L to R: Peggy Friday, executive director - Rochelle Chamber of Commerce; Malcolm Patterson, senior manager Intermodal Operations - Global III; Wes Lujan, Union Pacific director - Public Affairs for Illinois; and Mayor Chet Olsen, City of Rochelle
L to R: Peggy Friday, executive director - Rochelle Chamber of Commerce; Malcolm Patterson, senior manager Intermodal Operations - Global III; Wes Lujan, Union Pacific director - Public Affairs for Illinois; and Mayor Chet Olsen, City of Rochelle
Sometimes referred to as the Hub City, Rochelle's rail history began one year after its incorporation in 1853, with the completion of the Air Line Railroad between Chicago and the town of Lane, which would later be renamed Rochelle. A forerunner of the Union Pacific Railroad, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad built into Rochelle in 1855. A second main line track was built by the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company (C&NW) between 1898 and 1899. Union Pacific merged with the C&NW in 1995.