You see a lot of photos of this crossing because it is a popular railfan spot. But this is the first time I have seen the tower. Note the signalling pipelines making a turn at the crossing to follow the CB&Q tracks to the left. I took photos of the rail park itself. My own railfan photos from the rail park are in a separate posting.
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| Steve OConnor posted Rochelle diamond from 1956. Embree collection. |
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| Andy Zukowski posted Chicago and Northwestern, Rochelle, Illinois 1956 Dave Rodgers: The industrial lead track off the C.B.&Q to Del Monte isn’t there. Must have been before Del Monte was built. Love this pic! Always wondered where the tower was located. Mike Schattl: Dave Rodgers The original tower was located on the west side of the diamonds. It must've been demolished by a derailment because they built a newer tower on the east side of the diamonds which was also destroyed by a freight derailment. Steve Schafer: Anyone know what year the tower was removed? Also, whose employees ran it - CBQ or CNW? John Richmond: Steve Schafer, it was a CNW tower. Think I have seen a photo of it as late as 1965, but no later than that. Richard Rasmussen: It was served by CB&Q, CNW and MILW. MILW had trackage rights on the Q. Nick Gawriluk: Those diamonds are being worked on around the clock. It’s almost down to a science how pieces are interchangeable. Dave Bahnsen: https://youtu.be/Sinc7_oAUlA [live cam] |
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| John Frey commented on Andy's post 2022 8.25 same location the building in background is still there but now it is owned by the US GOVERMENT |
Kenn Krizanitz added two photos as comments on John's comment.
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Sure enough, when I fired up the live cam to check it out. MoW was working on the diamonds.
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| Live video |
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| Jim Arvites posted Aerial view looking east of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and the Chicago & North Western Railway crossing at Rochelle, Illinois circa 1920's. The CB&Q crossed from the lower left to upper right of picture and the C&NW from lower right to upper left. Note the Tower and future site of the Rochelle Railroad Park in center of picture. Jim Arvites posted View of the Chicago & North Western and Chicago Burlington & Quincy diamonds at Rochelle Tower in Rochelle, Illinois circa 1920's. Alan Fricker: The railroad park is now opposite the tower. I like this shot, I know where the tower was. Thanks. |
I was taking photos of the signal bridges because they were in transition between the old and the new. The new is needed for Positive Train Control. This one has a "(UP) NX XING" sign that shows UP operates the crossing.
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| 20150916 4732, cropped-25+15 I wonder what caused the blue line. |
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| Steve OConnor commented on his posting 1949 |
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| Chris Roberts posted Burlington Junction Railway, BJRY, 8701 an MLW S13 switching the Del Monte Foods plant in Rochelle, IL on 1/6/2020. [Given Robert's date, the plant must still be in operation. Nope. It is probably this new plant.] |
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| Steven J. Brown shared Who says there are no surprises trackside anymore?? I do. I whine about it all the time to anyone that will listen. (See here sonny, back in my day.......). I am also know to be wrong sometimes. We are in Rochelle, Illinois on September 22, 2020. I am west of the BN/CNW crossing (Well BNSF/UP crossing - I am in denial). I'm waiting for a westbound on the BNSF when I hear a burbling sound. I look over and see the top of a switcher working a nearby industry. Now I hear Scooby-do's voice in my head, "huh?" That kinda looks like an Alco? Then it powers up and a cloud of smoke rises. Now I assume I'm hallucinating! Burlington Junction Railway 8701 is a MLW (Alco) S13 built in 1959 as Canadian National 8607. It lives and works in the Rochelle Industrial Park. Thanks for the surprise, maybe the poor switcher deserves a coat of paint! (BTW, I missed the BNSF freight.) |
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| Daniel Metzger commented on Steven's post I shot this one there yesterday. Looks to be a similar unit. |
Bill Wagner posted three photos with the comment: "Riding the Kate Shelley 400 was the preferred way of getting from Dixon to Rochelle IL, but sometimes accidents happened. By the time this wreck occurred in 1965, one of my high school classmates (probably fellow website contributor Craig Willett) had gotten his driver's license. Transportation problem solved. (Captions with Photos.)"
Mike Holmes: Their watching the temporary track very closely
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| 1 1. The eastbound Morning Zephyr was the first train to pass through the wreckage of a North Western freight that had fouled the diamonds. Miraculously enough, the Rochelle tower (hidden by the lead E-9) was spared. (Presumably the towerman's trousers were not.) |
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| 2 If you look closely, you can see several small children gazing at the North Western wrecker from their coach seats in Silver Brook. Today's Rochelle Railroad Park is located just a few feet away (to the lower left of the photo). https://www.rochellerailroadpark.org/webcam.php |
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| 3 The clean-up crew had plenty of time to rest as the westbound Morning Zephyr (shown here), North Coast Limited, and Empire Builder picked their way through the wreckage an hour or so later. It would be several more days until the North Western's tracks were once again open for business through Rochelle. |
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