Eastern Railroad Discussion > McDonalds serves 24 hours a day (IAIS 516)

Yesterday afternoon, thanks to the Iowa Interstate yahoo group, I got word that the IAIS 516 was on a train that would be heading to Peoria sometime later evening. All evening I kept watch on the list to see when there would be an update, but there was nothing. So when I heard a Gevo horn blaring through downtown Peoria at 11:30pm, I had a hunch it might be the 516, so off I went. I've never attempted night photography before, so this was going to be an all around adventure. Sure enough, just as I was reaching the tracks, the 516 was rolling by with three NS units trailing pulling an empty coal train with a large block of feed hoppers up front. I attempted to grab a couple shots as it rolled by the ADM plant, but didn't have much luck. So I hopped on the interstate and headed over to North Pekin to the ADM elevator along the river where the coal trains are parked when they come in and sat and waited. 

1. While I was waiting, I played around a bit with the camera settings using ADM 8089 as the subject. 

2. After about 10 minutes, the 516 appeared. I managed to get 1 shot off as they dropped off the conductor before rolling forward to cut the coal hoppers from the feed hoppers. This was my first real look and picture of the McIowaInterstate unit. 

3. After cutting the coal hoppers, they had to go a mile or so down the line to get to the other main to back a couple miles back to the TZPR yard to drop the feed hoppers. Over near Wesley Road, they stopped for a few minutes in the open, allowing me to get a few shots. This was the best one I got. 

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4. As I was getting a final close shot, they started rolling back into the yard again, making for a pretty cool picture, in my opinion. 

5. Using my car roof as a tripod for this shot, I got a reflection of the loco off my roof just before the 516 continued into the yard. By this time, it was about 12:40, so I headed home. 

6. This morning, I got word the 516 was sitting out by Yard Limit, in North Peoria, so I ran over to grab a couple daylight shots. 

Thanks for looking!

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