Peoria Station

  Like two weeks ago, this one has some variety.  It is good to see the eight loaded gondolas on the rear. I lacked a vantage point to see what was in them, but reporting marks match the cars used for iron oxide shipments from TP&W-served Waelz Sustainable Products' Clymers, Indiana plant. This traffic moved on a TPW-TZPR-IAIS-CPKC routing for about a year starting in March 2025.  The four Incobrasa covered hoppers must be needed to complete a trainset? The PESI which ran two weeks ago had but five of these cars. Usually, IAIS-served elevators load 25 at a time.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate Railroad Ltd. manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls through downtown Peoria, Illinois midday Sunday, August 16, 2026. Later, it is shown on home rails at San Koty, a few miles north of Peoria. IAIS 508 has 58 cars. - David P. Jordan

I left work this afternoon knowing an Iowa Interstate was leaving town, so I decided to give chase, finally catching up to it at Sparland. I'm glad I did as I was able to document the contents of the six gondolas bringing up the rear.    I shot overhead video from the wood road bridge at Putnam. The gondolas contain iron oxide shipped from Waelz Sustainable Products' Clymers, Indiana facility. I can't think of a destination for this product on the Iowa Interstate so they are likely going to CPKC at Davenport. Thus, IAIS is acting as a bridge line between the TP&W and CPKC! CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest PESI (Peoria IL to Silvis IL) rolls between Sparland and Henry late-afternoon Friday, October 17, 2025. Later, it is shown from the wooden road bridge at Putnam. Power runbys at Rt. 26 and entering the mainline at Bureau Junction minutes later conclude the chase. IAIS 151 has 77 cars. - David P. Jordan

No sooner did I arrive East Peoria this afternoon did I hear the Iowa Interstate PESI crew asked for permission from the West Lead (East Peoria) to the North Limit Yard. Train was an unusually short six cars.   But it had a gem: two gondolas on the head end were loaded with the grayish granular stuff known as iron oxide. They were on a "Luthy Turn" from Logansport, Indiana last Wednesday.   Those gondolas are loaded at Waelz Sustainable Products (WSP) at Clymers, Indiana. New business! And since I can't think of a customer on the IAIS that would use iron oxide (except perhaps Gerdau AmeriSteel at Wilton), I suspect these cars will be going to CPKC at Davenport.  CAPTION: Iowa Interstate manifest PESI is shown running along the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad at several locations in Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Monday, April 14, 2025. IAIS 707 and IAIS 153 have six cars (four loads, two empties), including two iron oxide loads (new business!) from the TP&W. ...

I caught another TP&W westbound freight on Sunday!   Athough short, the train had an ecclectic mix of power and rolling stock...and probably new business. The two GBRX gondolas on the head end were laden with the same gray, granular commodity as the BNSF steel hopper mid-train. I can only deduct that these were from the Waelz Sustainable Products plant in Clymers, Indiana.   Since 2022, zinc oxide has been moving from WSP in RISX covered hoppers to Union Pacific at Peoria (via TZPR for awhile now). Iron oxide, another by-product of recycling EAF bag dust from steel mills, has some uses as pigments for paints, coatings and inks, as well as in iron and steel production. It can also be used by the concrete industry.    Note also that there were four RISX covered hoppers on today's train. While most of these zinc oxide loads go to UP, some of have been recently seen as routed TPW-TZPR-IMRR-Springfield-CPKC.    The DOWX tank car, containing a non-haz...

CAPTION: Toledo, Peoria & Western road freight M-EFEP (Manifest, Effner IL to E. Peoria IL) is shown at locations at or near Weston, Chenoa, Gridley, El Paso, Eureka and Washington, Illinois Saturday afternoon, November 11, 2023. The entire train is shown at each. TPW 2070, IORY 5007, TPW 5010, and IORY 5014 have 121 cars from on-line industries and CSX and CN interchanges.   A nice sunny late-morning and early-afternoon in November is a good time to get a westbound TP&W freight!  A lot of typical TP&W freight business is represented on today's train. - The first 15 cars are loaded with limestone shipped from The Rogers Group/Newton County Stone in Perkins, Indiana and consigned to East Peoria Materials, located on the east end of the TP&W yard (and to celebrate 20 years in January 2024!). - Fourteen TPW-marked cyclindrical covered hoppers might have been pulled from the Ludlow Co-Operative Elevator Company at La Hogue. (Crescent City is possible, but newer, 2...

Since yesterday's Norfolk Southern local D49 made its East Peoria turn so late, it "died" near Goodfield. I was hoping it would be late again so I could see the return leg after work. I didn't see it, and wonder if it even made the East Peoria trip today?  With no sign of D49, I crossed the river and approached Adams Street Yard just as Union Pacific's MPECL was receiving instructions from the dispatcher. At least the second locomotive was an NS unit!  CAPTION: Union Pacific train MPECL (Manifest, Peoria IL to Clinton IA) rolls by W. Farmington Road shortly after departing Peoria, Illinois mid-afternoon Tuesday, April 18, 2023. UP 5524 and NS 8063 have 36 cars.  Social media provided a heads up that this train had cleared Washington around 1725. I was at the downtown library but decided not to break my rule ("when you can see a TP&W road train, do so"). Turns out, I had plenty of time. I waited maybe 15 minutes at Bittersweet Road (last crossing eas...