PEORIA – Below is a more accurate, though admittedly not 100%, Peoria & Pekin Union Railway customer list for the year 1977:
| Allied Mills Inc. | Bartonville | Dog Food |
| Broderick & Bascom Rope Co. | Bartonville | Wire Products |
| Cargo Carriers | Bartonville | All Commodities |
| Ceco Steel Rod Corp. | Bartonville | Steel & Wire |
| Keystone Steel & Wire Co. | Bartonville | Wire & Steel |
| Luria Brothers & Company, Inc | Bartonville | Scrap Iron |
| Central Illinois Dock Co. | Creve Coeur | Fertilizer, Steel, etc. |
| Illinois Grain Company | Creve Coeur | Grain Elevator |
| Load & Unload Platform | Creve Coeur | Misc. |
| Team Track (Wesley) | Creve Coeur | Misc. |
| American Allied Rwy. Equip.(1) | East Peoria | Railway Supply |
| Builders Cash & Carry Inc. | East Peoria | Lumber |
| Caterpillar Tractor Co. | East Peoria | Tractors |
| Illini Brick & Supply Co. (1) | East Peoria | Bricks |
| Parnham Coal Co. | East Peoria | Coal |
| Superior Foundry Co. | East Peoria | Foundry |
| Tabor & Co. | East Peoria | Grain Elevator |
| Texaco (1) | East Peoria | Bulk Oil Plant |
| Agrico Chemical Co. | North Pekin | Fertilizer |
| Amoco Oil Co. (River Terminal) | North Pekin | Petroleum Products |
| Amoco Oil Co. | North Pekin | Fertilizer |
| Socony Mobile Oil Co. | North Pekin | Petroleum Products |
| Alexander Warehouse (2) | Peoria | Lumber |
| I. Bork & Sons Inc. | Peoria | Scrap Iron, Junk |
| Celotex Corp. | Peoria | Roofing Paper |
| Cohen’s Furniture | Peoria | Warehouse |
| Fredman Bros. | Peoria | Storage |
| Greater Peoria Sanitary District | Peoria | Disposal Plant |
| Great Plains Gas (2) | Peoria | L. P. Gas |
| Claus Lauterbach Lumber Co. | Peoria | Lumber |
| McKesson & Robbins Co. | Peoria | Wholesale Druggists |
| O’Neill Transfer Co. | Peoria | Transfer & Storage |
| Pabst Brewing Co. | Peoria | Malt House |
| Peoria Barge Terminal Inc. | Peoria | Warehouse |
| Peoria Union Stockyards Inc. | Peoria | Stockyards |
| Riverside Elevator Co. | Peoria | Grain Elevator |
| Smith-Scharff Paper (2) | Peoria | Paper |
| Hiram Walker & Sons Inc. | Peoria | Warehouse, Distillery |
| Wilkins Pipe & Supply Co. | Peoria | Plumbing Supplies |
| City Coal Co. | Pekin | Coal |
| CPC International | Pekin | Corn Products |
| Louis Dreyfus Corp. | Pekin | Grain Elevator |
(1) Switched under contract for Illinois Terminal Railroad Co.
(2) Switched under contract for Chicago & North Western Railway Co.
Thr P&PU served nearly 100 customers in the late 1950’s, but two decades hence, served barely a third that number. Factory closings, diversion of rail freight to motor carriers and Caterpillar’s decision to move diesel engine production, foundry operations and parts support out of East Peoria, had taken its toll.
Then, the steady decline turned convulsive. By mid-1982, 20 of those listed above had either closed, quit using rail due to changes brought about by deregulation, or were no longer served by the P&PU.
Fortunately, doomed factories found new uses (Hiram Walker & Sons sold its distillery to ADM while CPC International converted to ethanol production under the “Pekin Energy Company” name) and P&PU purchased trackage in Pekin and Peoria from bankrupt Rock Island, in the process gaining several major customers.
In the partially-deregulated 1980’s era of railroading, P&PU had to market its services to survive. In Part III, I will post a list of P&PU customers for the year 1982. As the one above, I can’t guarantee 100% accuracy, but it’s close.
- David P. Jordan
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