The Has-Been Returns

About a decade ago a superb signaling related blog run by a retired US&S signal engineer came to my attention.Titled The Has Been, the site was self-hosted and used dynamic IP address services making it almost completely invisible to the wide world of Google searching. Unfortunately, after a few months it made a switch to a new dynamic DNS service and because I was not in "the loop" the site effectivly went poof.

Well thanks to some new friends I have been made aware that the site still exists, obtained a stable DNS entry and has been updating regularly over the past decade. The site is still not searchable on any public search service and has several other internal features to prevent automated scraping. However it does contain a keyword search and an archive that is served up by calendar month. I figure I am going to have my hands full catching up on all of the great signaling content I have missed. Anyway the current URL is thehasbeen.org:9090, enjoy!

 

Fort Worth Tower 55 Facing Demolition

In a huge surprise it seems that Fort Worth's iconic TOWER 55 is under threat of immediate demolition with work to begin on Monday, November 14th. A report went out on Twitter, but the planned date was pushed back. 

The iconic railroad interlocking Tower 55 in Ft. Worth is being demolished today noooooooo 😭

RIP King pic.twitter.com/PBr9gWMfm7

— Metalheadrailfan 🎅 (@metalheadrailf1)

As we have seen with demolition efforts with AR and MG towers near Altoona there are numerous factors that could yet scuttle the demolition plans, including detection of hazardous substances like lead or asbestos. It is also unknown if the tower will need to be gutted first or simply demolished as-is.

TOWER 55 is located in downtown Fort Worth and consists of a3x2 diamond crossing between two major Union Pacific main line with connecting tracks on all four quadrants. The junction is so complex that it has its own signal committee posting handy "you are here" signs. It is on the order of such towers as SANTA FE JCT in Kansas City or F TOWER in Fostoria.

The tower checks none of the boxes of demolition risk. It's made of brick, in very good condition with modern windows on the operator's level.  It is located in a quadrant of the jct behind a fence line and is used by local MoW or C&S crews. The most likely explanations are some sort of spite (aka "cost cutting") or a need to expand the east-west line from 2 tracks to 3, which could require running the new track through the tower's footprint.  If anyone knows anything more specific or has updates about TOWER 55 please leave them in the comments.

K TOWER "Relocated" w/ N-X Panel Retired

It has been confirmed that Amtrak has relocated the train director(s) working K TOWER at Washington Union Terminal from the historic 1908 structure and into a small office in the Railway Express building adjacent to Track 29 on Union Station's lower level.

 

Unlike R Tower in Sunnyside yard, where a similar relocation immediately preceded demolition to make way for an Acela maintenance facility, the historical significance of Washington's K TOWER is well understood.  In 2017 I reported on plans to cover over the entire union station approach with some mixed use development with K Tower specifically singled out for conversion into some sort of high end bar. The culprit here is some combination of Amtrak's desire to simplify "management" and also cut costs along with some technical upgrades that were evidently completed behind the scenes.

As constructed in 1908, Washington Terminal was controlled by at least three US&S Electro-Pneumatic equipped towers, A Cabin, C Tower and K Tower. In the 1970's, K Tower had its long Electro-Pneumatic machine replaced with a then cutting edge N-X type interface and model board that drastically cut the need for staffing (and floor space) and centralized control of the entire terminal into a single location. This change likely took place around 1975 as the construction of the DC Metro's Red Line required the demolition of C Tower. Although cutting edge for the 1970's, by the 2010's the N-X machine was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain as parts were long out of production and failures could become rather nail biting in terms of getting the machine working again.

Although decorated with some LCD screens, the big old N-X panel's days were numbered and as soon as the control was converted into a video display interface, the human train director was no longer limited to being in the tower itself, especially if CCTV feeds could be provided. Although I suspect the historic K TOWER will be maintained and serve a railroad function, while active as a work site the HVAC, restrooms, etc would all need to be maintained to a higher standard. Plus there is the added benefit of management being able to "pop in" to "supervise". It is quite possible that the N-X panel was actually replaced years ago and COVID simply delayed the inevitable. K Tower would therefore be a rather extreme example of a "return to the office" policy. Still, given that computers can be installed anywhere, there is always the chance that the K TOWER staff could find themselves back in the old tower in the future, baring some redevelopment effort.

K TOWER joins the fate of many other pre-video "panel" type interlocking setups that I discussed previously in the content of Hoboken's rather short lived TERMINAL TOWER. Given the ease at which an N-X panel can be converted to a video interface, it is entirely possible that, rapid transit systems not withstanding, we  might see electro-mechanical machines outlast hard wired N-X panels in staffed towers.

Baltimore Power Director's Office to be "Preserved"

 More details are emerging about the fate of the Power Director's Office in Baltimore Penn Station. The entire 1911 station building is undergoing a major restoration with the upper floors slated to be turned into office space.  Unfortunately the Power Director's Office, located in room 222, is included in the redevelopment plan and will be cleared of all the PRR era 25hz railroad electrification control equipment that has remained in place since the office was closed in the mid-1980's when CTEC took over.

The less bad news is that some portion of the equipment including at least the large display board, will be relocated to a more public part of the station. A local TV newscast got a tour of the office and according to their report this new location appears to be in the 1911 building where the current ticket and baggage rooms are now. (Those facilities will be moving to a new station building across the tracks). It is unclear if all of the equipment, including 1940's based telecom gear for the SCADA functionality, will be moved or just the visually interesting conversation pieces. Also being lost is the physical character/ergonomics of the current Room 222 space and any support infrastructure like cable ducts and light fixtures.

As I previously reported, Amtrak recently leased the former Harrisburg power office to the Harrisburg Chapter NRHS for preservation and it currently shares the second floor of Harrisburg's Penn Station with a number of third party offices. Other shuttered offices still exist at 30th St station and the New York Penn Station support building.