Yard and Interlocking Towers
Joe has been discussing with me (and a few others in the club) about yard and interlocking towers. I think he resolved his questions, but I thought RR towers (in general) would be a nice topic to look at. Some of Joe’s questions were about construction – So…we’re looking at the different styles and make-up.
This is MKT tower #64 (1930). The track straight ahead is looking toward Commerce, Texas on the St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt). Track to the left is the Missouri, Kansas and Texas (MKT) toward Denison
I found an interesting RR historic site, the Orville Railroad Historic Society (https://orrvillerailroad.com/), that had a nice pic of an interlocking tower in Orville, OH. I added the track schematic
This came out of Classic Trains Magazine. It’s labeled, “Big Emma at Patio Tower.” “Big Emma” is L&N #1966, a class M-1 2-8-4, and Patio Tower is in Winchester, KY
This is an interlocking tower – couldn’t find much info on it:
This is JB Tower on the Eglin, Joliet & Eastern Railway (EJE), in West Chicago, 2008. (A caboose in 2008? – It’s an MOW caboose. The train has a turnout in the gondola with a flatcar of ties. Looks like they closed up most of the window openings on the tower.
This is another interlocking tower that I couldn’t find much info on other than the sign on the side – Alexis. It has a flat roof with parapet walls.
If you remember an earlier email from late last year, we looked at the mechanical chase make-up for interlocking towers. Joe and I got in a discussion about how the mechanical linkages might go around bends in the tracks. Joe – I found a pic! (Not at all what I expected! – But could apply to almost any angle.):
Another interlocking tower – not much info, but I love the bay window:
This tower led me to another great railroad site. I didn’t have the time to look through and locate info on the tower, but the website will give me a future research site! https://railfanguides.us/towers/ (This is the tower portion of the site – looks like there’s a lot more than towers.)
This is PRR Alto Tower in Altoona, PA
Remember talking about the street crossing towers? At least one still exists!:
This is the Louisville & Indiana Railroad Clagg Tower in Louisville, 2011
This is Tuckahoe tower near Tuckahoe Station, Tuckahoe New Jersey. This pic made me do a double take. Start by looking in the tower – there’s a row of Johnson bars. Look at the classic vehicle next to the station. The loco is an EMD GP9, PRR #7000. But the photo was taken in April 2016!!! (The past relived! – that explains why both the loco and the automobile are clean and shiny!):
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