Peoria Station

I just came across a publication at my local library called Choose Greater PEORIA Illinois , produced by livability dot com. On page 23, a community profile lists "transportation assets," which include two items which caught my eye- Five Class 1 railroads for hauling cargo Six short line railroads Both are incorrect. Greater Peoria, a designation that based on the magazine's other content matches the five-county official metropolitan area, is served by four Class Is, one Regional and four shortlines.  American common-carrier railroads are designated as Class I, Class II ("Regional") and Class III ("Shortlines"). These are broken down using annual revenue by the then-Interstate Commerce Commission critieria introduced in 1992 - $504,803,294 minimum for Class Is and $40,384,263 minimum for Class IIs. Carriers with annual revenue below the Class II minimum standard are designated as Class IIIs.  The Class Is are BNSF Railway, Canadian National Railway, No...

No sooner did a get home from work that I checked railfan social media and learned that not only was Norfolk Souther local D49 still at East Peoria, but that a geometry train had turned around at East Peoria and was heading east (timetable south). I didn't know where it was when I left, so I headed to Goodfield and waited.  I didn't wait long.  CAPTION: A Norfolk Southern Geometry Train is shown late-afternoon Monday, August 7, 2023 after turning at East Peoria. NS 9755 has NS 99 ("Belford," a former DL&W car) and NS 34. The train was re-crewed at Good Yard in Normal and ran to Bement. I figured I'd have time to backtrack west for D49, so I set up at N. Main Street just outside Morton and waited, and waited and waited. As distant, faint horn blasts were heard, and eventually growling from a quartet of EMD standard cabs as it struggled to pull its 94-car train up hill, I realized the 55 grain empties brought into town for loading at ADM's Hilliards elevato...

Two hours, 24 minutes in length - It literally took all day, New Year's Eve, to merge the video files, save the video and then upload to YouTube. The audio is a little inconsistent for the first hour, and I'm sure I'll need to clarify some information in the comments, but... Peoria, Illinois and its suburbs boast nine common carrier railroads, heavy industry and an exciting variety of facilities and operations sure to please visitors. But some train operations are unpredictable, and the rail lines confusing for those unfamiliar with the territory. Hopefully, maps, scenes and narration will help you navigate this exciting and historical railroad town! Excerpts of videos already posted on my channel, mostly in 2021, are used to describe the current railscene.   - David P. Jordan