Peoria Station

I saw a Facebook group message about this train just as I was leaving work at 5:00 this afternoon, so I decided to go for it. I caught it in Chillicothe, and was able to capture the first scene at the W. Moffitt Street crossing. I wanted another shot, so I settled on Sparland, which turned out very well! Notables include a loaded GBRX gondola (steel billets?) and three dry bulk fertilizer (urea, phosphate, etc.) loads (cars 22-24), possibly for the Growmark facility at Stuart, Iowa.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest PESI rolls by W. Moffitt in Chillicothe, Illinois late-afternoon Thursday, June 18, 2026. Shortly in early-evening, it was rolling through Sparland. IAIS 700 and IAIS 153 have NS 5281, and 43 cars. After capturing the IAIS train at Sparland, I crossed the river into Lacon and took Rt. 26 to East Peoria, hoping the CN local had not yet departed. I arrived with radio chatter indicating they were still in the TZPR yard. I sat at Wesley for a little while, but after dozin...

I learned that Iowa Interstate was running an SIPE this afternoon, so I decided to leave the downtown library and head north. I found the train at Bureau Junction slowly rounding the curve on to the Peoria Subdivision. I was able to capture numerous runbys until darkness fell. I would expect IAIS 510 to take PESI north sometime on Sunday,, perhaps by late-morning.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) is shown rolling down the Peoria Subdivision mid-afternoon to early-evening Saturday March 15, 2025. Locations are Rt. 26 at Bureau Junction, Putnam (overhead at wooden bridge, then whole south), Henry, near Sparland, W. Moffitt Street and almost "street-running" in Chillicothe, and a final runby at Rome. IAIS 510 has 88 cars with typical DDGS/mash, a couple potash and 24 soybean loads for Incobrasa Industries in Gilman, Illinois (via TP&W). Six tank cars and six gondolas, all empties, add some variety.   - David P. Jordan

Hearing an SD38-2 rattle by me is a good sound. I hope 151 and 153 continue to roam the Iowa Interstate for a long time.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest SIPE (Silvis IL to Peoria IL) is shown at six locations along the Peoria Subdivision late-afternoon and early-evening Thursday, June 27, 2024. IAIS 153 and IAIS 518 have 45 cars (42 loads/three empties). Locations are Putnam, Henry, south of Henry, Sparland, Rome and San Koty, Illinois.   - David P. Jordan

When I learned that Iowa Interstate train PESI received permission to run on the Peoria Subdivision from Peoria to Bureau Junction at 1030, nearly 25 minutes had passed. I packed up and drove north, encountering the train leaving Chillicothe. I set up at the crossing by the Marshall Wildlife Viewing Area and waited. Sure enough, the short train showed up in time. I picked this spot due to mid-day, lighting from a high sun, and think it worked pretty well.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls by the Marshall Wildlife Viewing Area near Sparland, Illinois late-morning Saturday, May 18, 2024. IAIS 511 and IAIS 502 have 27 cars.   David P. Jordan

The Iowa Interstate Railroad, for the fourth time since 2014, has provided a crew and a train to run excursions out of Chillicothe, Illinois. Ticket revenue from these trips is donated to local volunteer firefighters. As usual, the event attracted a large crowd and most if not all seats were sold out.  In September 2014 and September 2016, diesels hauled former Montreal commuter coaches between Henry and Chillicothe. In May 2019, QJ 6988 led trips out of Chillicothe with a diesel on the return leg. These trips used P70 commuter coaches build for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Diesels bracketed the cars on today's trips. CAPTION: On Saturday, June 3, 2023, the Iowa Interstate Railroad provided a crew and a train for the "Ride the Rails" passenger excursions out of Chillicothe, Illinois. Sponsored by the Fred Meister Chillicothe Community Firefighters Association, four trips operated north to near Sparland and return. Iowa Interstate GP38-2s 702 and 701 bracketed five, 72-seat...

I don't always catch these special movements, but Sunday was a little more convenient as I was already close by. A track geometry train, borrowed from Canadian National, moves along the Iowa Interstate Railroad's Peoria Subdivision Sunday afternoon, May 22, 2022. The IAIS received it from CN at Council Bluffs, Iowa and returned it (via the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad) to CN at Peoria.  IAIS 710 leads CN 4791 and two cars. Locations are Henry, Sparland, Mossville, San Koty and in between. (Locations are shown in the video.) - David P. Jordan

I got lucky.  Late Saturday morning, an Iowa Interstate crew was called to take manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) out of the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad's East Peoria Yard. I worked from 6:00 am to noon, but hoped I could catch the train's departure.  Moments later, I realized that it was mid-month, and I needed to pay some bills and do some banking. This being Saturday, the bank closes at 1:00pm so I had an hour to get home (just northwest of Peoria), crunch some numbers and transfer some dough.  I left work today at noon, and things got tight. Moments after sitting in my car and switching on my Radio Shack scanner, I heard the TZPR dispatcher give Iowa Interstate 505 permission to depart the East Lead (East Peoria) for the North Limit Yard.  I now had less than an hour to get home, gather the info I needed and make the transactions. I also needed some lunch. Somehow, I did all these things in plenty of time then headed down Rt. 6 in h...