Rochelle, IL: NX Crossing: BNSF/CB&Q vs UP/C&NW

(Satellite)

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.

Steve OConnor posted
Rochelle diamond from 1956. Embree collection.

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]

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.

Live video

Digital Railroad Archives posted

CB&Q 9994 strolls past a CNW derailment at the Rochelle diamond in 1965.

Photo Archive https://flic.kr/ps/3Lt4rR

Video Archive https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalRailroadArchives

Mike Schafer Photo

October 1965

Andy Benfer Collection

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.

20150916 4732, cropped-25+15
I wonder what caused the blue line.

Another signal bridge being replaced.

Note the reefers on the siding on the right of the initial B&W photo. They are probably headed to the old Del Monte plant.

Steve OConnor commented on his posting
1949

201509

The only thing food related that I could find was the Del Monte Credit Union and a water tower still labeled Kraft.

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.]

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.)

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. 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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 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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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.

Mike Patrick posted
Feb 27, 2026 was an interesting day at Rochelle, The local BNSF was switching the Del Monte spur when the 4445 left the rails, the 7111 was the east facing unit and was still on the rails. An EB with the 3798 was held at Flag Center till it was determined that one track of the BNSF was not fouled, as was neither of the UP's, so it was released to proceed EB seen here passing the troubled switch crew.

Oct 2026:

Facebook Reel
[A comment said  the replacement took 22 hours.]

Bellefontaine, OH: 1891 First Concrete Street in America

(Satellite)

A man I  met on the sidewalk indicated that the courthouse has been restored rather recently. The first concrete street is south of the courthouse.

20180826 4311

Explore Our Gem posted

Ohio's Secret Invention – The Concrete Street

Here's something you've probably walked on but never knew was an Ohio innovation! 🛣️ Bellefontaine, Ohio, is home to the world's oldest concrete street! Court Avenue was paved with concrete in 1891, making it a groundbreaking achievement in infrastructure history. Before this, most streets were either dirt or cobblestone, and the durability of concrete was largely unknown. Bellefontaine's decision to experiment with this new material proved to be revolutionary. Over 130 years later, parts of that original concrete street are still intact and functional! It's a testament to both the innovation of Ohio engineers and the lasting quality of their work. This might seem like a small thing, but it represents how Ohio continually pushes boundaries and embraces new technologies. The concrete street industry that developed from this innovation transformed America's infrastructure and helped build the modern highway system we use today. Standing on that street is like standing on a piece of American innovation history. It's a powerful reminder that sometimes the most important breakthroughs are the quiet ones that fundamentally change how we live. Have you ever visited Bellefontaine? 🧡

[A lot of comments flag this as AI garbage.]

Deb Laird: That's not Bellefontaine or the street. I believe the sign is brown or golden not green.

Dennis DeBruler commented on the above post
This is the real street, Aug 26, 2018.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Deb's comment
Indeed, the signs were brown.

This plaque is in front of the base of the statue that you see in the middle of the road.

Another plaque is on the corner of the courthouse square:

Around the base of the statue is a series of plaques:

The street itself. (Yes, it is unfortunate that my shadow is in the photo. But I could not see how I could avoid it.)

I thought I took a close up of some of the squares. About half the surface has needed repair. Below is a closeup from this photo of the courthouse.

Digitally Zoomed

Medona, IN: B&O Depot and "House Track"

(Satellite, my  guess)

Note the control tower on the other side of the mainline from the depot and the train order semaphores above the depot. This photo doesn't look like much more than some team tracks. But the Facebook comments talk about car repair and a roundhouse. I can't find a roundhouse on a 1956 aerial photo, and the 1947 photo doesn't work right.

Dale Smith posted

West Dana, IN: Junction Tower: Aban/Milw vs. CSX/B&O/CI&W

(Satellite)   CI&W = Cincinnati, Indianapolis & Western

Brad Spear posted
Where the Milwaukee (north south) crossed the B&O at West Dana, IN in 1972.

Saginaw, TX: Gavillon's Wheat House

(Gavilon Grain 3D Satellite, 8 photos; Flour Mill 3D Satellite, photos)  It will be interesting to see when the steel bins show up on the satellite image.

William Brown posted
NS 3668, a GE ET44AC and a BNSF GE, sit on the lead track to the Ardent Mills Flour Mill in Saginaw, Texas. In the background are the three new steel corn tanks at Gavillon's Wheat House. The Gavillon Facility is the largest Wheat House with a single Head House.
Dennis DeBruler I wonder what the bushel capacity was before the bins where added and what it is now. I noticed a photo that indicates they can handle six lanes of trucks. Two lanes is large in corn+soybean country.

Gavilon Grain hired an aerial photo that shows the new bins: Ryan Aerial Photographers, Aug 2018

Gavilon

I presume this is the same grain elevator.

Ethan Whetstone posted
BNSF 7106 Leads a Manifest Freight Out of Saginaw TX On 2/20/22

It is easy to see that this is the same elevator.

Tanner Makings posted
The old Union Equity elevator in Saginaw, Texas.

Kyle Greenwood commented on Tanner's post
The far north end is a 2 bay flour mill built a few years ago.
[Two ready-mix trucks are keeping the concrete pump truck busy.]
Dennis DeBruler: Kyle Greenwood It has horizontal lines, but not at regular intervals. So is this slip-form instead of jump-form construction?
Kyle Greenwood: Dennis DeBruler yes, this is a Slipped Flour Mill.

Comments on Tanner's post

Comments on Tanner's post

Of course, I noticed the grain elevator instead of the locomotives.

John Karges posted
Newly painted and recently delivered RESCAR (ex-Santa Fe) CF7 engines at Saginaw,TX on 20 February 1988. My photo.
Kirby Pople: They lived their lives and died right there. 😞 cut to bits right in the shadow of that elevator.