How many of the big eastern Railroads have given up their routes into Peoria Ill over the years?
Seems like where once there were many, only a few remain
By my count, only 3 of the “big eastern Railroads” made it to Peoria, NYC, PRR and NKP. NS still has the NKP west of Gibson City, and part of the NYC line (Bloomington-Champaign). You could include TP&W and IC if you wanted, both of which are still intact.
Bloomington-Champaign hasn’t seen a through train in 20+ years. NS has Bloomington/Downs to Mansfield embargoed and STB discontinued…playing keep-away with CN-IC with it. The players still get in and out of Peoria, just remember there are fewer players after the mergers. Why have redundant lines to everywhere. Even spinning off the redundant lines to shortlines won’t save them if there is no traffic, witness the Illinois Terminal RR/ Prairie Central experiments.
The PRR was the first one that came to mind. I was reading an excellent book on the expansion and contraction of the PRR and related entities last night, and the author was talking about how the PRR (at first) envisioned the line to Peoria as a Chicago bypass, until other priorities rose to the forefront.
And, just working from (somewhat cloudy) memory, I don’t believe that the NS line is intact all the way east from Peoria, any longer…perhaps they still get there, but not via the one time east bound main… So with two down, that’s what sparked my curiousity
I had thought that B&O had at one time had a (NW-SE running) line across Illinois that was abandoned too…wasn’t sure if that was a Peoria route as well.
The old line from Pekin thru Tremont- who’s line was that?
and, There is another line that ran due south out of Pekin, toward Springfield…is that the IC line you mention?
There is also a line that runs from Morton thru Mackinaw…is that line still active?
thanks in advance
Hi - according to the SPV atlas, Pekin-Tremont is the former P&E line; while Morton-Mackinaw was it and the paralleling PRR line. Art
Thanks!! [:)]
The B&O line in question ran through Decatur and Springfield, and terminated in Beardstown, of all places. Beardstown was the westernmost point on the B&O system, slightly west of St. Louis.
Heineman tried to build a Chicago bypass by adding the TP&W to his M&StL. PRR found out and got TP&W first, forcing Heineman over to the C&NW, and saving it from being swallowed by the CMSP&P
It only goes to Gibson City, and then trackage rights on CN(IC) are used to Chicago.
B&O did have the Alton (1929-1943), which reached Peoria from the south on a line which is gone now. B&O proper connected with that line in Springfield. I would guess B&O used IT, or perhaps C&IM, to reach Peoria after 1943.
That was the NYC (P&E) line, which had trackage rights north from Pekin.
C&NW, C&IM and Alton/GM&O connected Peoria and Springfield. IC’s (now CN’s) line went through Decatur to Evansville, and for awhile, all the way to Nashville.
Both PRR and IT went between Morton and Mackinaw, both of which are gone. There is, or was, a line from Morton to the NS/NKP at Crandall, which TP&W has/had, that was Alton/GM&O
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Interesting…thanks…any idea “why beardstown?”? was this a route intended to points farther west that was just never completed?
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Heineman tried to build a Chicago bypass by adding the TP&W to his M&StL. PRR found out and got TP&W first, forcing Heineman over to the C&NW, and saving it from being swallowed by the CMSP&P
It only goes to Gibson City, and then trackage rights on CN(IC) are used to Chicago.
B&O did have the Alton (1929-1943), which reached Peoria from the south on a line which is gone now. B&O proper connected with that line in Springfield. I would guess B&O used IT, or perhaps C&IM, to reach Peoria after 1943.
That was the NYC (P&E) line, which had trackage rights north from Pekin.
C&NW, C&IM and Alton/GM&O connected Peoria and Springfield. IC’s (now CN’s) line went through Decatur to Evansville, and for awhile, all the way to Nashville.
Both PRR and IT went between Morton and Mackinaw, both of which are gone. There is, or was, a line from Morton to the NS/NKP at Crandall, which TP&W has/had, that was
The Pennsy did not actually reach Peoria but had a branch that ended at Effner, IN which was, and still is, literally a wide spot on the road at the IN-IL state line. Effner was the easten end of the TP&W and freight off the PRR branch was interchanged there to run over the TP&W to Peoria and points west. Today that former PRR trackage east of Effner to Logansport is owned by the TP&W which interchanges with the NS at Logansport. In the 50’s (and probably before and after) it was interesting to see the contrast at Effner between the well ballasted and maintained TP&W line and the weed grown Pennsy line to the east.
Mark
According to Schafer & Soloman’s Railroad Color History-Pennsylvania Railroad the PRR acquired control of the TP&W between Effner and Peoria in 1893, and only later split control with CB&Q. (fwiw)
Like so many other short line RR’s the TP&W has from time to time been wholly or partially owened by larger roads the PRR being one of them. Throughout its 150 year history it (or its predecessors) operated as an independent, stand alone, RR regardless of what bigger road(s) may have owned a controlling interest in it. At one time it was jointly owned by the CB&Q and PRR, during the latter 5 years of the 1980’s the Santa Fe owned a controlling interest which they sold to RailAmerica in 1989 or 90. The TP&W always retained its identity and was never operated as a part of any larger railroad (the 5 years of Santa Fe control being a possible exception).
To say that the Pennsy ran into Peoria is akin to saying it ran to Kansas City by virtue of its one time control of the Wabash.
Mark
Your point is a good one, Mark.
But your statement about the TP&W never having lost its identity is inaccurate. It became wholly-owned by ATSF in 1981 (Hoosierlift in Remington, Indiana, was always considered an ATSF facility, even though it was built along the TP&W), and was merged into ATSF at the end of 1983 (TPW freight cars and locomotives were relettered and renumbered to ATSF series; the TPW reporting marks disappeared completely by mid-1988). The TP&W regained its independence in 1989, at which time it got those GP20s and a few hopper cars, IIRC.
Thanks for the info Carl. I wasn’t sure about that time period and you’ll note that I said the 5 years of Santa Fe control might have been an exception to all the other years of TP&W stand alone identity.
Mark
How strange that no one has mentioned the obvious – the Rock Island line, which ran into downtown Peoria from the north, on the Peoria side of the Illinois River.
It’s not really strange Al since the original question referred to “eastern” railroads that no longer served Peoria. The RI certainly was never counted as an eastern railroad.
Mark
Yes they did, they had a line from the Terre Haute area which went through Paris and Decatur. The northern end of the line was sold to IT after the Penn Central merger.
Hi Dale,
You are absolutely right and I stand corrected. I never knew that line existed. I went back to my old OG’s and found the route from Terre Haute thru Decatur to Peoria shown as a light line on the PRR maps and a corresponding time table (176a in my 1954 OG) showing it as “Freight Only” but listing all the towns served and their mileages from Terre Haute. Thanks for calling it to my attention.
Mark
When the IT’s bridge into Peoria collapsed with a train on top of it, it then used the Pennsy bridge for Peoria access.
I stand with others in my amazement that more of an effort has not been used to rerout traffic through Peoria–or the Kankakee belt for that matter.
Gabe