Rochelle Railroad Park — Attraction in Flagg Township

The Rochelle Railroad Park is a great place to see trains! Lot's of trains! The BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad main lines both merge and cross one another at a junction here at the park, leading to all points west.

The park is in a great location near shopping centers and restaurants by a mile or two from the park. The park also has a small gift shop that sells T-shirts, coffee mugs, small wooden train whistles for kids etc...

The park also has on site restrooms, along with vending machines holding both soda and water.

The Rochelle Railroad Park is a great place to have a picnic and to take kids.

But do keep a sharp eye on small children. While there is a fence preventing small children from running out onto the tracks, there are still some dangers.

Kids can find gaps in the fence to get around, since the fence does run a finite length.

Also there is a potential falling hazard up by the pavilion, since it does rise up about 10+ feet over the surrounding ground, to give a locomotive cab ride height view, so you can look right into the locomotive engineers eyes as you wave to him from his vantage point.

And then finally the parking lot can be full of both people and moving cars. So you will need to watch the little ones so they don't go running out into the parking lot when your not looking.

But generally the park is safe for kids over 6 yrs old. And for younger kids it's generally safe. So long as you keep an eye on kids who tend to run off without understanding potential dangers.

Personally I wouldn't take any children under the age of 5, as train sounds can be a bit much for really small children.

The park is a great place to get pictures and video of trains. But it's not ideal if your looking for professional pictures. The park does have telephone polls, Railroad crossing gate equipment on property that's the size of a SUV, and a couple of other things that can sometimes pose a challenge if you always want 100% uninterrupted vantage points of trains.

The good news though is that the town of Rochelle does have other vantage points near the park that can provide truly uninterrupted vantage points of the trains.

But otherwise most people generally think the park itself offers a good enough environment for taking good photos and videos. Especially because you are elevated a bit and are nice and close to the action.

People who visit the park on a regular basis are usually Illinois residents. However people from Wisconsin (Such as myself) will often make the drive to the park on weekends as well, who make up the 2nd largest demographic of the 50 states that visits the park. You will then see plenty of Minnesota and Iowa plates to.

However people do come from all 50 states. Even sometimes from other countries like Australia or Germany. Yes I have met them there, because they wanted to see American trains and because Rochelle Railroad Park is well known from media such as Train Magazine, TV shows and radio. Plus word of mouth.

People are almost always very nice here. I personally have never had a bad experience. And I have visited the park for 21 years now, year after year. (Sometimes several times in any given year even.)

But keep in mind sometimes railfans can be a bit strange. They will sometimes talk your ear off about their hobby. All in good fun mind you. But sometimes it can be a bit much if your more of a casual observer. Now this isn't much of an issue, as most will keep to themselves and won't divulge information unless you ask.

So I give the park 4 out of 5 stars. It's got a lot going for it. But there are some things to keep in mind that may not always be perfect for you depending on your specific circumstances. So that's why I can't give 5 stars. Because your milage may very with what you will end up experiencing due to individual requirements.

The park is ment for families 👪. And most children 6 years on up will be fine.

So check it out. And keep an open mind. Very much worth it at...

So this place is where railfans can come and watch the Union Pacific Geneva Sub and BNSF Aurora Subs. Plenty of trains come by. What people don't understand is that there are days that are dead and days that are not.

The Absolute worst time to come here is from 11 AM to 1:30 PM. You will most likely not see anything and if you do it will not be the most spectacular thing in the world.

The best time to come here is from 2:00 PM to 6 PM. another good time to come is between 6 AM and 10 AM. You will mainly see UP trains.

BNSF runs a train through there randomly through the day. So there is not a very good way to predict the best time to go. Now if a bunch of UP trains go by and there is an opening BNSF will most likely run 1 to 4 trains.

Remember the point of this park is to railfan. Many people give 1 star reviews because the gift shop was upsetting but that's not the whole point of this place.

Also people give this place one stars because they didn't see that many trains while that's the railroads problem. The park does not control that.

Also the town of Rochelle initiated a No horn zone. Also not controlled by the RR Park. I will say you do need to make sure you don't get in someone's shot because some Railfans aren't the nicest people.

Also the day does not really matter on the BNSF. On the UP during the Week UP WB's are very scarce during the common rush hours. This is because of the large amount of metra. Now this will change after they get the third track done in Geneva, IL which will allow the center track as a freight route during those times.

As far as weekends go its really just luck. Now Sunday by far is the worst day to Railfan for the UP. I Don't know why but it just is. Saturday is average.

Children are allowed here. I would not recommend bringing pets because one there may be a rule prohibiting them and two, your pets will probably not like how loud the trains are.

This location does support ATCS if you are a member for that. There is a scanner in the pavilion but I recommend if you have your own to bring it because you will most likely want to go to the grade crossings or other locations.

There is a free Virtual Railfan Camera on the main Pavilion pointing towards the tracks. Same with the Trains Mag one. The Railstream one is on the Union Pacific side on a Garage pointing towards the diamonds.

The fire pit is no longer here due to people messing with it. At night it is very dark and no they will not add flood lights because its not their property.

Both lines have a large variety of power. UP Commonly has Norfolk Southern power. They also have CN and KCS power which is less common. CSX is pretty rare with the occasional ethanol train or Autorack Train. BNSF Power is incredibly rare and is just as rare as CP power. BNSF Ethanol Trains on the UP is incredibly rare and the only reason you would even see BNSF is if it somehow got mixed in with another train from other locations. CP power is very rare with it only showing up on the occasional Intermodal or ethanol train. You can see them on mixed freights.

BNSF commonly has NS and CP power. Ferromex power is also an occasional sight. CSX power is the same rarity on the BNSF as it is on the UP. UP power is a little more common the BNSF than BNSF on the UP. CN Power is pretty scarce on the BNSF. KCS Power is very rare on the BNSF.

Foreign Heritage units do pop up occasionally. You will most likely see an NS HU on either of the lines for foreign HU's. CSX's New HU's are possible but only one has ever gone through there on the UP. BNSF has never seen one on the Aurora Sub. CN HU's are just slightly more common than CSX's HU's. You can see a UP heritage unit every so often but it really depends. CP HU's are at the same level of rarity as CN's.

There is no amtrak or metra here. At the moment you can see a via railset on the UP once or twice a month.

Well thats all for this as this has turned...

This park changed my view on life. Prior to my encounter with the Rochelle railroad park, I was living in a dumpster in Intercourse, Pennsylvania. I had 3 contagious cancers and did not have any money for treatment. A very nice old lady suggested I go to Rochelle Railroad park and watch trains because it would change my life. I didn’t believe her at first but I hopped a Norfolk southern and then Union Pacific freight train to the park. I was greeted by a bunch of strange looking male-like creatures with cameras pointed at me and it felt like home. I made friends with all of them and we had a grand time. Then, my second day there the Norfolk Southern Conrail unit was trailing on a BNSF ethanol train and that cured all 3 of my contagious cancers and put money in my bank account. I now live in the whitcomb engine in the rail park with my pet monkey and my new best friend and lover, Cornelius. I also own a very nice car now (2001 Chrysler town and country) but I mostly use trains for transport. If this rail park can change my life it can change...