Peoria Station

Canadian National's Peoria Sub was busy today. An empty grain train was delivered to Iowa Interstate, local L557 worked south as usual on Thursday, and a weed sprayer train ran north, entered the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at IC Junction in Pekin, turned at Wesley and headed back south to home rails this afternoon.  CAPTION: A Canadian National weed spray train is shown mid- to late-afternoon Thursday, April 23, 2026 rolling along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at Hilliards (Creve Coeur), Illinois. Later, it is shown on home rails at IC Junction in downtown Pekin, at 5th Street near South Pekin, and again at the intersection with Main Street in South Pekin. CN 5289, an SD40-2W, has six cars.   - David P. Jordan

I heard radio chatter about a Keokuk Junction Railway train, though I could not confirm whether it had just arrived the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard or was about to depart. I did, however, catch Canadian National Railway's L557 local leaving on the south end.    A contractor (L. B. Foster, I think) is replacing crossties on Main 2 at Hilliards, so L557 used Main 1 instead. The conductor rode the steps on the lead unit as it passed track equipment. Given the train's glacial passage, I decided on a second try just south of IC Junction in downtown Pekin.    The train did not stop in town to pick up any local cars for Amerhart or Hanna Steel, though it may have had empties to pull from Hanna Steel, which they might switch on the train's rear end.  CAPTION: Canadian National Railway train L557 (Local, E. Peoria IL to Decatur IL) rolls gingerly on Main 1 of the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's Pekin doubletrack at Hilliards (Creve Coeur), I...