For meanjarhead…
A 66-car Chicago & North Western Railway grain train led by C40-8 No. 8509 passes Molitor Jct. on February 23, 1995. Track diverging left was connection linking C&NW’s Nelson-Madison IL “Southern Illinois Line” with the ex-Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway’s Cedar Lake MN-Peoria mainline. Connection was laid in September 1964. Unfortunately, after a little more than two decades of use then a long dormancy, the switch was removed in spring 2001, and the last of M&StL’s Illinois vestiges with it in 2009-2010. The C&NW was acquired by Union Pacific on April 25, 1995 and absorbed on October 1, 1995. Old “S. I. Line,” now Union Pacific’s Peoria Subdivision, still hosts several freight trains (mostly coal) per day.
- David P. Jordan
31 responses so far ↓
1 alex // Jan 14, 2013 at 8:20 pm
I just choked on my drink
2 David P. Jordan // Jan 14, 2013 at 8:31 pm
Should I call 9-1-1?
3 Blake Dooley // Jan 14, 2013 at 8:38 pm
Thanks man, I had to explain the title to my parents since they saw it on my phone.
4 meanjarhead // Jan 14, 2013 at 8:44 pm
Those colors work so will together Thanks David!!!!
5 meanjarhead // Jan 14, 2013 at 8:44 pm
Those colors work so well together Thanks David!!!!
6 David P. Jordan // Jan 14, 2013 at 9:03 pm
Thanks man, I had to explain the title to my parents since they saw it on my phone.
The headline says safe for children
7 Jan // Jan 14, 2013 at 9:08 pm
Title made me LOL after I almost spit out some diet coke.
8 alex // Jan 14, 2013 at 10:02 pm
Where is moliter junction?
9 alex // Jan 14, 2013 at 10:11 pm
I figured it out, the old farmington line.
10 David P. Jordan // Jan 14, 2013 at 10:16 pm
Yep. Just south of the Harmon Highway bridge seen in the distance.
11 alex // Jan 14, 2013 at 11:54 pm
Do you have information on the old bartlet yard? what was its location, and size
12 David P. Jordan // Jan 15, 2013 at 7:45 am
Hi Alex,
Bartlett Yard (and the M&StL main) ran parallel to the CB&Q (now BNSF) in the area between the bridge carrying C&NW’s Southern Illinois Extension over parallel C&NW, CB&Q and M&StL lines and the S. Adams Street (Rt. 24) viaduct. The I-474 & Rt. 24 interchange would be on the south and southwest, though the yard was removed prior to construction.
13 Vonster // Jan 15, 2013 at 4:04 pm
Thanks again to Dave for all he does to make all us rail-heads smile. Your posts are often the bright spot in my day.
14 Vonster // Jan 15, 2013 at 6:06 pm
I feel lucky that i was able to witness one of the last rail movements on that alley line in south Peoria back in the 80s.
15 David P. Jordan // Jan 15, 2013 at 7:16 pm
“alley line?” You mean Burlington Northern’s Alley Track?
16 just passing through // Jan 16, 2013 at 1:57 am
“switch was removed in spring 2001, and the last of M&StL’s Illinois vestiges with it in 2009-2010″
Is that to say there is no more ex-M&StL trackage being operated in Illinois? I wouldn’t think so…
17 David P. Jordan // Jan 16, 2013 at 6:16 am
That’s right, no more M&StL trackage operated in Illinois.
18 vonster // Jan 16, 2013 at 7:05 am
Dave: On May Street – yes. They ended up switching out a car or two at the scrap place on Edmund. This was at night.
19 David P. Jordan // Jan 16, 2013 at 8:20 am
Vonster,
I saw TP&W (which served BNSF’s Peoria customers 1996-2011) service that scrap yard three times. The first time, on December 6, 1997, was at night. The second and third times, on August 7, 1998 and June 21, 2001, respectively, was before sunset. In January 2002, I photographed the last gondolas spotted for loading at A. Miller & Co. Now the line is impassable and the switch near Persimmon Street removed.
I’ve long been fascinated by this line (and Burlington Northern’s Peoria yard operations) and what customers were up there. I have the Illinois Terminal Railroad’s Directory of Shippers from 1947, copies of the pages pertaining to Peoria from the Rock Island’s April 1971 Industrial Directory and the largely innacurate/inconsistent but interesting Tri-County Regional Planning Commission’s June 1977 report on the Peoria Gateway. So I have a pretty good idea what industries were up there (and also the Commercial Street alley track that served Foster & Gallagher’s 401 Water Street warehouse).
By the time Burlington Northern abolished its Peoria switch engine in the summer of 1983, the scrap yard was probably the only remaining customer on the Alley Track, though Wahlfeld’s, which received boxcars of Andersen window frames into the late 1980s, was located on the connection from the yard.
Apparently, BN’s Peoria Local occasionally switched the Alley Track during the daytime. There’s an October 1985 daytime photo of this in TRAINS Magazine’s June 2007 issue.
20 Vonster // Jan 16, 2013 at 7:22 pm
My experience was back in like 83.
21 Vonster // Jan 16, 2013 at 7:24 pm
It was so cool to see a GP and a couple of cars negotiate those curves and switches.
22 Steve Jaeger // Jan 17, 2013 at 4:33 pm
Hi David:
If the M&SL connection brought their trains onto the CNW track, then the M&SL had to cross the CB&Q first, correct? So I am guessing there was a switch bringing the line onto the “Q”and then a second switch crossing over to CNW. Right? Maybe M&SL foresaw the eventual acquisition of their company by CNW.
23 David P. Jordan // Jan 17, 2013 at 5:10 pm
Hi Steve,
The funny thing was that C&NW and M&StL both served Peoria but had no direct, physical connection at the time of the merger. C&NW did, however, have trackage rights (via P&PU between Darst St. and Iowa Jct.) to run out onto the M&StL and serve Midland Coal’s Middle Grove mine.
The connection was built to improve unit coal train movements from the Middle Grove mine. These started in 1963, but coal loads had to be dragged into Peoria and then back out onto the C&NW mainline, an awkward arrangement for 15- to 60-car coal trains since the 1930s, but especially for 100-car unit trains.
Since the C&NW’s S. I. Line and former M&StL came so close, they made an agreement with CB&Q (probably paying for the interlocking, approach and stop signals) and put in the connection.
24 alex // Jan 17, 2013 at 5:22 pm
Seen a train hit a loaded tractor trailer in East Peoria this afternoon, After I heard about it I drove down to check it out. The train was gone but the rear of teh trailer was damaged pretty bad. There were 3 large tow trucks, and a seoncd tractor trailers. the 2nd truck was being loaded with items from the first.
This happened behind avantis on carver lane.
25 Blake Dooley // Jan 17, 2013 at 6:35 pm
What railroad was involved?
26 alex // Jan 17, 2013 at 7:43 pm
NS i would thing. it was at their crossing, but i suppose TW could have been making a Morton Run, Have exactly put the pieces together yet.
Based on the image in the link below and the position of the trucks in the parking lot off the road, I would say the truck was heading west bound.
Here are a couple articles.
1. http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/Semi-and-train-collide-in-East-Peoria-187368981.html
2. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50500311/ns/local_news-peoria_il/t/semi-train-collide-east-peoria/
27 David P. Jordan // Jan 17, 2013 at 8:03 pm
Idiot truck driver
Probably Norfolk Southern’s eastbound train D46. TP&W’s Morton Job hauls tank cars but usually not that many as shown in the photo.
Train: 1, Truck: 0
28 Bulby // Jan 18, 2013 at 3:42 pm
Now David, the truck driver was lucky; he could have being going a little slower and been severely injured or killed
29 David P. Jordan // Jan 18, 2013 at 4:02 pm
Maybe, but eastbound NS trains are only starting to build up speed when they hit Carver Lane.
30 alex // Jan 18, 2013 at 4:39 pm
Thats what I was thinking david, the trailer was still “intact” and wasnt bent out of shape as bad as I thought it would be. The trailer is completey destroyed, but not like I thought it would be
31 vonster // Jan 22, 2013 at 4:08 pm
I guess his schedule was more important than waiting 1-3 minutes for that short train to pass.
Ass.
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