Peoria Station

For an unconfirmed reason, Union Pacific re-routed train MDMNL via the Peoria Subdivision today.    This train normally runs via via Kansas City. Lots of products of ethanol plants, wet corn mills and soybean processors in north Central Iowa and the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern (RCPE) at Mankato, Minnesota. Cargill's plant at Fort Dodge, Iowa seems to be represented. Traffic from South Dakota Soybean Processors (probably the Volga, SD plant) and bentonite from Belle Fourche, SD on the RCPE are notable. The coil steel car (75th car) was loaded, though it is unclear where it orginated. There were four empty plastic pellet cars as well.  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MDMNL (Manifest, Des Moines IA to N. Little Rock AR) rolls from a crew change at Chester L Road just north of South Pekin Yard on the Peoria Subdivision late-afternoon Tuesday, July 14, 2026. The train paused for a northbound empty grain train to get clear on South Pekin Siding and then departed. UP 8720-...

Iowa Interstate ran its SIPE during daylight Saturday afternoon with a surprise - NS 5823 was leading! Normally, these units are revenue freight, handled for Norfolk Southern from Des Moines to Peoria (and vice-versa) for 92-day inspections at Decatur.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) rolls by several locations mid-afternoon Saturday, January 18, 2025. Locations are Chillicothe, Rome, Mossville and San Koty. NS 5823 and IAIS 152 have just 16 cars. I can recall only one other time that an NS geep was leading. It was NS 5177 on SIPE the afternoon of October 4, 2020. David P. Jordan

Since 2012, Iowa Interstate has, off and on, acted as haulage agent for Norfolk Southern grain trains between Des Moines and Peoria.  I don't believe they have originated any NS-bound grain trains on-line until now. This week, Landus Cooperative loaded corn at its Adair, Iowa elevator for an NS destination via Peoria. The train moved east, and finally operated to Peoria as SIPE-2 on Friday afternoon. Iowa Interstate receives a rate division on this one, with likely far more revenue than as haulage agent.  Hopefully, there will be more such trains. And that the NSPEDM and NSDMPE haulage trains will return as well. A healthy corn crop and good service is a must. Word is, Norfolk Southern had already forwarded this train out of East Peoria and through Bloomingtin by late Friday evening.  NS 4576 and NS 7584 had 83 corn loads. NS 4149 brings up the rear as DPU. In the video, today's train is first shown in The Narrows in late afternoon approaching Tazewell & Peoria Railro...

I left for church early today so I could check out if Iowa Interstate train PESI was getting close to departure. I missed SIPE's arrive with three Norfolk Southern geeps, but found IAIS power with the PESI crew aboard running through the TZPR's East Peoria Yard. They planned to pulled those three NS geeps across W. Washington Street then shove them along the Nickel Plate and leave them on the Creve Coeur Team Track. But they were instructed to wait for a TP&W local enroute back to East Peoria. I got gas up in Creve Coeur and came back to find the TP&W train running on the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Nickel Plate Division, and two IAIS and three NS geeps waiting at W. Washington Street. I parked with just a few minutes to spare before TPW 3440, HESR 3485 and TPW 5010 rolled by with 33 grain empties from ADM South Yard.  Moments after the TP&W local cleared, Iowa Interstate PESI's crew with IAIS 711 and 703 and three Norfolk Southern geeps (5317-5077-5174...

A lone Kansas City Southern unit pulling a train of 76 cars out of Peoria? Did I mention this is an Iowa Interstate train? The KCS unit, an SD70ACe, arrived East Peoria Thursday afternoon on an empty Norfolk Southern grain train. Two other units continued to Des Moines, Iowa as Iowa Interstate train NS-PEDM (Norfolk Southern haulage - Peoria IL to Des Moines IA). The KCS unit was left behind for the next PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL), which ran Saturday morning. Video shot in Rome, Illinois. - David P. Jordan