The Rochelle Railroad Park is a

city park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and other incorporate ...

located in

Rochelle, Illinois Rochelle is a city in Ogle and Lee counties, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,446 at the 2020 census. Rochelle is approximately west of Chicago and south of Rockford. History Originally named "Lane", the town sits at the inter ...

where

railfan A railfan, train fan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff, anorak (British English), gunzel (Australian English), trainspotter (British English) or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally in ...

s can safely view and photograph trains.

Location

The park is in the eastern quadrant of the double

diamond crossing A double junction is a railway junction where a double-track railway splits into two double track lines. Usually, one line is the main line and carries traffic through the junction at normal speed, while the other track is a branch line that car ...

between the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

(UP) and

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

(BNSF) mainlines between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and points west. The two mainlines cross on the southwest side of Rochelle. The UP (formerly

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

) Geneva Subdivision travels through the crossing from the southwest to northeast, from Chicago towards Clinton, Iowa, and

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. The UP's Global III yard is about 1 mile southwest of the diamond. The BNSF (formerly

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

and before that, the

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado ...

) Aurora Subdivision travels the northwest to southeast corners, from Aurora Illinois to Savannah, Illinois and to the twin cities of Minneapolis-St Paul. This double mainline, four-track, diamond, known as NX Crossing, is at milepost 83.7 on the BNSF, and at 75.3 on the UP.

History

Before the city of Rochelle built the park, railfans often parked just short of an interchange siding connecting the two railroads in the northern quadrant of the crossing. The interchange track connected the northern track of the eastern portion of the UP's mainline with the northern track of the western portion of the BNSF's mainline. While this parking location allowed railfans to see a great distance towards the west along UP's mainline, many vehicles were parked too close to the interchange track to be safe if a train used it. Additionally, there was no protection to keep trespassers off the tracks. The northern interchange track has since been removed although a longer interchange siding still exists on the South quadrant of the crossing.

Features

The city chose the eastern quadrant of the crossing in which to build the park. Many factors went into the selection of the eastern quadrant, but by using it, the city was able to erect an elevated viewing platform with a

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

-style roof, picnic tables, an area to build a re-creation of a

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works. Et ...

jungle, a display of strap rail track, a small preserved Whitcomb

switching locomotive A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive (Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distanc ...

(manufactured by the

Whitcomb Locomotive Works The Geo D. Whitcomb Company was founded by George Dexter Whitcomb (1834–1914), of Chicago, Illinois, who started a modest machine shop in 1878, and began the manufacture of coal mining machinery, laying the foundation for the concern that becam ...

of Rochelle), and a paved parking lot. The amenities are further enhanced with public restrooms,

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or payment is otherwise m ...

s, and a small

model railroad Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are Model building, modelled at a reduced Scale (ratio), scale. The scale models include locomotives ...

shop. Some of the more technical offerings at the park for railfans to enjoy include the following: * A live railroad scanner set to monitor both UP and BNSF operational radio frequencies (speakers in the picnic/viewing platform) or on low power FM 106.9. *

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

* Two ATCS monitors showing a live view of the UP Geneva Sub (one in museum, one by back door visible to outside) * A live internet-viewable

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in Videotelephony, video telephony, live streaming and social media, and Closed-circuit television, security. Webcams can b ...

with audio atop the viewing platform's roof operated by

Trains Magazine ''Trains'' is a monthly magazine about trains and railroads aimed at railroad enthusiasts and railroad industry employees. The magazine primarily covers railroad happenings in the United States and Canada, but has some articles on railroading e ...

EarthCam EarthCam, Inc. is a company based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, United States, that provides webcam content, technology and services. Founded in 1996, EarthCam.com is a network of webcameras offering a complete searchable database of views ...

and Virtual Railfan. Indicators that a train is approaching the park include the following: * Eastbound - Both railroads have

defect detector A defect detector is a device used on railroads to detect axle and signal problems in passing trains. The detectors are normally integrated into the tracks and often include sensors to detect several different kinds of problems that could occur. ...

s just west of the crossing that signal train statuses over the radio * Westbound -

Grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The t ...

signals to the east of the park at N 9th Street will activate to protect the grade crossings although trains will no longer (since 2016) signal due to Rochelle having a quiet zone.

References

External links

Official website
Rochelle Railroad Park
Trains.com - BNSF and Union Pacific
in Rochelle IL
Rochelle Railroad Park
Roadside America article on the Rochelle Railroad Park {{Authority control Rochelle, Illinois Parks in Illinois Railroad museums in Illinois Tourist attractions in Ogle County, Illinois