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What's Rochelle like?

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 25, 2005 7:22 PM
I have heard a lot about Rochelle from 2 of my club members who took a trip from Delaware to Colarado. They enjoyed it and took some pictures web site is www.sepgrs.com look on the side with all of the moving words, and click on railfanning with the guys. Hope you enjoy it
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Posted by CopCarSS on Monday, April 25, 2005 6:24 PM
I've always thought the photo oppurtunities were kind of "ho hum" from the pavilion. If you wander around a bit, they do improve greatly. It kind of depends on the time of day, so I can't give you too many pointers.

The other thing I do love about the place is the peaker plant across the street. I used to work on generators, so it's kind of cool to me. I even managed to get in one day, and get a tour (one of the operators was there and looking kind of bored). That was pre 9/11, though. I'm not sure if they would do anything like that today.

If you're making the trip out there, you do owe it to yourself to get a Delorme atlas, and follow the tracks a bit. There's some neat stuff along US 30 heading to Rochelle. After Shabbona, it gets a bit trickier to follow the tracks, but there's a couple good locations (I always liked Steward. There's a neat line of grain elevators there. If you have time to head west from there, there's some more cool locations. Oregon is cool (and you can head into White Pines State Park and get some shots along a couple trails (Whispering Pines, Lookout, and Sleepy Hollow). Savanna is REALLY cool. And there's some good shots along the bluffs that line the Mississippi.

If you need more ideas, drop me a line. I used to spend many weekends railfanning from Aurora west on the BNSF and the UP.

Chris
Denver, CO

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams

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Posted by Bob-Fryml on Monday, April 25, 2005 5:59 PM
One mid-summer Sunday during 2004 I had the day off from work; so, I went to the Illinois Railway Musuem to tour through the equipment sheds, trek through their "boneyards," and ride my all-time favorite equipment, the "Cincinnati Heavyweight Plushies." [You Chicagoland members of "The Rapid Transit Lunatic Fringe" know what I'm referring to.]

Although I hung around the place until about 6 o'clock, I still had enough time to get to the Rochelle Railroad park and enjoy the passage of maybe a half dozen trains through the diamonds before appreciable darkness set in. As the place is laid out, I should think that lighting conditions might favor the morning photographer. The way the park's "wedge" fits into the way the two railroads cross each other at grade...well...it's generally on the east side. The area seemed very safe to me, and there were an appreciable number of visitors, young couples with families, and a few photographers there. Go, you won't be disappointed.
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Posted by techguy57 on Monday, April 25, 2005 4:33 PM
Thanks for clarifying[:D]
techguy "Beware the lollipop of mediocrity. Lick it once and you suck forever." - Anonymous
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 24, 2005 10:32 PM
Oh, I must be thinking about a gal named Rochelle I went to school with . . .

Get it now?

Old Timer
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Posted by techguy57 on Friday, April 22, 2005 11:11 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Old Timer

What's Rochelle like?

Last I heard, it was champagne, cocaine and rich guys with Mercedes convertibles . . .

Old Timer


What on earth are you talking about?
techguy "Beware the lollipop of mediocrity. Lick it once and you suck forever." - Anonymous
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Posted by spbed on Friday, April 22, 2005 8:47 AM
Gee when I was there I did see people like you portrayed in your posts. Where did you get that opinion of the people who visit Rochelle? [:o)][:D]

Originally posted by Old Timer

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Posted by eolafan on Friday, April 22, 2005 8:29 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Old Timer

What's Rochelle like?

Last I heard, it was champagne, cocaine and rich guys with Mercedes convertibles . . .

Old Timer


[:D] Nope, just a bunch of "regular guys" and their wives or girlfriends who put up with our hobby.
Eolafan (a.k.a. Jim)
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 21, 2005 11:24 PM
What's Rochelle like?

Last I heard, it was champagne, cocaine and rich guys with Mercedes convertibles . . .

Old Timer
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Posted by techguy57 on Thursday, April 21, 2005 9:17 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by espeefoamer

How far is Rochellre from the Illinois Railway Museum? In my dream vacation I would visit both places[:D].


espeefoamer- Not far at all, really. IRM is fantastic too! One of the best RR museums I've seen. I live 35 minutes away and am planning to volunteer there for the first time this year. I love it. If you ever make the trip drop me a line and I'll meet up with you and show you around.

Mike
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Posted by dknelson on Thursday, April 21, 2005 8:03 AM
Bergie (above) mentions going south of Rochelle to Mendota and following 35 into Galesburg. That is a good route. There is good railfanning in Mendota and there is a museum with model trains and a CBQ steam engine and caboose plus passenger cars on display at the Mendota depot, plus a farm equipment museum, across the street. Other town along that line have things of railroad interest.
Another is to go south then west to Chillicothe, and either follow the old Santa Fe into Galesburg (and that includes the famous Edelstein Hill) or follow the river to Peoria, railfan Peoria for a while, and then follow the former CB&Q from Peoria into Galesburg.
Or go to LaSalle Peru, and railfan that and then follow the IAS into Bureau Jct and take that south to Peoria, or to Chillicothe.
If only gas wasn't so expensive!
The fact is, Rochelle is a "hub city" for railfanning because you can go east to DeKalb, North to Rockford (and Davis Jct), way east to Dolton or to Streator or the Ill RR Museum at Union -- or follow the UP west to Sterling and Nelson and Galt and other neat places, all the way to the river, and then go south to Galesburg.
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Posted by spbed on Thursday, April 21, 2005 6:43 AM
If you get to Rochelle you should also consider going 70 miles east to Dolton IL. Their you will also see Eastern & Canadian power as well as UPRR & BNSF + local Chicago power. I saw 24 trains their in about 5 hours! [:o)]

Originally posted by mbkcs

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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 9:47 PM
I'd go to Rochelle right now if I could. Stop and take pictures there and at the windmills, then to Galesburg, where I have never been. I heard there was a bed and breakfast there at one time that had a railroad theme. Is that still the case?
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Posted by Bergie on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 9:12 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by mbkcs

Oh, and I almost forgot. If you drive south from Rochelle, can't remember how far unfortunately, you will see windmills galore. It's very impressive.


That's about 20 miles south of Rochelle on I-39, near Mendota, Ill. (where the BN mainline goes through on its way to Galesburg). It is quite a site to see. There are dozens of them and you don't understand how large they are until you realize that you've been looking at them for about 10 minutes and they're still in your view.

So, here's what you do... Go to Rochelle for a little action, then swing down 39 to Mendota, and then across highway 34 which will take you to Galesburg. Now that's a day.
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Posted by northwesterner on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 5:39 PM
Trains through Rochelle are definitely NOT on a fixed schedule. I was there on a Thursday, saw one BNSF, then nothing for 2 hours. Went to lunch asnd came back and within an hour saw twice when a train (both UP and BNSF) had to stop at the signal bridge and wait for another train to cross the diamonds. BTW, my high school once played the Rochelle team; they are called The Hubs!
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Posted by eolafan on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 5:23 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by espeefoamer

How far is Rochellre from the Illinois Railway Museum? In my dream vacation I would visit both places[:D].


[:)] I would say you can make it from Rochelle to IRM in about an hour or less. Take Rt. 39 North from Rochelle to Rt. 20 East towards Rt. 90 (signs say to Madison) and then take Rt. 90 towards Chicago...get off at the Rt. 23 exit at Marengo and go North and simply follow the signs (carefully) to Union. Once you are in Union the IRM is on the far east side of town, ask anybody in town and I guarantee anybody will be able to direct you (Union is a VERY SMALL TOWN). Have fun.
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Posted by espeefoamer on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 4:41 PM
How far is Rochellre from the Illinois Railway Museum? In my dream vacation I would visit both places[:D].
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Posted by Glen Ellyn on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 4:30 PM
Thanks for the answers.
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Posted by spbed on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 9:24 AM
Freights in general do not run on a fixed schedule like ships or planes so really you just have to go & see for yourself & hope you hit a real busy day! It is like Begie being in the right place at the right time with the UPRR biz train. If you do not see it for yourself you will always regret it in my opinion. [:o)][:D][:p]



Originally posted by techguy57
[

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Posted by techguy57 on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 9:03 AM
It's busy all day there but the times I've seen the most action is in the mid-morning and after 3pm. But I've never seen less than 10 trains, even when UP had delays and re-routing due to an accident involving trains both east and west bound. Best I've seen is 4 good sized consists and a local switching unit in 23 minutes of watching. I think I went through 2 rolls of film in that time![:)]

Mike
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Posted by spbed on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 8:42 AM
I arrived about 11AM & left @3PM Rochelle time I saw 7 UPRR & 2 BNSFers. [:o)][:D][:p]

Originally posted by DMIR230

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Posted by eolafan on Wednesday, April 20, 2005 7:48 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by DMIR230

When is a good time to see some BNSF traffic? I have gone down there many times and UP certainly rules the diamonds there. I was lucky to see one BNSF train there on my 10 hour railfanning days.


As you will see from scanning the various stills on the "recent photos" section of the web page link here on this site, the BNSF trains come at irregular times but there are actually quite a few each day...this is because the C&I sub is the #1 way for BNSF trains to go from Chicago to Minneapolis and west from there, which means a lot of trains (but not more than UP on the Geneva sub).
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 5:40 PM
When is a good time to see some BNSF traffic? I have gone down there many times and UP certainly rules the diamonds there. I was lucky to see one BNSF train there on my 10 hour railfanning days.
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Posted by eolafan on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 5:34 PM
Glen Ellyn you will really love it, especially if the weather cooperates. I will be on vacation next week and will no doubt be at Rochelle at least once during the week. ENJOY!
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Posted by techguy57 on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 4:38 PM
I have to agree with what has been said up to this point and wi***o add from the photography standpoint to bring lots of film and that following the rails will lead to some of the best finds and pics in Rochelle. Lots of equipment everywhere and lots of trains crossing the diamond leads to a very enjoyable day. You might still want to bring your own scanner along though!

I wish I was going too!

Mike
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Posted by shrek623 on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 12:19 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by mbkcs

Oh, and I almost forgot. If you drive south from Rochelle, can't remember how far unfortunately, you will see windmills galore. It's very impressive.


The windmills are straight south of Rochelle right beside Interstate 39 by the town of Paw Paw.

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Posted by Chris30 on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 9:34 AM
The town of Rochelle understands their connection to the railroads. While some towns that were built by railroads now consider the railroads to be nuisance, Rochelle has continued to grow because of the railroads and the people who like to watch the trains. First, they built the railroad park and promote it to draw more people (guests)into their town. Then, when the UP wanted to built a new intermodal facility (Global III) and other towns such as W. Chicago and Maple Park said no, Rochelle saw the economic benefits. The town of Rochelle even promotes itself, as a joke, that they are the "Port of Rochelle".

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Posted by spbed on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 9:20 AM
Well you are not in the middle of nowhere. Plenty of places to sleep & eat. What you see on the cam is about 5' below the overhang. A scanner is in place so one is not necesary. Do not forget to investigate the yard behind the trees you can not see as well as the UPRR Global terminal which you also cannot see on the cam. [:o)][:D][:p]

Originally posted by Glen Ellyn

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Posted by edbenton on Tuesday, April 19, 2005 8:26 AM
A real good resturant in Rochelle is actualyy at the Petro truckstop I ate many a meal there waiting for the frieght to be ready at Rochelle foods. Prices are decent and the food is great there. Just remember do not talk bad about truckers in there the staff makes their living catering to them and are kind of protective of them.
Always at war with those that think OTR trucking is EASY.

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