DELRAY Tower to Close - Last North American Lever Frame

In the fading industrial mecca of Detroit the fickle hand of fate created an Iron Triangle of surviving manned interlocking towers.  Conrail BRIDGE, controlling the former NY Central drawbridge over the River Rogue as well as parts of the Detroit Line, NS ROUGE BRIDGE or Ecorse Jct, crossing of the former NY Central and Wabash and lastly DELRAY, crossing of the Conrail Detroit Line with the former C&O branch into the lakeside industrial zone. 

Named for the Delray section of Detroit, the tower eventually came under CSX ownership and would handle conflicting movements between Norfolk Southern, CSX and Conrail Shared assets.

 DELRAY's crown jewel was a 56 lever US&S Model S-8 Electro-Mechanical machine with 36 mechanical levers and 20 miniature electric levers.  Due to what I am sure was a conflict over who would pay for upgrades, DELRAY outlasted almost ever other mechanically based interlocking on the main line North American freight network, becoming the last tower with traditional levers after the closure of DOLTON JCT in 2017 and the last US&S Style S machine in operation after the closure of HALLETT in April 2019. 

Note that the last mechanically operated points in North America were retired in 2010 as DELRAY's machine had been upgraded to electric point operation many decades ago.  The lever colors pictured don't seem to match up with standard practice, but in addition to points and facing point locks, the frame also had to handle derails and one set of movable point frogs.  DELRAY was also well situated for the enthusiast community being located directly adjacent to a road crossing (although it was not located in the best of neighborhoods).

On November 16th, 2020, DELRAY will close.  While I am somewhat surprised that it managed to claim title to so many "lasts", that is more a function of several towers closing before their time. Some have claimed that it is CSX's last interlocking tower full stop, however there are a number of bridge cabins that still support operator positions, including the B&OCT drawbridge in Chicago that happens to be permanently raised yet still in control of the adjacent St. Charles Air Line bridge.  There is also the saga of F TOWER in Fostoria, that, depending on its exact circumstances, could be active yet unmanned, able to be opened on an "as needed" basis similar to HAROLD's zombie state. DELRAY is also not the last mechanically based main line tower on the freight network as JB Tower in West Chicago has likely claim on that title.

For a more in depth look at DELRAY including more recent lever room and relay room interior photos, check out this post on the Towns and Nature blog. The wiring looks like an absolute nightmare! I would highly urge anyone in the area to get their photos while their can, even after the closure date.  DELRAY's location in a rough urban neighborhood will make the tower a likely target for homeless, vandals and scrappers and thus a major liability headache for CSX, so I fear that demolition is inevitable.