Railfanning the BNSF in Ancona, IL & Mendota, IL w/ Metrolink coaches on EB Southwest Chief 12/20/25

I started the day in Ancona, IL on the BNSF Chillicothe sub before heading to Mendota on the BNSF Mendota sub. Nothing too exciting in Ancona though I did get both UP trains. In Mendota I got three Amtraks including the Eastbound Southwest Chief that was transporting two Metrolink coaches for rebuild and the Westbound Amtrak California Zephyr with a Phase VII P42DC in the lead. A pair of freights round out the action. Enjoy and don't forget to comment and subscribe!!!
Ancona, IL BNSF Chillicothe sub
0:00 Eastbound BNSF z-train
BNSF 7883 (ES44DC)
BNSF 4229 (ES44C4)
BNSF 5063 (C44-9W)
BNSF 4994 (C44-9W)
BNSF 1095 (H1 C44-9W)
2:14 Eastbound BNSF z-train
BNSF 4264 (ES44C4)
BNSF 7438 (ES44DC)
BNSF 4202 (ES44C4)
BNSF 7675 (H2 ES44DC)
BNSF 7559 (ES44DC)
4:56 Eastbound BNSF z-train
BNSF 7036 (ES44C4)
BNSF 7067 (ES44C4)
BNSF 979 (H1 C44-9W)
BNSF 4373 (C44-9W)
BNSF 5522 (C44-9W)
7:03 Eastbound BNSF stack train
BNSF 8248 (ES44C4)
BNSF 4141 (C44-9W)
10:15 Eastbound BNSF stack train
BNSF 3265 (ES44C4)
BNSF 8513 (SD70ACe)
BNSF 7295 (ES44DC)
13:23 Westbound BNSF z-train
BNSF 8281 (ES44C4)
BNSF 6873 (ES44C4)
BNSF 7326 (ES44DC)
BNSF 6648 (ES44C4)
15:27 Westbound Union Pacific z-train (ZG4CI)
UP 8253 (ES44C4)
UP 5830 (C44ACM built as a AC44CW)
UP 6255 (ex-SP AC44CW)
UP 6311 (ex-SP AC44CW)
UP 5998 (AC44CW mid DPU)
UP 8487 (SD70ACe mid DPU)
19:02 Eastbound BNSF z-train
BNSF 6842 (ES44C4)
BNSF 8528 (SD70ACe)
CP 8951 (ES44AC)
20:53 Eastbound Union Pacific z-train (ZCIG4)
UP 7518 (ES44AC)
UP 5325 (ES44AC)
UP 6000 (C44ACM built as a AC44CW)
UP 5294 (ES44AC)
UP 8088 (ES44AH mid DPU)
Mendota, IL BNSF Mendota sub
23:24 Eastbound Amtrak Southwest Chief (note the two Metrolink cars from LA being sent for rebuild)
AMTK 136 (P42DC)
AMTK 201 (P42DC)
25:49 Westbound Amtrak California Zephyr
AMTK 138 (Phase VII P42DC)
AMTK 140 (P42DC)
26:41 Westbound Amtrak Southwest Chief
AMTK 78 (P42DC)
AMTK 154 (Phase VII P42DC)
28:46 A look around the Mendota Museum property which includes a small portion of the Illinois Central Charter line plus a closer look at BNSF 2911 (ex-SLSF GP39E built as a GP35 w/ experimental patches) and BNSF 2099 (ex-BN GP38-2)
31:27 Westbound BNSF mixed manifest
BNSF 7789 (ES44DC)
BNSF 9367 (SD70ACe DPU)
34:44 Eastbound BNSF stack train
BNSF 8074 (ES44C4)
BNSF 5620 (AC44CW)