Producer: Greg Scholl
Locations: Rochelle, Global 3
Timeframe: 2003, 1993
Length: 2 1/2 Hours
Source: Greg Scholl, Les Jarrett
A 2 day visit to the vicinity of Rochelle, Illinois. See over 100 teains in 2 1/2 hours. Two intersecting sets of mainline trackage. Rochelle is a dependable hot spot. BNSF and Union Pacific run many trains through Rochelle, They were the first town to build a Railfan Park trackside. GSVP Special Edition has the additional hour of 2003 footage. Back to the feature show There are six minutes of ’93 footage which precedes the construction of the park there. It also features Chicago Northwestern because it is pre- merger to UP.
A factory DVD. Main Chapter Menu. Hidden chapter advance function. Onscreen graphics with assorted timestamps of moves and locations. Includes some maps. Narrated by John Hingsbergen. Two camera shoot by respected Videographers. Preview section.
Widescreen presentation. Live environmental audio. Excellent picture and soundtrack.
Main Show 1 hour 29 minutes
The feature was filmed over a single 12 hour day. May 8, 2003. This show is packed with BNSF and UP on the original CNW rails. The BNSF is former CB&Q trackage. Witness road and local moves. The CNW peek back to 1993 is a nice small bonus!
To the Trains…
Union Pacific eastbound traffic at 07:03 am. Locomotive 4555 leads auto racks. A stack train advances slowly.
Loaded coal train behind engines 7170/ 8207 at 7:59 am. This crossing is Washington Street.
A fine short for model railroaders. Maintenance of Way Crane is motorized with ties and a caboose. On a model, one could power it with something like an SW1500 or a GP9.
BNSF local power at the former Burlington Route depot. 10:30am.
A Santa Fe warbonnet with a blue unit and a BN unit lead an Eastbound stack train at 12:42pm.
Union Pacific SD40 trio led by 3089 on general freight.
Viewed from Flag Center. A Westbound BNSF with 4411 leading in the late afternoon.
Chicago NorthWestern July, 1993. Length is 6 minutes
CNW SD40-2 6821 pulls forward leading Santa Fe and UP motors on an APL stack train. BNSF and UP trains are shown, as well as a detoured Amtrak.
BNSF GP38-2 2241 and a leased engine 761 perform local switching at the Del Monte plant.
Late in the day at the huge Global 3 Yard. Note the GP15 UPY #581 with the lit headlight. These are remote control engines.
May 9, 2003 Bonus, 1 hour
A second day of Railfanning at Rochelle. This is an extra hour, as a bonus!
UP 4269 across from the designated foamer stand.
Rochelle double track diamonds – Special Edition
This is a top shelf hot spot show. Over 50 trains within the original release. Bonus material then gives approximately another 50. That brief section of CNW adds more interest.
Employing a two camera shoot yields an extra level of depth. Sometimes, there are multiple views of a train. Fine script and informative narration.
A well paced program. The time passes quickly. Views extend out to Global Three Yard, Del Monte plant and more.
Highly recommended for UP and BNSF fans.
Rating: 5 Stars
American Train Video Reviews 