Tracks of the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads run through Rochelle and cross in an unusual four diamond pattern. As many as 120 freight trains a day move through the town, all controlled automatically from dispatchers in Omaha and Fort Worth. Train enthusiasts have built a small park near the diamond with a gift shop, a viewing platform and a few pieces of railroad equipment scattered around a parking lot.
Trains are one of those things I could get into if I had about 70 hours in each day, although they aren’t nearly as interesting to me as they were when I was a kid. I used to love watching the trains go through Des Plaines pulling cars with logos and colors from all sorts of small railroads around the country. Now there are only a few giants and trains are less exciting.
Still …
I wandered through the gift shop for about three minutes, then went to the viewing platform. I was very thirsty after my long day of adventures. I had no idea how long I’d have to wait, so I decided to go get supper, then come back. I had just left the platform when I heard whistles from both directions. I went back and saw two trains pass by.
When they had gone, I walked around the area and took some photos. That was long enough for a third train to go by. All three of them were on the Union Pacific tracks. I don’t think I was there for more than 20 minutes — and that includes the time it took the long freight trains to go by.
Just a final note — I stopped at Arby’s in Rochelle for supper. I ordered a beef and cheddar combo, and the guy handed me my large drink glass. In the time it took him to get my sandwich and fries, I filled the glass with lemonade, drank it, filled it with Sierra Mist, drank it, filled it with Barq’s Root Beer and had it half drained. After I got my food, I filled it back up with root beer and left. I told you I was thirsty.