Nostalgia & History > Big CTC board in Johnsonville Tower (B&M)

One caption says the tower's last day was 22 Oct 1955,
but the other says it was alive in 1957

https://railphoto.historyit.com/items/view/digital-museum/413219

https://railphoto.historyit.com/items/view/digital-museum/210767

Ever see an interlocking tower with a CTC board that big?
How much of the RR it controlled is left?

A bunch of telegraph sounders (?) in the second pic.

Those are great pictures! From the book Jim had The Call To Trains I think. Only 1 main track in front of the tower is all that remains today heading towards Mechanicville. The old Troy Branch ran behind the tower down to Troy Union Station. It was the Junction with the B&M Troy line with the Main line. I believe the Troy station was ripped out by 1958? I think the track was abandoned then tore out. Some of it is a bike trail in North Troy (NY) and some of it is a trail. NY RT 40 still has bridge abutments where the line crossed. The tower shell is still there but in bad shape. NY RT 67 goes right by it.

Posted from Android

Here's how the tower looked last summer on July 22.

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timz Wrote:
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>
> Ever see an interlocking tower with a CTC board
> that big?
> How much of the RR it controlled is left?
>


The B&O's Deshler Tower in Deshler, Ohio had an early US&S CTC machine (1930)  that controlled Toledo to Lima, Ohio (CH&D). It was in service in the 80's as I spent time photographing and recording sounds with my dad in 1987. The tower is still there.

A cousin married the son of a Garret, Indiana (B&O) dispatcher, but I found out about it too late. I could have probably arranged a visit into the station offices. And you know, I would have taken photos. Dang it. I always wonder what they had in there. Maybe there are some photos out there.

Victor Baird


BCHellman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> timz Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> >
> > Ever see an interlocking tower with a CTC board
> > that big?
> > How much of the RR it controlled is left?
> >
>
>
> The B&O's Deshler Tower in Deshler, Ohio had an
> early US&S CTC machine (1930)  that controlled
> Toledo to Lima, Ohio (CH&D). It was in service in
> the 80's as I spent time photographing and
> recording sounds with my dad in 1987. The tower is
> still there.

I just walked up the steps and knocked on the door and the Towerman was friendly and said sure, come join me. Naturally we did not interfere with his duties but during down time he asked my dad about his WWII experiences as a bomber pilot.

Those were simpler times, I guess. 

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> A cousin married the son of a Garret, Indiana
> (B&O) dispatcher, but I found out about it too
> late. I could have probably arranged a visit into
> the station offices. And you know, I would have
> taken photos. Dang it. I always wonder what they
> had in there. Maybe there are some photos out
> there.
>
> Victor Baird
>
>
> BCHellman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > timz Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> >
> > >
> > > Ever see an interlocking tower with a CTC
> board
> > > that big?
> > > How much of the RR it controlled is left?
> > >
> >
> >
> > The B&O's Deshler Tower in Deshler, Ohio had an
> > early US&S CTC machine (1930)  that controlled
> > Toledo to Lima, Ohio (CH&D). It was in service
> in
> > the 80's as I spent time photographing and
> > recording sounds with my dad in 1987. The tower
> is
> > still there.

I would visit tower operators but Garrett was a division office. I don't think they would have appreciated a stranger just walking into the building.


Victor Baird

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wabash2800 Wrote:
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> I would visit tower operators but Garrett was a
> division office. I don't think they would have
> appreciated a stranger just walking into the
> building.

Depends. I walked into NS's Brewster office and introduced myself. At the time the office controlled the former Wheeling, P&WV and parts of the Nickel Plate, Bellevue to Ashtabula (?), mainly under the control of CTC. They also dispatched the branches and the AC&Y. I sat down with the Nickel Plate DS and we talked about his railroad. As I was commenting on the modern panel. He laughed and then called over the CTC maintainer on duty and told him to take me to the "control room," which if I remember was in the basement. Down below were all the ancient coders. If I recall, some were US&S 504s. I was, and still am, fascinated with the sound of US&S coders clicking away as they send codes down the code line.

Then there was the Santa Fe's Albuquerque dispatching center, which lasted only a short time before moving to Schaumburg,  Ill. Again, walked in the building and introduced myself. They asked where I wanted to sit. I told them the stretch Belen eastward, which was still single track and very busy. The DS talked about his railroad and his philosophy of dispatching as he was weaving trains in and out of sidings, chatting with his crews.

But there were failures. I knocked on the door of Conrail's office at Hornell. The DS, was polite, but said he couldn't let me in.

I remember sitting at BNs Seatlle office.

I've sat at UP's Harriman Center and BNSF's Ft Worth Center, but I had friends who worked there. And I spent much time at SP's dispatching centers, but I was credentialed. That's another story. There were others as well.

So all it took was asking. But this was before 911.

PS...Nice photo of the depot.