Peoria Station

  FIFTY-ONE carloads of Caterpillar products gathered from Aurora and East Peoria rest in the Tazewell & Peoria Railroad’s East Peoria Yard around noon, March 28, 2012. The recently-released 2012 Greater Peoria Economic Scorecard notes the area’s 2009 export demand holds a national rank of 29. This, despite the fact that the 2010 census ranks [...]

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More posts are coming, but for now…let’s have another “Ask Peoria Station.” – David P. Jordan

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Okay, it’s time to reveal the big secret. Last Saturday (March 17), while waiting at Galesburg for the expected arrival of a rare (for the past several years anyway), Decatur-bound Canadian National “haulage” (by BNSF) grain train, I decided to check out the new tracks that have been built at BNSF Railway’s Galesburg Yard during the [...]

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Politicians are clueless. Give them power and they do something without knowing anything about what they’re doing. The proposed “Third Chicago Airport” at Peotone is a perfect example. I’ve noted here before, it is again being touted for its job-creating potential and as a boost to the local economy. Problem is, once construction is complete, [...]

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I saw something very interesting at Galesburg on Saturday. I’ll write up a detailed post when I get a chance. UPDATE (22MAR12): Bear with me folks, I have no way of uploading the photos I got at Galesburg Saturday. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post something soon. – David P. Jordan

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The last few years, Springfield, Illinois has proven itself a viable market for seasonal, nonstop flights to southwest Florida (two weekly flights each to Lakeland and Punta Gorda). The bad news is that, the airline that offered those flights abruptly shut down on Monday. But on Wednesday came some good news: Vision Airlines announced that [...]

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I got a kick out of this from Phil Luciano’s latest column in the Journal Star. The industrial area, with its junk yards and abandoned rails and crumbled warehouses, might not seem like a picturesque jogging path. But I love the gritty feel of Peoria’s workaday past. And, believe it or not, in the predawn [...]

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The decade-old passenger terminal building at Bloomington-Normal’s Central Illinois Regional Airport may soon see double the number of jetways (“weather-protected boarding bridges” to the media). Currently, three CIRA gates are equipped with jetways. Under the $3 million plan, under a plan approved by the airport board Tuesday, two of these will be replaced. The other three [...]

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Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-based Direct Air, which contracts with other airlines to operate its flights, has suspended operations. The airline’s website has this notice: Direct Air finds it necessary to suspend flight operation from Tuesday, March 13, 2012 until May 15, 2012. This decision was made to address operational matters. We are currently evaluating strategic [...]

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        A 78-car eastbound local moves across the famous Farmdale Trestle in East Peoria, Illinois on November 30, 2003 The Toledo Peoria & Western has a colorful history that includes the deadly 1887 Chatsworth Wreck, several bouts with bankruptcy, labor-management strife that led to the murder of president George P. McNear in 1947 (the only U. [...]

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