Rochelle is in the news

[Clutch Cargo]

I wish all towns in the world could have a man like this.
http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040628/NEWS0106/406280305/1004/NEWS

kurt

[mikeyuhas]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kurtconi

I wish all towns in the world could have a man like this.

Hey, ain't that the truth!

Ken really is a one-of-a-kind character. I first met him while passing through Rochelle a couple months after the Railroad Park opened. I remember chatting with him at length about the crackpot idea of putting a webcam somewhere in the park. To say he was enthusiastic about it would be severe understatement: it's because of Ken's vision that for over four years we've had a webcam on the railroad scene in Rochelle.

Congratulations, Ken, on your retirement. And from the thousands of railroad fans who are welcomed with open arms in Rochelle every year, a hearty thank-you!

[Anonymous]

[:D][:D]happy retirement ken. youve done so much for rochelle and surrounding communities.thanks. p.s. thanks for photo of worlds largest intermodal yard kurt!!! perfect photo!!!! GOD BLESS

[dknelson]

What a neat article.
I know that Galesburg IL is going through tough times with the Maytag and Butler plants closing and the mantra they keep repeating is, if Rochelle can do it why can't we?
There are plenty of town on rail lines that are simultaneously desperate for economic growth and wi***he railline would go away -- not realizing they contradict themselves.

Actually there was a "sort of" railroad park before the one Ken had built -- across the UP tracks there were park benches, garbage cans, gravel for parking, and someone had planted flowers. At the time I thought it was railfan heaven. Even now some of the camera angles are better. It is an area you can see on the webcame, to the upper right, and sometimes people are parked there.
They don't really mention it in the article but that railroad park has created genuine tourism in Rochelle -- I have met people from both coasts as well as England and Germany there, who came just to be at the park. Railroad historical societies have held conventions there and if you can get 100+ people staying at hotels and eating meals and buying gas and snacks, that is real money for a town that small. The first time I visited Rochelle there were hardly any places to stay; now there are decent motels. By the way the Rochelle street department which is south and west of the Park (near the BNSF line that curves south near the huge food plant) now has a small locomotive on display, I think a Whitcomb which was built in Rochelle. If you look carefully you can also see a very very old tank car body used to store, I assume, fuel.

An interesting story about the RR Park. The local cement plant agreed to make the big concrete blocks for free, as I understand it. They built the forms and when trucks would come back from a job with left over cement, they would build more blocks. The materials were already paid for, more or less, and all it took was time and effort. Here is hoping the town keeps the park -- I understand some locals do not care for it.
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Great article, From one Ken to another, Have a happy retirement & "THANK YOU" for what you've done for all of us. ................"HAPPY RAILS"

[Anonymous]

Happy Retirement. Rochelle has lost a genuine civil servant with great vision. I am happy to say that I reap the benefits of one of his visions by using the webcam at the Railroad Park. Rochelle is going to have a hard time finding someone to fill those shoes. Best of luck and enjoy your retirement.