Rochelle Railroad Park

The park is in the eastern quadrant of the double diamond crossing between the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and BNSF Railway (BNSF) mainlines between Chicago and points west.

The two mainlines cross on the southwest side of Rochelle. The UP (formerly Chicago and North Western Railway) Geneva Subdivision travels through the crossing from the southwest to northeast, from Chicago towards Clinton, Iowa, and Omaha. The UP's Global III yard is about 1 mile southwest of the diamond. The BNSF (formerly Burlington Northern Railroad and before that, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad) Aurora Subdivision travels the northwest to southeast corners, from Aurora Illinois to Savanna, Illinois and to the twin cities of Minneapolis-St Paul. This double mainline, four-track, diamond, known as NX Crossing, is at milepost 83.7 on the BNSF, and at 75.3 on the UP.

Before the city of Rochelle built the park, railfans often parked just short of an interchange siding connecting the two railroads in the northern quadrant of the crossing. The interchange track connected the northern track of the eastern portion of the UP's mainline with the northern track of the western portion of the BNSF's mainline. While this parking location allowed railfans to see a great distance towards the west along UP's mainline, many vehicles were parked too close to the interchange track to be safe if a train used it. Additionally, there was no protection to keep trespassers off the tracks. The northern interchange track has since been removed although a longer interchange siding still exists on the South quadrant of the crossing.

In September 2024, Union Pacific's restored 4‑8‑8‑4 Big Boy 4014 visited Rochelle during its Midwest tour, making a public display stop at the park that drew thousands of railfans.^[1]