BNSF Rochelle depot demolished

[Cris_261]

What prompted BNSF to demolish the depot? Was the building in some sort of advanced state of decay that would have made restoration prohibitive, or was there another reason?

[EJE818]

Wow, that is a interesting but sad photo. Not much left by the point.

[eolafan]

Here is a photo of the depot while in the demolition stage from the local Rochelle newspaper:

[EJE818]

Yes that one in De Kalb is a beauty. It just needs a little work done to it and it would look excellent. The UP depot in Rochelle is in ok shape, not the best, but at least they didn't tear that one down. This was the second depot BNSF knocked down this year, the other one was Buda on the Mendota Sub.

[Poppa_Zit]

Just thought I'd offer a different angle than Jim provided. It was taken in May, 2006 -- after I made a special trip to shoot both stations and other buildings following a premonition of their demise. I sure hope they don't do the same to the old CNW station at DeKalb -- they may need it one of these days as a Metra stop.

Passenger waiting room at east end, freight house at west end. Station built 1921. Last passenger service in Rochelle was 1971.

Here's a Jerry Appleman photo of the eastbound Empire Builder making its scheduled stop at Rochelle station before heading to its next stop at Aurora c1964.  

[EJE818]

Yeah, I don't know exactly why BNSF moved the MOW people to a trailer from the depot. Rumors were they were going to move the MOW office to the small yard on the east side of town. I don't know if they trailer is just temporary. They used to park the local power right by the depot on a couple of tracks across the street. They moved that to the yard, so perhaps the MOW base will eventually move there as well.

[Poppa_Zit]

Ironically, the citizens of Rochelle I've talked with take pride in how much recreation it and/or the Park District can pay for -- there's even a public golf course in this town of 12,000.

Rochelle Country Club is the only course in town and it is private.

There are public courses in DeKalb (multiple), Byron, Oregon and Shabbona, though.

[Poppa_Zit]

That cannery is where the city wants the transportation museum to be built. I don't know if it is still used by Del Monte or not but I never see anything going on there.

 

Do you really feel Rochelle can pull this off?  

I'd say they have about the same chance as Galesburg does with building its Railroading Hall of Fame using funding begged from the country's railroads, Al.

[mudchicken]

as usual ...the M/W people get shuffled of to a trailer. Had there been operating people in that bandbox, BNSF woulda built a new edifice...

[TRNBUF]

 I honestly think this is a very bad idea because that means people going back and forth across the BNSF tracks to get from the park to the gift shop and back.

There are idiots that do that now, that scares me everytime I go to Rochelle. People have to stand on the tracks...Yikes!!!  These people are going to ruin it for everyone once someone gets hit. 

I think the place is fine the way it is, why change it.  I don't go there for the gift shop anyway, just maybe for some ice cream. :)

My Dad and I make a 5 hour drive up there about twice a year and spend the weekend.  We stay in one of the 2 motels East of town.  We eat breakfast at 2 different dinners, one I believe is called Butterfly something. Then we usually tailgate for lunch from the back of our truck.  For supper we usually head to Wendy's or Taco Bell and bring it back to the pavilion.  We have a blast everytime we go and it is so cool to meet railfans from all over as well.  

So If I was them, leave it go.  Just as long as there is a pee house, I'll be fine. 

[EJE818]

The new replica depot will not be located where the current gift shop is. It is being built on the south side of the BNSF tracks. I honestly think this is a very bad idea because that means people going back and forth across the BNSF tracks to get from the park to the gift shop and back. It should not interfere with any of the existing parking at the railroad park. The ground has already been broken for the replica depot gift shop and construction should start soon. Funny how right before the replica depot gets build the real depot on the BNSF comes down. The current gift shop will remain open until the replica depot is ready, then they will move everything from the current building to the new gift shop, then demolish the old one. The loss of the BNSF depot is not only sad news for us but it is a big loss for the town itself. Now it is just another small gravel lot with nothing there. I've heard they have even cleaned up the area where the depot once stood and you can barely tell it was ever there. BNSF only gave the demolition crew two days to knock down the depot and clean up the site. They must have really wanted to tear that building down.

About the transportation museum, only time will tell if the city will be able to accomplish that

[al-in-chgo]

That cannery is where the city wants the transportation museum to be built. I don't know if it is still used by Del Monte or not but I never see anything going on there.

 

Do you really feel Rochelle can pull this off?  According to the special "Railroad Times," published by the local paper to coincide with the 2007 mid-summer conclave (I think it's called "Railroad Days" but am not totally sure), there has been open griping in the city council about how the park is losing too much money because of the "day trippers" who come from the nearby area, do not spend the night, and supposedly don't buy meals or gasoline. 

There were also several different ways expessed in that special edition that allegedly would fix this problem, if one does indeed considers it a problem or a situation.  The tentative proposals mostly revolved around the same two ideas:  1)  tear down the current white frame house and giftshop, and replace it with a larger replica depot gift shop (ironic in light of the BNSF depot's destruction)**  ; and 2) install pay-as-you-go equipped campsites over part of the parking space.  Depending how big the "depot" and how many the campsites, this will take a third or more of the parking space away.  

**Consider from this point on quite OT. But the entry to it was natural. 

However, IMHO those durn day-trippers can park on the street and still get a peek for free.  Maybe they will spend money at the new gift shop, which some in responsible places in the City of Rochelle advocate as the answer to the current, small-to-medium gift shop, which has not had spectacular financial success under at least two proprietorships.  An enlarged gift shop would sell more varities of things, probably, but the small-ish one now has the basic categories (magazines, scale models, genuine Railroadiana (a bit), created Railroadiana (most of all the RR co baseball hat), and of course things pertaining to Thomas), pretty well plugged.  Also the people in town council, few of whom were directly quoted, acknowledge that the lot space for any replacement depot couldn't be any wider -- between the entry driveway and the ROW there is basically no free space.  Therefore such a store, to have any more selling space, would have to run deeper and that would inevitably take the place of at least a few parking stalls.  Whether or not it includes sanitary campsites. 

It seems to me that only some government entity or one highly subsidized by same would reason that the answer to a financial failure is to create a larger potential failure and spend a lot while doing so. Also, if the likes of KOA doesn't want to put a campsite with facilities anywhere in Rochelle (bearing in mind that in Rochelle, nothing is more than ten minutes' drive away), it strikes me as either naive or arrogant -- if not both -- that the City and/or Park District thinks it can better judge the market, spend tons, and turn a profit without considering the inevitable layers of bureaucracy, planning and construction, and ongoing service and administration this would entail. 

Well, for a museum at least the operating entity can charge admission.  And looking at even medium-sized museums that have lost their endowment and/or government subsidy (usually at more than one level of gov't), the new museum would probably wind up charging in the range of $8 to $11 or more for an adult admission, not even including construction costs.  One hopes there will be plenty of free parking. 

Ironically, the citizens of Rochelle I've talked with take pride in how much recreation it and/or the Park District can pay for -- there's even a public golf course in this town of 12,000 -- with Rochell's history that the residents themselves call "blue-collar." The reason, I've been told, is that even though the tax base is fairly low, cooperative ventures (the RR park is itself a joint venture of Rochelle and the local Park District), plus tight financial controls, are what has worked. 

I like the carefree air of the park and its never closing; I sure don't want to see additional government money piled into the place, which almost inevitably would bring additional surveillance and fees.  Again IMHO City Council should just learn to live with the occasional madcap motorist from Rockford and leave it alone.

Maybe some of you out there have your own ideas about how to improve the RR Park, if indeed you think changes are needed?  - a. s.

 

[dknelson]

Gone but not, and never, forgotten:

Nice shot Jim.  My shot is from the other side.  Isn't that -- pardon, wasn't that -- a neat little structure?

When I first started to railfan Rochelle there would be cars parked at the cannery but they may have just been stuck there due to pulled drawbars or whatever.  I cannot say for sure that the building was in operation.   It might have been.  I was too busy getting shots of C&NW and BN trains to notice, but the interchange track was still in place and sometimes had cars sitting on it, that I recall.

Dave Nelson

Dave Nelson

[OldBNfan]

Last time we were in Rochelle it appeared as though the large brick building on the west side of the diamond was simply being used as a warehouse - an occasional semi could be seen on the other side of the structure.  Tom

[EJE818]

I'm glad I got some photos of trains passing it last year.

[eolafan]

Gone but not, and never, forgotten:

[EJE818]

That cannery is where the city wants the transportation museum to be built. I don't know if it is still used by Del Monte or not but I never see anything going on there.

[Modelcar]

....al:  Have always wondered just what that large building {west}, of the diamond {northside of UP}, is.....Are you saying it is {was}, a cannery.  Don't ever see much activity around there.  Just wondering.

[EJE818]

Mike, the city is looking to purchase the land the Del Monte plant is located on between on the UP and BNSF on the west side of the diamonds to build a transportation museum that is supposed to have a restarant with a patio deck looking over the diamonds. The CB&Q and CNW depots were located a few blocks east of the railroad park. They stood about three blocks apart, betwenn Main Street and Washington Street. I don't know of many other towns around here that have two depots located on separate lines a few blocks apart like that. The CNW depot still stands and like the CB&Q depot used to be, it is a MOW base for UP. However, out of the two depots the CB&Q one was probably the more popular of the two. Right now BNSF has no plans for the property the depot stood on.

[al-in-chgo]

Weren't they suppose to do something on the other side of the diamond, like a museum or something. Or another train watching location.

Actually, the other side of the diamond would be the side to the west of the "X" and a cannery (don't know if it's working or not) fits the niche:  hard by the BNSF tracks and very close to the UP.  

I myself wonder what, if anything, the BNSF will do with that little parcel of land.  - a. s.

 

[dknelson]

Both the Chicago & North Western and the [now gone] CB&Q depots are east by a few blocks of the viewing platform -- and the webcam camera faces west to the diamond.

A passenger train stopped at either depot in either direction would presumably not have blocked the diamond.

Dave Nelson

[eolafan]

It's really kind of sad to me to see these structures torn down.  Each and every time I see an old depot like this I can't help but have my mind wonder about the trains and their passengers who utilized these depots in years past and their respective stories.  Each time one of the depots is demolished it is like losing a book of photographs from way back when, as it eliminates a source of memories and such.

[gabbyhayes]

Is that the place where the viewing platform is near the diamonds.   I saw a DVD taken from that place and it looked pretty busy.

Bob Hayes 

[TRNBUF]

Weren't they suppose to do something on the other side of the diamond, like a museum or something. Or another train watching location.

[dknelson]

I know I have at least one nice color slide in good sunlight of this interesting depot, but now of course I wish I had taken a couple of rolls worth of slides from every angle.  Too bad, as the existence of three depots (CNW and CBQ/BNSF in Rochelle, and former CBQ in nearby Stewart Jct) was one of the side benefits of a trip to Rochelle.

Dave Nelson

[EJE818]

Well, the depot is officially gone. They tore the building down at a very quick pace. The entire building was gone within about 3 hours from start to finish. The city did save the station signs and a scale, but other then that the depot was pretty much empty. BNSF has moved its MOW base from the depot to a trailer on the other side of Main Street.

[EJE818]

Group, I have heard on another forum that the BNSF depot in Rochelle is to be demolished Monday, 12/17. I have also heard contractors are already removing the shingles from the roof of the depot. If anyone is in the Rochelle area this weekend it might be a good time to get over to the depot for some last photos.