Peoria Railway Terminal

Peoria Railway Terminal

by Stephen M. Scalzo

Headline image: Elaborately lettered car 53 is stopped in front of Pekin Union Station in 1901. All photos from the Stephen M. Scalzo Collection of the Illinois Railway Museum except where noted.

As early as 1895, Theodore Miller, a prominent Peoria businessman, saw the advantages of constructing a 10-mile electric railway between Peoria and Pekin. He began acquiring the right-of-way. In June 1895, the city of Pekin granted permission for a railway to be built across a large tract of land that the city owned on the west side of the river. By August of 1897, Mr. Miller had eight miles of property in his control.

On August 26, 1897, the Peoria & Pekin Traction Company was incorporated with the intent to build an electric railway along the west side of the Illinois River for the eight-mile distance between Peoria and Pekin. Mr. Miller then conveyed the property to the new company. On September 20, grading began on the line at the north edge of Bartonville. On the same day, the village of South Peoria granted a franchise to the company to construct trackage on South Adams Street from the village limits to Krause Avenue. On October 15, the City of Peoria granted a franchise to construct trackage on Krause, Washington, and Western.

The Central Railway Company, which operated the Peoria streetcars, also wanted a franchise for a South Adams Street line in South Peoria. Public opinion on the proposed line was evenly divided between the PPT and the Central Railway. Late on the evening of October 21, the PPT sent a large track crew to South Peoria, and they laid about 1,000 feet of track past the property of those citizens in South Peoria who opposed the company. Since the PPT franchise was valid, there was nothing that could be done to force the company to remove the tracks. By the end of October, all the trackage was completed through South Peoria, but because of the lack of funds, no other work was done. On October 1, 1898, the Central Railway purchased the trackage in South Peoria for $8,500 and entered into a contract so that the PPT interurbans could use their South Adams trackage from Western Avenue in South Peoria to downtown Peoria, looping around the courthouse on Fulton, Jefferson, and Hamilton Streets.

In January of 1899, the Schultz Bridge and Iron Works of Pittsburgh was awarded the contract to construct the $125,000 Pekin bridge. By April, the financial position of the PPT improved, and on April 7 the contract was awarded for construction to begin on the line. On April 29, the company changed its name to the Peoria & Pekin Terminal Railway. Since the right-of-way had been purchased through South Peoria, which was along the west side of the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), grading started on that section on May 9. By June 1, the Illinois River bridge at Pekin and the Kickapoo Creek bridge north of Bartonville were under construction. Three steam locomotives and 100 coal cars were ordered, along with 1,300 tons of rail, and track construction began late in June.

This 1901 photo shows 0-6-0 steam engine number 1 face-to-face with interurban combine 55 at the west end of the Pekin bridge. The two boxcars, 501 and one other, are lettered Peoria & Pekin Terminal Railway and may be in MOW service.

On July 10, 1899, the J.J. McDonald Construction Company began work on the combined two-story frame station and office building, along with the powerhouse, a six-track carbarn, and a five-stall steam locomotive roundhouse, all of which were of brick construction. On August 26, tracklaying had been completed from Peoria to the powerhouse, except for the Iowa Central (later Minneapolis & St. Louis) and the CB&Q crossings at Iowa Junction in South Peoria. Grading south of Bartonville was progressing rapidly. On September 9, two steam locomotives were received, and by the end of the month trackwork was completed from Iowa Junction to Hollis, with the exception of the Kickapoo Creek bridge which was nearing completion. On October 4, construction of the Pekin station began, and by October 10 the two-mile 18-foot high grade (which had 80,000 yards of dirt in 1.75 miles designed to carry the trackage and to prevent flooding) from Hollis to the Illinois River was completed.

On October 16, the company, after arranging for trackage rights over the Peoria Terminal Railway Company, began operating steam passenger train service from the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific (CRI&P) station along the Peoria Terminal's "Belt Line" to Iowa Junction, and then over its own trackage to the Cellulose Plant in South Bartonville. That passenger service continued until the electric line was opened from downtown Peoria to South Bartonville.

The Peoria Terminal Railway Company had been incorporated on February 17, 1885, and it acquired a right-of-way for its belt line from Walnut Street to Iowa Junction along the west side of the Illinois River. Construction of the line began on September 15, 1892, and the laying of its double-track line, mostly built on trestlework as far as the Peoria & Pekin Union bridge, began on March 11, 1893 and was completed on May 27. The CRI&P leased the trackage for 999 years on November 26, 1894. In 1903 the Peoria Terminal was sold to the Rock Island & Peoria Railroad, which was immediately purchased by the CRI&P. After that, the trestlework was gradually filled in with ballast.

This American Car Company builder's photo shows combine 55 in St. Louis before it was shipped. The convertible side panels with prominent window guards are notable, as are the gigantic steam road-style headlight and pilot. This color scheme may have only been applied for the builder's photo; regardless, even very early in-service shots show these cars painted a dark color, likely Pullman green.

The installation of the overhead trolley wires on the PPT began in early November 1899, and the first eight interurbans were received on November 10. The first electric interurban operated from Iowa Junction to the uninstalled Toledo Peoria & Western Railroad (TP&W) crossing at Hollis on December 5. A group of Peoria businessmen and manufacturers were outraged at the steam railroads for obstructing the laying of crossings, and they held meetings of protest with the railroads. Evidently that helped, because on December 14 the crossings were installed at the CB&Q and the Iowa Central at Monmouth Junction, permitting interurbans to run from Peoria to Hollis. The first interurban ran from downtown Peoria to South Bartonville on December 14, and on December 20 regular service commenced from Hamilton and Jefferson Streets in Peoria to South Bartonville. It was not feasible to open the rest of the line since the Pekin bridge was not completed and there was no way to turn the interurbans any further south than at South Bartonville, where a wye track was located.

Combine 55 has coach trailer 102 in tow with the South Bartonville powerhouse in the background. The date is unknown but this could have been taken in late 1899 or early 1900.

On March 14, 1900, the first interurban ran to the west end of the Illinois River bridge from Hollis. The new bridge had been tested a few days earlier, but a small amount of work remained before it could be put into regular use. The steel bridge had four 156-foot long spans and a 380-foot swing span. The Terminal had a franchise to use Ann Eliza Street in Pekin in order to get to the station, but the Peoria & Pekin Union Railroad (P&PU) refused permission for a crossing to be installed over their track there. Thus arrangements were made with the Big Four Railroad to use their track across the P&PU, and by March 24, the Pekin loop was under construction (that loop was shortened during the summer of 1915 when Ann Eliza Street was rebuilt and paved). On April 2, the crossing at the P&PU lower line at the east end of the bridge and the overhead trolley wire were installed in preparation for commencement of service. The Pekin Union Station, a substantial brick building built by the Terminal, was to be used not only by the interurbans but steam passenger trains of the P&PU, Chicago Peoria & St. Louis, Illinois Central, and Peoria & Eastern (P&E).

At 2:00pm on April 2, 1900, two two-car interurban trains loaded with Peoria dignitaries left the Peoria courthouse for the inaugural run to Pekin. Upon arrival in Pekin, the new station was inspected, and after a group of Pekinites embarked, the interurbans departed for South Bartonville where a banquet was held at the powerhouse in honor of the opening of the line. Afterward, the South Bartonville facilities were inspected and the interurbans returned to Peoria. On April 3 at 6:14am, regular service started, but when trouble was encountered at the Pekin bridge where some pilings at the west end had settled, passengers were transferred by omnibus across the river. The problem was corrected by April 7, and on April 8 hundreds of people rode the line to mark commencement of regular service. The schedule called for 24 daily round tripos with a 15-cent one-way fare.

It's opening day in April 1900 and combine 55 leads a processing of interurban cars in Peoria on Hamilton near Adams.

The trackage was 70-pound rail laid on oak and cedar ties, ballasted with cinders and gravel. The overhead was single suspension trolley wire supported by bracketed wooden poles, with electricity supplied from the powerhouse at South Bartonville, which was located in the middle of the system. The railway had both a telephone and telegraph system for issuing train orders. Passenger traffic was drawn from Peoria (population 75,000), South Peoria (2,500), Bartonville (1,000), South Bartonville (State Insane Asylum with 4,000 inmates and 1,000 employees), Hollis (500), and Pekin (12,000). From Bartonville the trackage ran in a straight line through Collins, South Bartonville, and Bismarck to Hollis, all of which had stations. Both Peoria and Pekin were county seats, and Bismarck was the center of an important coal mining district.

It soon became apparent that the light rail on the South Adams Street trackage in Peoria was not holding up under the heavy interurbans, so on April 16 the Central Railway began relaying the trackage with heavier rail. During the reconstruction, the Terminal interurbans were terminated at South Adams and Western, and passengers had to transfer to streetcars for the trip downtown. After the reconstruction was completed, the Terminal interurbans resumed running into downtown Peoria.

On July 19, 1901, the PPT had a construction crew start removing the pavement on South Washington Street near Western Avenue so that the company's own tracks could be laid to the Peoria business district. Because the company had not obtained the proper franchise for that work, police halted all the work and an injunction was obtained to prevent any further work. It would be many years before any track construction would be done on Washington Street.

The PPT began construction of a line along the Illinois River bank in Pekin on July 31, 1901, from the bridge to the distillery. That trackage was destined to be a big money maker for the company, as the Corn Products Company later built a large sugar processing plant near the distillery which would give the Terminal two large industries to serve. That trackage was never electrified and steam locomotives did all the freight switching work.

Freight service was handled almost entirely with steam locomotives, and connections were made with 12 steam railroads. Interlocking plants were constructed at the C&NW, CB&Q, and TP&W crossings. Southwest of Iowa Junction there was a connection with both the M&StL and Rock Island Belt. Collier Yard, the largest on the system (which was not electrified), was located south of Kickapoo Creek, where most of the freight cars from Keystone Steel Company plus many coal cars were switched. About one mile south of South Bartonville was the huge American Mill (later Allied Mill), served by the Terminal and the P&PU. Then, in short succession, were the Wolschag, Walden, Scholl, Bismarck, and German coal mines. South of Hollis, the trackage had no stops or crossings until the Illinois River was crossed into Pekin.

The office building and depot at South Bartonville is prominently shown in this c1901 image. At center-left is the powerhouse, with the carbarn the light-colored building to the left and the roundhouse visible between the powerhouse and depot in the background. The carbarn still stands today, incorporated into an expansive steel and wire manufacturing facility.

The two-story frame station and general office building at South Bartonville was struck by lightning on April 6, 1902. The building was badly damaged, but most of the company records were saved. The facility was quickly repaired.

On February 25, 1903, during an early morning dense fog in the Illinois River valley, interurban 104 traveling toward Peoria and interurban 101 traveling toward Pekin collided head-on between South Bartonville and Hollis. Within a few minutes, interurban 105, also traveling toward Peoria, crashed into the rear of interurban 104. One person died and six others were seriously injured. All the involved interurbans, while severely damaged, were later rebuilt and returned to service.

Coach 105 is shown here in a builders photo taken before delivery. It appears to have been built as a trailer, but its involvement in the 1903 wreck indicates that it was motorized before very long.

During 1905, the company began negotiating for a franchise to build a double track on Washington Street from Western to Chestnut Street in Peoria. However, the financial position of the company got worse, and on October 28, 1906, the company was placed into receivership, and Mr. W.T. Irvin was appointed receiver. The CRI&P and the Chicago & Alton Railroad (C&A) both became interested in the line because of its freight business, and on November 17 they organized the Peoria Railway Company as a means of taking over the PPT. The PPT was sold under foreclosure on February 9, 1907, to Mr. J.S. Stevens, but the receiver operated the PPT until May 1, when Mr. Stevens conveyed the facilities to the Peoria Railway Terminal Company (PRT).

On May 20, 1907, because of the high fees charged by the Central Railway Company to use the Adams Street trackage, interurban service into downtown Peoria was cut back to Western and Adams Streets, and passengers were required to transfer to the Adams Street streetcars in order to complete their trip downtown. Interurbans were then turned at the wye that had been constructed at Western and Washington Streets in December 1906 for the return trip to Pekin. However, the passenger transfer situation soon became intolerable, and on November 19, through interurban service resumed over the Central Railway tracks into downtown.

A 51-55 series combine is stopped along the north side of Pekin Union Station in this view looking east.

During May 1907, a connecting track was constructed in Pekin between the C&A and the P&E so that C&A freight trains could use the PRT trackage to Peoria instead of the P&PU trackage on the east side of the Illinois River. At Iowa Junction, the C&A trains switched to the CRI&P tracks and then operated to the CRI&P yards in Peoria. C&A passenger trains continued to use the P&PU trackage into the Peoria Union Station.

After years of negotiating, the PRT finally received a franchise from the City of Peoria to build a double track on Washington Street from Western to Chestnut Street on June 15, 1909. Construction of the new trackage began in October 1909, and the Washington Street trackage was to run parallel to, but one block east of, the Adams Street trackage.

On the evening of October 25, 1909, a major disaster struck when a fire broke out at the South Bartonville carbarn. The electrician on duty was able to rescue one interurban, but when he went back into the carbarn to run out another interurban, he was trapped and burned to death. Six interurbans located in the carbarn were destroyed, as well as the shop machinery and equipment. The fire department was only able to protect the powerhouse and other buildings from burning, and the loss amounted to $35,000. New, larger interurbans had been ordered a few months previously, so the order was requested to be rushed. For a few days, two Central Railway Company 800-class streetcars were borrowed, but when it was determined that they could not maintain the schedule, Illinois Traction System (ITS) interurbans were leased until the new interurbans were received.

This striking builder's photo shows cars 81-85 at the McGuire-Cummings plant in Paris, Illinois, before delivery in 1910. The cars bore a strong resemblance to McGuire cars built not long afterward for the Fox & Illinois Union, but the railroad roofs of the PRT cars made them considerably more handsome.

During the spring of 1910, the short section of wooden trestlework at the west end of the Pekin bridge was replaced with concrete piers and steel girders. Meanwhile construction of the Washington Street trackage was progressing; in addition to the trackage, the company had to pave the entire street.

About 10 blocks on Washington Street were completed by April 3, another seven blocks were completed by June 14, and the final blocks to Chestnut Street were completed on August 25, along with the overhead construction. The new electric switcher arrived during that construction period; it was a combination snow plow, sprinkler car, and locomotive, and the employees nicknamed it "Old Si." The Washington Street trackage would use electricity to operate both the freight and passenger service. The CB&Q, which had an industrial track across Washington Street, temporarily blocked the installation of a crossing with their track. Finally, on September 14, "Old Si" operated the first trip over the new trackage pulling a C&A business car that was carrying a group of men who were inspecting factory sites along the street. On September 25, President Irwin ran the first interurban on the Washington Street trackage to Chestnut. The new interurbans, which had been placed into service on October 30, were only operated to Western Avenue because they were too wide to pass streetcars on Adams Street.

Negotiations were underway with the Peoria Railway Company (formerly Central Railway) to install a crossing at Chestnut Street, as the Terminal wanted to use the Peoria Railway trackage on Washington from Chestnut to Hamilton to reach the ITS station on Hamilton. However, when a 22.5-cent per mile charge was requested by the Peoria Railway, the Terminal refused the fee as excessive. An effort was made to build gauntlet tracks, which would have resulted in eight rails on Washington Street, but the City of Peoria objected. After the Peoria Railway obtained an injunction, the Terminal constructed a wye off Washington just south of Chestnut, and on January 1, 1911, began operating all Peoria downtown bound interurbans on Washington to Chestnut. An old interurban was temporarily used as a station, and on January 20, a small frame station was opened at Washington and Western.

Earnings of the Terminal climbed from $16,856 in 1900 to a 1923 peak of $429,141 (of which $219,925 came from freight), and ridership went from 129,347 in 1900 to 936,880 in 1914. The freight business became an important terminal switching property and the company's primary business, and the passenger service became a nuisance.

The Illinois River reached its highest crest in many years in the spring of 1922. Despite the heroic measures taken by the Terminal workmen, the river finally broke through the right-of-way grade between Hollis and Pekin on April 12. So great was the damage that regular service was not restored until May 8; damage along with lost business cost the company many thousands of dollars.

Combine 76 is at the South Bartonville carbarn, likely sometime in the 1910s. This car was unique; ordered slightly earlier than the 81-85 series, and delivered in late 1909, it was narrower and lacked the newer cars' anticlimbers.

The C&A went into receivership on August 3, 1922, which also brought receivership for the Terminal; Mr. H.I. Battles was appointed receiver. Mr. Battles was able to negotiate a trackage contract with the Illinois Power & Light Corporation (which had taken over the Peoria Railway Company), and on December 9, 1923, the interurbans began using the Washington Street trackage from Chestnut to Hamilton to reach the ITS station at 211 Hamilton Street. However, the victory was short lived.

With the rise of the automobile and the bus, and the completion of a concrete highway from Peoria through Bartonville to Pekin, the passenger business fell off drastically during 1923. The company recognized that passenger revenues would decline when the concrete road was completed, and when the interurban service became unprofitable, the company petitioned the Illinois Commerce Commission in July of 1924 to discontinue passenger service. It was stated that during 1923, the company had lost an average of $1,600 per month on its passenger service, and during the first five months of 1924 about 53,000 fewer passengers were carried than in the same period two years previous, and about 74,000 fewer than in the first five months of 1921.

This photo of car 84 at the South Bartonville barn shows it with a few minor in-service modifications. These include standard Roman lettering, built-in markers, and a steel ladder blocking part of the baggage door.

In the last few months of electric passenger operations, the interurbans from Pekin came up Washington Street in Peoria to Main Street, where they turned onto Main Street and then backed onto Washington Street and Hamilton Street to the ITS station. Leaving the station, the interurbans were on the left hand track, which was used to just below Main Street, where the interurbans used a crossover to the right hand track.

Authority to abandon the passenger interurban service and the electric freight service along Washington Street was given on August 4, and the last interurban operated at midnight on August 31, 1924, from downtown Peoria to Pekin. Most of the electrification was immediately dismantled and the interurbans scrapped.

A rare in-service photo of a PRT car in the system's later years has combine 81 passing the ITS freight house on Washington Street in central Peoria in 1924.

From Washington and Western Streets in Peoria to Pekin, the PRT continued their freight service with steam locomotives. Freight trains left the PRT trackage at Iowa Junction, and then operated over the CRI&P belt line to their yards. The numerous industries along Washington Street became concerned about receiving rail service, so arrangements were made with the ITS to temporarily serve them with their electric locomotives. The Terminal trackage had deteriorated badly, and the ITS wanted to replace the trackage with a single rebuilt track, but the City of Peoria refused. After the ITS's one-year contract expired, CB&Q steam engines operated on Washington Street for a few months until the CB&Q's industrial trackage located in an alley between Washington and Adams could be connected with the involved industries on the west side of Washington. Industries on the east side of Washington were served by the construction of an industry track from the CB&Q's nearby freight yards. The Terminal trackage on Washington Street was then deeded to the City of Peoria, and a few years later the tracks were removed when the street was repaved with concrete.

The PRT was sold at foreclosure sale on January 6, 1926, to a group which incorporated the Peoria Terminal Company (PT) on January 18. The company was formally conveyed on May 1, 1927, the Peoria Terminal Company; the CRI&P owned all of the capital stock of the PT.

The PT continued to operate a miner's train for several years. On the bitterly cold morning of February 20, 1929, that train was derailed by a broken rail at Tuscarora. While the steam engine did not derail, the coaches rolled down the embankment and caught fire from the coal stoves used to heat the cars. The engineer ran to Hollis to summon help. The miners used the big wooden buckets that carried drinking water to keep the fire under control until the fire department arrived, and that action probably saved many lives. However, six miners were killed, 30 were badly injured, and many others suffered minor injuries.

The PT leased the Peoria Hanna City & Western Railroad on January 1, 1931. That company was incorporated on April 30, 1918, and in April 1919 placed into service the first 3.9 miles of trackage from Hollis westward. In 1920-1921 another 1.25 miles of trackage was constructed to serve a new mine. After leaving Hollis, the line ran southwest along the west side of the TP&W for about a mile before turning westward along LaMarch Creek, which was followed to the two large coal mines. On November 30, the PT purchased the line outright. When the coal was mined out, the trackage was abandoned on December 31, 1951, as the line was built solely for serving the mines.

The PT used its own steam locomotives to haul freight until the early 1930s, at which time CRI&P steam power started replacing it. In 1937, the first diesel locomotive arrived and they gradually replaced all steam power. Freight traffic would leave the CRI&P yards and proceed down the belt line along the Illinois River to Iowa Junction, and then on the PT trackage to Pekin.

Car 82, at least, survived for some time after the wires came down. It's shown here in the CRI&P yard in Peoria on February 20, 1932, in an R.V. Mehlenbeck photo. Its purpose at the time is uncertain.

In 1973, an Illinois River barge struck the draw span of the Pekin bridge, knocking it partly into the river. As a result, PT trains began operating to Pekin using the P&PU trackage on the east side of the Illinois River to Ann Eliza Street in Pekin on September 25, where the PT trackage was connected. The trackage through Bartonville and Hollis was retained because several industries were served and because the TP&W had trackage rights over that section. The Pekin bridge remained unusable for several years before it was dismantled and scrapped.

With the collapse and closure of the CRI&P in 1980, the PT also was closed down. Since the TP&W still had trackage rights, they handled all the industries in Bartonville, while the P&PU took over the industries in Pekin. When the trackage was auctioned off in 1982, the C&NW outbid the TP&W for the tracks on the west side of the Illinois River, and on the completion of the sale on November 10, 1982, the PT ceased to exist.

This article was edited and laid out by Frank Hicks. Thanks to Ray and Julie Piesciuk and to Richard Schauer for making available the materials from the Stephen Scalzo Collection that were used to publish this history.

Equipment Roster

Electric Cars

51-55 (five cars) - SE RR combine - American, 1899 (order #295) - 43'6" long, 8'" wide, 44 seats, 4 x GE 1000 motors, K-12 control, McGuire trucks - 53 wrecked at C&NW crossing in 1907 and rebuilt - 52 and 54 destroyed by fire in 1909, 53 and 55 scrapped in 1910

101-105 (five cars) - DE RR coach - America, 1899 (order #296) - 43'6" long, 8'6" wide, 48 seats - some, possibly all, cars motorized soon after delivery - 101, 104, and 105 wrecked north of Hollis in 1903 and rebuilt - 101, 102, 104, and 105 destroyed by fire in 1909, 103 rebuilt as a line car

76 (one car) - DE RR combine - McGuire-Cummings, 1909 - 56'4" long, 8'11" wide, 4 motors, WH HL control, McGuire MCB trucks

81-85 (five cars) - DE RR combine - McGuire-Cummings, 1910 - 56' long, 9'11" wide, 4 x WH 304A motors, WH HL control, McGuire MCB trucks

S-1 (one car) - DE AR sprinkler/plow - McGuire-Cummings, 1910 - 34'9" long, 8'2" wide, 4 x WH 303 motors, WH HL control, McGuire trucks

Steam Locomotives

1 - 0-6-0 switcher - Rogers, 1899 (builder #5420)

2 - 0-6-0 switcher - Rogers, 1899 (builder #5421)

3 - 0-6-0 switcher - Rogers, 1899 (builder #5446)

10 - 2-6-0 Mogul - Baldwin, 1911 (builder #36101)

11 - 2-6-0 Mogul - Baldwin, 1911 (builder #36102)

20 - 2-8-0 Consolidation - Alco-Brooks, 1903 (builder #28119) - acquired 1926, ex-CRI&P 1690 - 490

79 - 2-8-0 Consolidation - Dickson, 1884 (builder #461) - acquired 1908, ex-DL&W 91 - 724

101 - 0-6-0 switcher - Alco-Brooks, 1923 (builder #64691) - ex-PHC&W 101, exx-C&NW

510 - SW diesel switcher - EMC, 1937 - rebuilt 1959 to 910

Combine 83 is shown in a broadside builder's photo at McGuire-Cummings in 1910. These cars appear to have been built with poles at both ends, but photos suggest the front poles were removed quickly.

Route Map

Click here for a route map of the Peoria Railway Terminal

This 1902 Sanborn fire insurance map shows the layout of the South Bartonville complex (though there are a couple of sidings and tracks that have been omitted). The brick carbarn, on the left, still stands today. The brick powerhouse at left center, brick roundhouse at top right, and frame office and depot at center bottom were all gone by World War II, mostly swallowed up by an expansion of the Keystone Steel and Wire plant.

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