I previously reported on the 2018 closure of LENOX tower a Big Four (NY Central) tower between Alton and St. Louis that had ended up under the purview of Union Pacific through the acquisition of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois route to Chicago. The tower was closed through a State funded rebuilding of the interlocking complex as part of the Chicago to St. Louis Lincoln Corridor project. Unfortunately, despite the tower being of brick construction and located in the middle of a major junction in need of maintenance, LENOX was demolished in May of 2021.
When I had last seen LENOX in the spring of 2019, the lights were still on and I had been told that the telephone etc still worked. The interior was thoroughly modernized with wall to wall carpet and HVAC. It looked like the Alton to St Louis rebuilding effort had finished with speeds raised on the old 40mph stretch between LENOX and WR.
Unfortunately someone had other ideas because the tower found itself in the way of a plan to remove LENOX interlocking's signature single slip switch and the resulting track realignment would require the demolition of LENOX tower. Although the the State of Illinois had some preservation riders in its billion dollar corridor project, they only applied to the GRS Type 2 interlocking machine itself.
Despite the fact that two local rail museums turned down the request to save the interlocking machine, a local signal enthusiast got the call and managed to remove everything that was both transportable and worth saving. Anyone who might be riding the Texas Eagle between St. Louis and Chicago would be wise to get additional photos out the back. Moreover LENOX isn't in a built up areas so an in-person visit to the location would be unlikely to trigger much attention unless the rebuilding crews are on site.
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