Home Open Account Help 225 users online

Nostalgia & History > UN Tower New Castle, PA

Date: 12/09/07 07:46
UN Tower New Castle, PA
Author: OscarManheim

Here is a shot of a westbound CSX train entering the yard at New Castle, PA at UN Tower c1991. This was one of the last "armstrong" towers in operation on the former B&O lines. After it closed, it was moved to nearby Mahoningtown where is has been cosmetically restored for display. I am not sure if the operating levers were preserved along with it, though.

Tom Kraemer
RR Trax Studios
www.rrtraxstudios.com

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Quote ]
Date: 12/09/07 11:41
Re: UN Tower New Castle, PA
Author: Evan_Werkema

Were any of the pipelines still connected? I don't remember any still being in place when I visited a few years later, but the tower was still manned.

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Quote ]
Date: 12/09/07 15:36
Re: UN Tower New Castle, PA
Author: OscarManheim

That picture was pretty late in the game...I remember there being a few switches still controlled by the pipes through the '80s, after that, the levers were still mechanically interlocked, but controlled power switches. I'm fairly certain, though, that the machine was not saved along with the tower, which is very unfortunate.

Tom

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Quote ]
Date: 12/10/07 02:23
Re: UN Tower New Castle, PA
Author: Evan_Werkema

One other question - what did the yellow light and plate on the front of the tower indicate? Saw that on other ex-B&O towers too.

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Quote ]
Date: 12/10/07 03:40
Re: UN Tower New Castle, PA
Author: operatorjoe

Don't know about the B&O, but when I hired on Penn Central we called them trainorder boards. We only used a light with it at night.
Joe

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Quote ]
Date: 12/10/07 05:50
Re: UN Tower New Castle, PA
Author: skrambo

That is indeed a trainorder board. Yellow for "19" orders.
Red for "31" orders.
The yellow panel showing was probably a metal plate, red on one side,
yellow on the other, which slid into a track on either side of the board. (There would be two such panels in the tower.
Also, a red and a yellow light on each side of the board.

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Quote ]

[ Share Thread on Facebook ] [ Search ] [ Start a New Thread ] [ Back to Thread List ] [ <Newer ] [ Older> ] 
Page created in 0.0379 seconds