Peoria on the Rails

The first steam locomotive imported to the United States was built in Britain and brought to America by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company in 1829. A year later, the Tom Thumb, an early American-built steam locomotive, demonstrated the potential of steam-powered rail travel. By 1840, the nation had laid more than 2,800 miles of railroad track.

During the Civil War, the strategic importance of railroads became clear, spurring federal investment in westward expansion. In 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad connected the Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail. By 1900, the nation’s rail network had grown to more than 190,000 miles.

The first railroad to service the Peoria area was the Peoria & Bureau Valley in 1854. As the city and industry grew, so did rail traffic, leading to a tangled network of tracks. In 1880, the Peoria & Pekin Union Railway formed, consolidating four of the city’s railroads, and building Union Station in 1882.

Rock Island Depot and Freight House, also known as the Peoria Train Depot, was built in 1899. The building, now the River Station, still stands across from the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

At its peak, around 1920, Peoria was a bustling Midwestern rail hub. Fifteen distinct railroads served the city, carrying more than 100 passenger trains and hundreds of freight trains daily.

Competition from buses, trucks, and automobiles contributed to the nationwide decline of rail travel and freight service. From the 1940s through the 1960s, passenger and freight rail traffic steadily declined. By 1960, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was the only railroad still providing passenger service in Peoria. The last passenger train between Peoria and Chicago ran on New Year’s Eve in 1978.

Railroads remain important to the region’s economy. Peoria continues to serve as an interchange point for coal trains and a major transfer hub where bulk commodities move between rail and barge.

Transportation Revolutions: How America Moves features a collection of train photography by the late former Peoria Mayor Richard C. “Dick” Neumiller from the Bon French Collection, as well as a detailed model train layout built for the museum by the River City Model Railroad Club.

Next time you visit, take a closer look! Can you find the Rock Island Depot? Look for the names on the trains, and see if you can spot the farm and Kerrigan’s Quarry.

Transportation Revolutions: How America Moves is sponsored by Commerce Bank, Mangold Ford, Merle and Adaline Dargel Endowment Fund for Science and Engineering, Mike Rucker Endowment Fund for Science, Union Pacific, Midwest Agricultural Museum Endowment Fund, America 250 donors, Visionary Society.