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Well it looks like the payout from E. Hunter Harrison's life insurance payout provided the Baltimore Division with enough spare pocket change for the tower to be demolished. In all seriousness it possibly was some sort of management dictate, perhaps intended to reduce employee perks or simply eliminate whatever crew base it supported.
While typically "slow" parts of a large corporate organization are neglected and thus preserved, sometimes the knife can cut the other way with extreme cost cutting. Hopefully, with CSX's experiment in railroad management a complete failure, things will go back to the way they were.
If you'd like to see a location that is ' "slow" parts of a large corporate organization are neglected and thus preserved' look no further than CSX's Delray tower in Detroit... it's a time capsule (from hell from a maintenance perspective). But it might be going away soon too.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be suprised if M tower at Mexico Farms (Cumberland) falls soon as well. There are already rumblings locally that the Cumberland hump is doomed for the same fate as the hump in Atlanta that new CEO James Foote had bulldozed on his "first day".
ReplyDeleteWow. I never worked D tower; but 'posted up' (trained) there in the early 1970s. I was really a hot spot. You took instructions from all 3 Monongah Division dispatchers ; G&B, MR, and primarily the (Parkersburg) Branch. Lots of trains through there. Some that I remember: Manhattan, Advance Manhattan, St. Louis Trailer Jet, CI97.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandfather, Ed Plum, worked out of that Tower in the 30's, 40's, and early 50's...as Chief Caller (Dispatcher). When he took me to work, after work he would get a beer on Latrobe Street and then we would walk back to Washington Street, where he lived...
ReplyDeleteJust now saw this! Actually, D was built in 1910. It closed at 0700 2 April, 1999. It was empty after that, no one used it for office space. Apparently it had a US&S Model 14 type machine prior to the CTC Board, but no on I knew ever saw it. I spent a lot of happy evenings railfanning there while the late Hayward Wittman kept things moving with efficiency, clarity, and a good dose of humor!
ReplyDeleteWow, Pee Wee Wittman. In 1971, I trained as an Operator in Buckhannon. You worked 7 days a week until you were qualified. I lived in Grafton, so M-F I drove to Buckhannon. Pee Wee worked a Burnsville-Buckhannon relief turn. 3 shifts in Burnsville and Saturday and Sunday 1st trick in Buckhannon. I was able to car pool with him on those days. He taught me a lot; but most importantly how to cat nap. After I qualified and started working the extra board and monkey turns (working all three tricks during the week) I realized how important his training was. You had to sleep whenever you could.
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