A. Likely nothing. While outages happen, they are relatively rare. The biggest cause of user distress is outdated software. We recommend updating the Adobe Flash Player plugin regularly and using a modern web browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, to view the webcam.
Q. Where is this camera?
A. The Trains Magazine Rochelle Webcam is located in Rochelle, Ill., overlooking the crossing of BNSF Railway’s Chicago-Twin Cities main line and Union Pacific’s Chicago-Omaha main line. The camera is situated atop the roof of the shelter at the Rochelle Railroad Park and looks west toward the crossing. For more on train watching, see the Trains Hot Spots guide on Rochelle.
Q. How did you manage to obtain such a great location?
A. The Trains Rochelle Webcam is brought to you by a partnership of Trains Magazine and the City of Rochelle, including the Greater Rochelle Economic Development Corp., Rochelle Municipal Utilities, and Rochelle.Net.
Q. What kind of equipment do I need to watch the action on the cam?
A. You will need a broadband Internet connection and a modern web browser, such as the latest version of Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Q. What happened to the still shot images of the locomotives I used to see on the webcam?
A. The new webcam makes use of the latest advances in Internet connections, meaning we can now bring you full motion video and sound! The previous webcam, installed more than 10 years ago, was limited by the Internet connections of the period, which would preclude streaming the high-definition video we now offer.
Q. Why do I have to restart the camera after watching it for a while?
A. Because the new camera offers full-motion video and sound, it takes up a lot of internet bandwidth. To make sure we do not waste bandwidth, the video feed times out after a few minutes.
Q. Why don’t I hear train horns anymore in Rochelle?
A. In late 2016, Rochelle enacted a railroad quiet zone. This means that trains will not sound their horns unless necessary in an emergency, such as for people on or near the tracks.
Q. How come the video is dark at night?
A. Because we want to be the best neighbor we can possibly be and do not want to bother the railroaders and residents with floodlights.
Q. Why can’t I see the trains in the snow?
A. The camera is located on the roof of the park shelter and points to the west, giving viewers the best possible access to the diamond cross. However, this can lead to problems with snow and ice in the winter. Please have patience as we work with our partners in Rochelle to clear the camera.
Q. Why can’t I see the webcam on my mobile device?
A. The streaming technology to view the Rochelle webcam is viewable on multiple mobile devices, but is not compatible with the Firefox browser for Android. We recommend using the Google Chrome browser when viewing the webcam on an Android mobile device and Safari browser for an Apple mobile device.
Q. Something is wrong with the webcam, how soon can you fix it?
A. This depends on the nature of the problem. If it is computer based, our Wisconsin-based staff can usually take care of it from the office. However, if there is a problem with the camera itself, repairs can take longer. Remember, our office is more than 100 miles from Rochelle and traveling there is a significant investment in our time, among the many requirements of producing a magazine.
Q. My company manufactures something that would appeal to the viewers of this webcam. How can I buy a banner ad?
A. If you’re selling a railroad-related product or service, call the folks at the Trains advertising department at 888-558-1544, extension 625 (outside the U.S. and Canada, 262-798-6625), or send an email to adsales@trains.com.
Q. This FAQ has been entertaining and helpful, but I have a question that’s not listed here. Now what do I do?
A. Send your question via email to the Trains webcam team at webcam@trains.com. We appreciate suggestions and will endeavor to answer your question promptly.
Q. Will you move the webcam to show the new Union Pacific signals?
A. We want to keep the field of view on both railroads roughly equal, so at this time we are not considering moving the camera.
Please, Would it be possible to have an on screen timeline for when trains are due to arrive at this location?
Fans come to this site to watch trains. 1. If I want a weather report Ill go to the weather channel. Please remove the unnecessary clutter. It’s distracting.
2. Please raise the camera so the UP signal can be watched. I don’t come here to watch people. Thank you
At the risk of insulting someone, I have a simple question. Why on earth is the Virtual Railfan camera at Rochelle so far superior to yours? I stumbled onto it quite by accident, and as long as it’s sponsored (free to me), I’ll continue to visit it and not the Trains site. The ability to scan across many hours of digital storage is nice, but the fact that it works very well at night is even more impressive. Perhaps you and VR ought to negotiate a deal to allow you to use their feed in exchange for Trains lending some financial support rather than fully supporting its own camera.
I have a modern computer, a Mac with operating system MacOS Monterey 12.0.1
But when i go to full screen mode on the webcam at Rochelle I loose the sound. Any suggestions?
With your new format what happened to the sound?
Needs sound
what happened to the other web-cam, from the past?
Does anyone know how to get the cam to display in Opera web browser? It used to work, stopped working a month ago.
What happened to the website? After 8 views, I was shut down. Go back to the old camera and view. The new one is terrible. I subscribe to three magazines from Kalmbach and used to love to watch this camera.
It sure would be nice to have the camera aimed to show the crossing exactly in the middle of the view ! The field of view of each railroad would be exactly equal, and the new signals could be seen also !
Why does it say I only have 4 views left?
Go back to old format. It wasn’t broken.
G. Roberts, TRAINS subscriber for 50 plus years.
Webcam stays dark
Cannot access disappointed subscriber
Pearsonjohn99@gmail.com
dislike new format. can not find webcam , hard to find news wire. go back to old format
Would it be possible to have an on screen timeline for when trains are due to arrive at this location?