Railfanning Rochelle, IL, on 04/24/2026

On a sunny Friday, me and my friends headed out to the Rochelle Railroad Park to catch some trains. This was definitely a slightly lower-volume day than normal at Rochelle, with eleven trains - seven UP and four BNSF - passing through in three hours. However, the quality of the day's catches definitely made up for it, with a westbound rail train and an ex-SP AC44CW leader with flashing ditch lights on the UP and an ex-BN SD40-2 OmniTRAX leaser unit on a local on the BNSF being the highlights of the day. Enjoy! Featured railfans: ‪@BluejayTrains‬ ‪@ChicagoAreaRailfan‬ ‪@RustyRicketsRR‬ Recorded on 04/24/2026 in Rochelle, IL 1. Eastbound UP z-train UP 5586 (AC44CWCTE built August 2004) UP 8587 (SD70ACe built 2007) UP 7803 (AC45CCTE built 2008) UP 5571 (AC44CWCTE built August 2004) 2. Westbound UP z-train UP 6581 (AC44CW built April 1997) UP 6815 (AC44CW built June 1996) UP 6327 (AC44CW built June 1995 as SP 284) UP 7754 (AC45CCTE built 2007) UP 7074 (AC44CM built September 1996 as an AC6000CW) (rear DPU) 3. Westbound BNSF z-train BNSF 7256 (ES44DC built February 2009) BNSF 4193 (C44-9W built June 2002) BNSF 7406 (ES44DC built 2008-10) BNSF 3936 (ET44C4 built 2015) (rear DPU) BNSF 7637 (ES44DC built 2005-08) (rear DPU) 4. Westbound UP rail train UP 2618 (ET44AH built 2015) 5. and 6. Westbound UP manifest meets Eastbound UP autorack train 5. Westbound UP manifest UP 6070 (AC44CM built April 2004 as an AC44CWCTE) UP 3060 (SD70AH-T4 built 2016-17) UP 8575 (SD70ACe built 2007) (mid DPU) 6. Eastbound UP autorack train UP 6335 (AC44CW built July 1995 as SP 290) UP 2578 (ET44AH built 2015) (mid DPU) UP 7117 (AC44CW built July 1998) (mid DPU) 7. Eastbound BNSF manifest local BNSF 4445 (C44-9W built May 1999) BNSF 4340 (C44-9W built February 1999) OMLX 411 (SD40-2 built July 1980 as BN 8162) 8. Eastbound UP manifest UP 5703 (AC44CM built March 2001 as an AC44CWCTE) UP 5251 (AC45CCTE built February 2006) 9. Westbound UP manifest local UP 3961 (SD70M built April 2003) UP 3863 (SD70M built August 2004) 10. Eastbound BNSF manifest BNSF 6680 (ES44C4 built 2011) BNSF 7833 (ES44DC built March 2010) BNSF 5146 (C44-9W built April 2004) (rear DPU) 11. Westbound BNSF hopper train BNSF 3773 (ET44C4 built 2016) BNSF 7194 (ES44C4 built 2013-14) BNSF 8374 (ES44C4 built 2015) (rear DPU)