below.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 rolls across Harding Road near Crandall, Illinois on the return leg to Good Yard in Normal. NS 3362 has nine cars.   David P. Jordan

I exited I-74 this morning onto E. Washington Street to find two locomotives and a tank car had backed out of the TP&W's East Peoria Yard. It could only mean that another run to Morton was imminent! I'm glad I happened upon this movement because it marked the first time I'd seen it use six-axle power. The only other time it is known to have happened was on March 2, 2023 when MQT dropped two tank cars for Fort Transfer. I don't believe Santa Fe ever used six-axle power on its Pekin District.  CAPTION: The Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway ran "Morton Job" Sunday morning, November 19, 2023. TPW 5015 and MQT 3407 rolled down Norfolk Southern's Bloomington District to Crandall and then the Morton Industrial Spur to deliver a lone tank car to Fort Transfer Company. Scenes are at Farmdale, Crandall and Morton, with final scenes showing power leaving engine lite.  - David P. Jordan

Tuesday's Union Pacific MPECL left late and today's left early, so I missed both this week. But Norfolk Southern's D49 local made a late-East Peoria turn this afternoon, so I was able to catch its return leg at Crandall Junction about 3:30. Notably, all four scrap metal loads embedded mid-train - TFOX 1646, TFOX 1649, ITFX 212087 and TOFX 4456 - were delivered to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad by the Keokuk Junction Railway local on Wednesday. Reportedly, these cars are consigned to Steel Dynamics' Butler, Indiana steel mill.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway local D49 rolls by Crandall Junction (TP&W crossing) near Morton, Illinois mid-afternoon Friday, October 20, 2023. NS 3410 and NS 3362 have 23 cars.   David P. Jordan

I didn't go after Union Pacific's MPECL today as I had scheduled an oil change just after work. I think the train left too early anyway. Fortunately, Norfolk Southern local D49 was making its East Peoria turn later than usual, and did not depart TZPR until well after 3:00pm! I caught it rolling by the TP&W diamond at Crandall around 4:15pm.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway local D49 (Normal IL to East Peoria IL turn) is shown on its eastbound leg at Crandall Junction, just outside of Morton, Illinois late-afternoon Tuesday, September 19, 2023. NS 6975 and NS 7014 have 35 cars, including a Caterpillar D10T tractor load.     David P. Jordan

A full week after delivering to the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad, Norfolk Southern local D49 pulled the 49-car grai shuttle from East Peoria to Good Yard in Normal earlier this afternoon. The NS dropped the train on Main 2 at Wesley sometime on Thursday and then set NS 2717 and NS 9922 on the Creve Coeur Team Track. On Friday, the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad spotted these cars and ADM Grain Co. loaded them over the weekend.  Better late than never, but NS has gone way downhill from the "Pegasus Project," which when first implemented in 1994 improved turnaround time for grain loading at Central Illinois elevators when shipping to ADM and A. E. Staley processing plants in Decatur.  CAPTION: Norfolk Southern Railway train D49 bangs the TP&W diamond at Crandall, just outside Morton, Illinois mid-afternoon Thursday, July 20, 2023 on its trip to Good Yard in Normal. NS 7717 and NS 9922 have 49 cars. Train was loaded at ADM Grain Co's Hilliards (Creve Ceour) elevator. ...

  I caught Norfolk Southern Railway local D49 in both directions today. Consists have been shorter than usual as of late. The weather has been a factor, and the winter season may be as well. So it was refreshing to see 46 cars behind NS 6343 and NS 7014! I shot the train near W. Washington Street.  Train D49 dropped the inbound on A-38 and coupled to the outbound on A-27. It was in the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard barely 90 minutes. Of particular interest are the four Caterpillar tractor loads on the head end. Right behind those was GRLX 7712, a tank car loaded with liquid sodium gluconate. The TZPR delivered this car to PMP Fermentation Products last Thursday.  I shot video at N. Main Street (near Morton) and again at Crandall, which was only possible because of a red signal indication at the TP&W crossing. NS 7014 and NS 6343 had 19 cars.  - David P. Jordan

Seven years ago today, I saw a most unusual occurrence (to me at least) with  Norfolk Southern Train D49. I'm replying to the original post I made to the  group but with a link to video I shot of the action. My original comments about this from the PeoriaRails Yahoo! Group on September 15, 2010. I set out early Wednesday morning to see if I could catch Norfolk Southern's  departing D49D train. When I arrived at East Peoria about 6:45am, it had  already left the TZPR yard. So I raced east on I-74 to Bloomington-Normal. A  drive by Good Yard revealed I'd beat the train (as with earlier adventures  with the same train). Where was it? As with most of these adventures, I drove Rt. 150 expecting to  see it roll through Carlock, forcing a quick turn around and then a race  back to a good location offering time to set up my tripod/video. But no D49D  as I drove through Carlock. It hadn't been through Congervill...