Peoria Station

In the near future, I’m planning to post analyses of Peoria railroads’ freight trains. Real geeky stuff, but some of you will probably enjoy it. Meanwhile, feel free to ask questions here. As usual, if I don’t know the answer, I’ll find one. – David P. Jordan

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Saw on the Peoria Chronicle this summary of discussion during Tuesday night’s Peoria City Council meeting over Coney’s request for a loan: [Weaver] would also prefer to incentivize manufacturing jobs rather than retail. I read this multiple times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I think I pinched myself each of those times. Unfortunately, such efforts may be too late. Potential manufacturers [...]

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Union Pacific’s train MCLPE (Manifest, CLinton, Iowa to PEoria, Illinois) at former Molitor Jct. south of Harmon Highway near Peoria on July 17, 2011 This final installment of this year’s Peoria Area Rail Users Series features customers served by the Union Pacific. AKRON SERVICES, INC. -Address: 17705 N Elevator Rd, Edelstein, IL -Business Category: grain [...]

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Nickel Plate 765 steams across the Toledo, Peoria & Western’s famed Farmdale Trestle shortly after 7:00am on July 25, 2011. No. 765 is of the S-2 Berkshire class, but during the early 1950s older S-1 ‘s pulled freight trains on the track below, which now belongs to Norfolk Southern.  Nickel Plate 765 has left East Peoria. [...]

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At two minutes before Midnight, Nickel Plate Berkshire 765 and its train of passenger cars rolls past Peoria’s iconic River Station, operated as a railroad passenger depot by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific RR from March 31, 1900 through September 28, 1967 The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s famous former New York, Chicago & St. Louis [...]

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The 2011 PNC Air Show offered the public (other than those flying) a chance to watch Peoria’s new passenger terminal in operation. In the above photo, an Allegiant Air MD83 is on a turnaround from St. Petersburg/Clearwater while the other two - an American Connection Embraer 140 and a United Express Embraer 145 – are on turnarounds from [...]

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Nickel Plate 765 is shown backing up on a photo runby at Bureau Junction, Illinois the afternoon of July 22, 2011. Curve conceals two Amtrak locomotives, each specially painted in a “heritage scheme.” “Unofficial” word is that the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s Nickel Plate 765, extra tender and passenger cars will leave Rock Island [...]

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With the PNC Air Show coming up this weekend, I thought I’d update commercial airline service at the Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport. Although I posted May 2011 schedules to coincide with the late April opening of the new terminal building, some changes have occurred. Below are summaries by airline: ALLEGIANT AIR doubled [...]

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At the TP&W’s East Peoria Yard on July 20, 2011, NKP 765 begins its run to Rock Island, Illinois. Note Mapleton-bound “Kolbe Local” at right. This photo is actually a “video capture.” The full 4min, 44 sec video can be viewed here.  NKP 765 crawls through TZPR’s Farm Creek truss bridge at East Peoria. No. [...]

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I now have some official information confirming what I’ve known for a few days. The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s former New York, Chicago & St. Louis Berkshire steam locomotive No. 765, which last visited the Peoria area in May 1980, will pass through here on its way to Train Festival 2011 in Rock Island. [...]

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