(rshsdepot) Rochelle, IL

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

About another Railroad Park, from the Chicago Tribune...

Train watching
Rochelle park draws rail fans
By Don Davenport
Special to the Tribune
Published July 29, 2001

ROCHELLE, Ill. -- This northern Illinois city of 9,100 has always drawn
railroad fans--hard-core types, who stood beside the tracks in any kind of
weather, radio scanner pressed to one ear, video cam pressed to one eye,
watching trains pass by hour after hour. The locals who paid them any
attention wondered why. Trains were common in Rochelle.

Indeed. Rochelle is one of the train-watching hotspots in the Midwest, a
place where two main rail lines cross as they head west from Chicago. But
here, two double tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad cross two double
tracks of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, and there are very few
places in the nation where that happens. The bottom line for train watchers
is that 100-plus trains thunder across the diamonds (the shape of the rails
at the crossing) in downtown Rochelle every 24 hours, providing what Trains
Magazine calls "big-time railroad action."

Three years ago, the city of Rochelle officially welcomed rail fans by
building Railroad Park, a safe, comfortable place where visitors can watch
the parade of trains.

The small park sits on a wedge-shaped, elevated parcel of land just east of
the diamonds, with the Union Pacific (UP) tracks running along its northern
edge and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) tracks on the south. Its
centerpiece is a roofed, open-sided pavilion that provides train-watchers a
cab-level view of the trains passing on both sides. The parking lot is
arranged so cars face the tracks.

The pavilion offers benches, picnic tables and speakers carrying BNSF and UP
radio transmissions. There are electrical outlets so visitors can recharge
fading batteries in personal scanners. (BNSF radio frequencies are 161.160
and 161.100; the UP frequency is 161.040.)

The pavilion's interior is decorated with "hobo art"--drawings that
represent the coded sign language that hobos developed during the Great
Depression to warn each other of danger, or where a handout might be found.
There's also a charcoal grill beside the pavilion and a "hobo fire pit,"
where you can build a fire to stay warm during nighttime train-watching
sessions.

Other historical displays in the park include a replica of an 1854 steel
strap rail, used by railroads before the steel T-rail was developed, and a
1928 Whitcomb industrial switch engine built in Rochelle. Whitcomb produced
some 5,300 small gasoline- and diesel-powered locomotives in Rochelle
between 1906 and 1946, when the plant was moved to Pennsylvania.

The park also has a small gift shop where you can buy railroad memorabilia,
film, batteries and snacks. And there are clean, heated restrooms open 24
hours a day, year-round.

For Fred Hyde of Madison, Wis., creation of Railroad Park eliminated a
problem faced by many rail fans--trespassing on railroad property.

"My first visit was in 1981, when I was a grad student," Hyde said. "I
stayed close to the depot, off railroad property. The park is a safe place
to watch trains, from the best location in town."

Hyde's train-watching jaunts today include his two young sons. "They love
the park," he said. "The small industrial locomotive on display is a great
place for them to do imaginary play while watching the trains go by."

The rail lines that run through Rochelle today have a rich heritage. The
UP's route was the Chicago & North Western's (C&NW) main line--part of the
famed "Overland Route" between Chicago and San Francisco--until 1995, when
the C&NW was merged into the UP. The original line was built by a C&NW
affiliate in 1854.

The BNSF's route through Rochelle dates from 1857 and was part of the
Chicago Burlington & Quincy's (CB&Q) Chicago-Twin City line until 1970, when
the Burlington Northern (BN) was created by a merger of several lines that
included the CB&Q. In 1995, the BN and Santa Fe lines were merged to create
the BNSF.

All of which means you'll see an assortment of locomotive styles and models,
decked out in the colors of several rail lines, including the Burlington
Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific (owned by the UP), Santa
Fe, Chicago & North Western, Burlington Northern and others.

Both railroads operate under Centralized Train Control (CTC), controlled by
UP dispatchers in Omaha and BNSF dispatchers in Ft. Worth. The crossing has
an automatic interlocking, so it's first-come, first-served across the
diamonds, regardless of railroad or the train's direction. (The interlocking
is sort of an automatic stoplight, a signal set off by a train approaching
the crossing that tells the other lines' trains to stop.)

The UP's traffic through Rochelle consists mainly of coal trains and what is
called "intermodal" freight--trains made up of both double-stacked
containers and truck trailers riding "piggyback" on flatcars. BNSF's traffic
is mostly intermodal. Both lines also haul trains of tri-level auto
carriers. You'll also see the occasional mixed freight train (a combination
of boxcars, tank cars, flatcars and the like).

In time-honored tradition, railroad men still return rail fans' waves, and
many seem to have developed individual styles. Some try to return each wave,
while others stick an arm out the locomotive window, saluting all as they
roar past the park. A few waggle a hand at the wrist, Queen Elizabeth style.

Rochelle Chamber of Commerce phones began ringing soon after Railroad Park
was opened, and interest skyrocketed as word of the park began to appear on
rail fans' Web sites. Last year, in cooperation with the city, Trains
Magazine placed a Web cam atop the pavilion, aimed at the diamonds, making
it possible to watch Rochelle's parade of trains from anywhere in the world
(www.trains.com).

Visitors have come to Railroad Park from virtually every state in the Union
and several foreign countries. They range from hard-core rail fans to casual
train watchers, including families, school groups, local retirees who come
to watch and chat, and business people on lunch breaks.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE

Rochelle is about 70 miles west of Chicago, 2 miles northwest of the
junction of Interstate Highways 88 and 39.

RAILROAD PARK

To reach Railroad Park, at 124 N. 9th St., follow Illinois Highway 38 west
-From Illinois Highway 251 for two blocks to 9th Street and turn south
(left).

The park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Admission and parking are
free. Gift shop hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Tuesdays. The park,
pavilion, restrooms and gift shop are wheelchair accessible.

INFORMATION

Rochelle Area Chamber of Commerce, 815-562-4189; www.rochellechamber.org/

- -- D.D.

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #120
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