JACKSON ST tower, located in Fostoria, Ohio, may not be as well known as the famous tower located at the Iron Triangle, but JACKSON ST was notable for hosting the world's first CTC system installed in 1927. As described in this article, the CTC system from General Railway Signaling (GRS) covered 40 miles of New York Central trackage and was the first time trains had been directed on a single track with passing sidings entirely by signal indication and without any use of train orders.
If you are wondering what a New York Central tower is doing in a town known for the B&O, C&O and N&W, that's because the NYC line between Toledo and Bucyrus was almost completely abandoned. While JACKSON ST wound up just a short distance from the CSX owned C&O Northern Branch to Toledo, it was still guardian an empty right of way and may have been assumed to be off current railroad property all together.
Well it turns out it was still owned by CSX and despite the tower's good condition and historic importance, it was demolished sometime in the fall. I'm pretty sure the actual CTC panel was preserved, but its a shame that places like Fostoria likely lack a critical mass of rail enthusiasts or preservationists to prevent this kind of destruction.
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