Peoria Station

After work this afternoon, I noticed CN's local power on the Creve Coeur Team Track with no sign of a crew on duty. When I checked again about two hours later, the units were gone. I soon realized the train had departed and was already on home rails in Pekin. I arrived to find they had just pulled an empty centerbeam flat car from Amerhart Ltd. and shoved it into the other 27 cars. The conductor was still on the ground, but it looked they were getting close to moving again.    I decided to wait at 5th Street near South Pekin, but forgot to change my camera setting from auto to 4k. I got video but only 1080p, and that annoying speck that appeared in my lens about a month ago. I've been using the 4k setting, which is zoomed in slightly, eliminating the speck.    So I decided to chase L557 a little further. I did not intend to go all the way to Mount Pulaski, but finding decent locations without shadows was getting difficult. The one I found near Mount Pulaski was g...

While coming home after bagging three NS manifests and a westbound Roadrailer east of Decatur, I was able to chase Canadian National's L556 local to Mount Pulaski. I figure this train will tie up there tonight and through Memorial Day.  CAPTION: Canadian National Railway train L556 (Local, Decatur IL to E. Peoria IL) is shown at Decatur, Bearsdale, Warrensburg, Latham and near Mount Pulaski on the Peoria Subdivision late-afternoon and early-evening Saturday, May 25, 2024. CN 8963 and CN 8862 have 24 cars. The first eight are for Gilman Sub customers, and will be set out at Mount Pulaski. The other 16 are for the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad. But CN doesn't interchange with that carrier Friday through the weekend, so the rest of the train may also tie up there until after the holiday.   - David P. Jordan 

I left work two hours early this afternoon so I could visit the Illinois State Library in Springfield. It seems to be the last one which possesses a copy of both the 1985 and 1987 Illinois Rail Plan Updates.  I left around 4:00 and followed CN's Gilman Sub to Mount Pulaski. I knew northbound local L556 often can be seen here in late-afternoon, so I decided it was worth a shot.  When I arrived town, there was no sign of the train having been there (a few cars for Gilman Sub customers were parked near the Rt. 54 overpass, but I figured I was early anyway.  I went to Casey's gas station for a little bit and then headed south of Rt. 121. The train appeared before I even reached Latham... CAPTION: A northbound Canadian National Railway train out of Decatur, Illinois rolls northbound near Mount Pulaski, Rt. 121 near Lincoln, Delavan and 5th Street near South Pekin late-afternoon Wednesday, April 24, 2024. CN 8009 and KCS 4185 have 100 gluten feed loads for BNSF via the Tazewel...