P&E Mansfield-Bloomington

NS just filed to abandon the Peoria & Eastern line from Mansfield west to Bloomington. Are there going to be any attempts to save the line?

I'm not much of an expert, but I would doubt there will be any effort to save this segment of the P&E. There's no business left on the line, and the diamond is out at Mansfield (NS). The grain elevator at Gillum is closed, I believe. Other elevators -- Watkins, Empire, and Harris -- are either closed or have other shipping arrangements.

Norfolk Southern filed to discontinue service over this line, not abandon it. This means that its track maintenance people are no longer required to maintain signals at grade crossings or approach or stop signals at junctions. I figure the line will be rail-banked for the forseeable future.

DPJ

The track is still in, but the right of way is paved over at the crossing at Gillum. The rails are still in, however. The ROW is weedgrown.

Thanks for the info. I am new to this site but have lived in Urbana for the last two years.

This line still has its rails at Le Roy and Farmer City, but is very overgrown.

I had been curious what date it was taken out of service.