The NS PRR Main Line re-signaling project that culminated in the fall of 2019 is claiming two additional victims in the form of AR and MG towers on the famous East Slope of the Allegheny mountains.
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| AR Tower in 2018 |
Closed in 1994 with Conrail's previous effort to eliminate the island of paper dispatching and block operation between Altoona and Johnstown, AR tower, along with MG and SO were left standing due to the retention of pneumatic pair plants and some elements of the 100hz signal power supplies, which were in the way of a demolition operation. MO tower in Cresson was slated for preservation, but fell apart during the move while SO tower caught fire and burned down in 2009. C(onemaugh) tower in Johnstown was also demolished about that time leaving AR and MG as the only two PRR Main Line tower still under railroad control.
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| MG Tower in 2018 |
Both AR and MG were built in the 1940's as WW2 capacity improvement projects, with MG interlocking itself being built from scratch. Their strong brick construction helped them outlast their wooden counterparts and there was no reason they could not have stood for many more years.
Both towers were boarded up with their interlocking machines and other artifacts still inside. Photos taken on July 5th show the two towers being stripped of internal and external items with scrap value or asbestos contamination. While the demolition of AR seems inevitable, MG's highly remote location, over a mile from the nearest road, has NS apparently looking at demolition bids before a decision is made. AR's proximity to Gallitzin, PA allowed me to fully document it in 2018, however in the months before MG's re-signaling, reports of a heavy railroad police presence (as well as the long off-road component) prevented a similar effort there. Hopefully the fan community can preserve any of the more worthwhile items. Stay tuned for further updates and eventually full detail post on AR tower using my 2018 photos.
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