CSX Resignaling Accelerates

I have two new CSX re-signaling alerts and the first has some potentially unfortunate implications for the River Line, but that remains to be seen.  First up on the hit list is CP-90 in Kingston, NY which is the north end of a non-signaled controlled siding on the former Conrail River Line.

 Now I am not sure if this is technically a full on re-signaling as the vital hardware went in in the late 80's or 90's and is probably some solid state system like Microlock and does not to be up for replacement at this time, but to convert the siding from restricted speed to signaled the Michigan Central style small target searchlights are getting the toss. 

However all of you who prefer to have the South keep their culture on the other side of the Mason Dixon line are going to be in for some disappointment.  Yup, you see that Lunar White lamp?  That's the hallmark of the Seaboard style of signal aspects.  No more R/Y Restricting  because why use three lamps when you can you four instead!  Does this mark a full conversion of the River Line to Seaboard signal rules as has happened on the Selkirk branch and parks of the Chicago Line instead of the 'CR' prefix rules?  I don't know, but the CP-90 will certainly be ready for them.  The Lunar lamp is a valid in NORAC for Restricting and the new three head signal would need a bottom head green to support R/Y/G Medium Approach Medium  Even on the 4-lamp unit off the siding isn't indicative of a conversion to Seaboard rules as the Yellow could still be set to flash for Medium Approach. 

This could just be a simple upgrade of a controlled siding to a signaled siding, or it could be more evidence of that creating southern culture into the North.  It will only be possible to tell if CSX is going Seaboard on the River Line if we start seeing that lower green on the tri head flash or crews start calling Limited Approach off the siding.  Until now CSX had been good about keeping the River Line in the NORAC sphere, but thee might be a total changeover in the works.

Anyway the second bit of news comes to us from Cleveland where the former location of Quaker (QD) Tower is now about to get the kill of banality from CSX.  Quaker is a massive interlocking complex at the west end of the former NYC Collingwood Yard where the Cleveland Short Line jioned the straight through Chicago Line.  Today with CSX and NS handing off ownership of the Chicago Line at Cleveland almost nothing uses the section between Quaker and Drawbridge except the daily Amtrak Train 48/49,  QD was an active tower well into the 1990's, but despite looking like the nearby BEREA (BE) tower, it was fitted with a modern NX panel, instead of its original GRS Model 5 pistol grip machine.   From the generally non-modern layout of the interlocking plant I have to assume that the interlocking was remote controlled instead of being re-signaled.  Well, it looks like CSX is out to remedy that little oversight as you can pick up on here.

Yup, new relay huts, new signal masts and cantilevers.  Just about the only interesting part left will be the use of Unilens dwarfs in place of the searchlight dwarfs.  Once again the real question is if we will continue to see NORAC signal indications, especially with all those dwarfs, or is it time to get ready for Lunar restricting and Approach Slow that needs three signal heads.

Oh yeah, they're dicking around elsewhere on the Chicago Line as well.  It's times like these when I really wish I could get pictures out the back of the Lakeshore.