I've really appreciated the photos in Gallery of September issue of Trains. One that I found very interesting was the internal shot of Indiana Harbor Belt's Calumet Tower in East Chicago. I guess there wouldn't be too many towers left that still use the "armstrong" levers? Did that photo remind folk of other towers that still use them? (I loved that old clock over the operator's desk )
Dave
Corn maze, I don't know if this is any help, but the last photo in Gallery of that issue of Trains, was a twilight photo of Miller Tower in Cherry Run, West Virginia.
Interestingly, the caption with the photo mentioned that it was closed by CSX in 2000, but it was moved to the Martinsburg roundhouse museum, (it was a B&O structure), and re-assembled there in November 2005.
I don't know where Martinsburg is, but maybe you could visit it sometime if you don't live too far away? Alternatively, there could be other preserved towers with the old style levers that other Forum Folk know about...
Forest Hill in Chicago (CSX crosses BRC and NS/Metra) had the mechanical rods & levers but the plant was rebuilt recently and is now remotely controlled by CSX.
Brighton Park may have a mechanical link to the semaphores.
Martinsburg, W.Va. is easy to find. We are on I-81 in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, about midway between Hagerstown, Md. and Winchester, Va. We are also about 25 miles west of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., and about 65 miles west of Washington, D.C.; we are served by both Amtrak and MARC commuter trains (Brunswick Line).
Tours of the Martinsburg Roundhouse Center (our official name) are available between 10:00AM and 2:00PM during most weekdays; we also have a Rail Days event that has been in July, but is up for a schedule change; see our website, www.martinsburgroundhouse.com for details.
If you want to see pictures of Miller Tower during its move and later reassembly, check out the website for the Bunker Hill Train Club at www.bunkerhilltrainclub.org and check on the special page they have for Miller Tower.
Of course, if you are close enough, we can always use volunteers! Give us a call, or write as noted above.
Some more information about towers and Martinsburg:
In addition to our own Miller Tower, railfans might be interested to know that two Armstrong towers that are still in service are at Hancock, W.Va. (about 30 miles from Martinsburg to the west on U.S. 522 north of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., and just south of I-70 at Hancock, Md.) and at Keyser, W.Va. (actually between the towns of Keyser and Piedmont, which are about 30 miles south of Cumberland, Md., and about 2 hours driving time from Martinsburg). Another still-manned tower is an electro-pnuematic installation at Brunswick, Md. (10 miles or so east of Harpers Ferry, and served by MARC commuter trains). In addition to these, our own NA cabin still stands, out of service, awaiting demolition (which for some reason has not yet taken place--get your pictures while you can).
Martinsburg also has two restored railway stations. The main one is a former hotel that predates the Civil War, and is served by MARC trains and Amtrak's Capitol Limited. The other is on the former Cumberland Valley Railroad (Pennsylvania Railroad after 1922, later Conrail, and now Winchester and Western), and is currently in use by a local engineering firm.
We must mention that Martinsburg would make a good staging point for a rail enthusiast. In addition to the attractions mentioned above, and the heavy CSX freight traffic implied with this location, it should also be mentioned that Martinsburg is less than 20 miles from Shenandoah Junction, W.Va. (Norfolk Southern's Shenandoah Valley Line crosses CSX's main at this point, and has been featured as a Trains Magazine Hot Spot); 25 miles south of Hagerstown, Md., the site of CSX and NS yards and an interchange point; and 25 miles north of Winchester, Va., the headquarters of the Winchester and Western (which runs black and yellow GP-9's in a paint scheme reminiscent of the old Nickel Plate, and which has its offices in a stone B&O station). As mentioned in an earlier post, Martinsburg is about 65 miles from Washington, D.C., and the northeast corridor, and is reachable by train.
Historic rail facilities are around, too. These include a steam locomotive in a park (Western Maryland No. 202, a 4-6-2, at Hagerstown) and displayed cabooses (at the Martinsburg Roundhouse Center, at a park in Clearbrook, Va., and at a campground called Candy Hill in Winchester, all ex-B&O). Four tourist railroads are within 90 minutes travel time from Martinsburg; these are the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad at Cumberland, Md., the Potomac Eagle at Romney, W.Va., the Gettysburg Scenic at Gettysburg, Pa., and the narrow-guage East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company at Orbisonia, Pa. The Western Maryland Scenic and the E.B.T. are steam-powered, and the E.B.T. will be having its annual fall spectacular around Columbus Day next month. Also at Orbisonia is the Shade Gap Electric Railway; other trolley and rail museums are at Baltimore (B&O Railroad Museum and Baltimore Streetcar Museum) and Wheaton, Md. (National Capitol Trolley Museum). Further afield are the Strasburg Rail Road, Cass Scenic Railroad, Steamtown National Historic Site, and the Virginia Museum of Transportation.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
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