PHOTOS: NORTH PHILADELPHIA Interlocking

NORTH PHILADELPHIA is an interlocking emblematic of Philadelphia's industrial strength and the Pennsylvania Railroad's wealth and technical leadership. NORTH PHILADELPHIA is an interlocking emblematic of Philadelphia's industrial decline and Amtrak's chronic lack of funds. NORTH PHILADELPHIA is not an interlocking, and is barely a station. All of these statements were at one point true and thus track the up and down fortunes of the PRR's third great tower in the Philadelphia terminal area. Constructed in 1914 on the Connecting Railway that linked the PRR's East-West Main Line at Zoo Junction to the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad at Frankford Jct, NORTH PHILADELPHIA was a direct sibling to FAIR tower in Trenton and similar in style to UNION JCT and B&P JCT towers in Baltimore and was built to control the important North Philadelphia station complex along with the junction with the lucrative Chestnut Hill suburban branch. In this the first part of a two part series we will look at the layout and history of NORTH PHILADELPHIA interlocking before moving inside the tower in part 2.

As built in 1914, the North Philadelphia interlocking complex comprised a laundry list of "thoroughly modern" and "high tech" transportation concepts. The station featured 12-car 48" high level platforms designed to seamless transfer for passengers on long distance through trains to access downtown Philadelphia without those premier trains needing to make a costly stop at the stub end Broad Street Station. All of this was controlled by a 47-lever Union Switch and Signal Model F all-electric interlocking machine with a lighted diagram and multiple clockwork rundown timers to prevent delays. The entire 1915 rebuild project also coincided with the suburban electrification project that would bring 11kv 25hz overhead wires to Chestnut Hill. 

The interlocking consisted of a trailing point ladder on the east end and a facing point ladder on the west end that doubled as a two-track into six-track flat junction for Chestnut Hill suburban trains. Between these two ladders were crossovers that allowed access to the additional station platform tracks. The tracks were arranged such that through freight trains would use center main tracks 2 and 3 unencumbered by the high level platforms, the outer passenger tracks 1 and 4 would split in to at each high level island allowing express trains to pass platformed locals and a pair of yard tracks, 0 and 5, running on each edge of the right of way to service local industry. Lever numbers ran from east to west and the facing point ladder on the west also featured a pair of double slip switches across tracks 2 and 3 as well as a diamond where the #5 freight track crossed the outbound Chestnut Hill track. Due to a tight curve on the Chestnut Hill suburban tracks, slow speed (15mph) routes for those movements was seen as acceptable. 

Main Line electrification to Trenton arrived in 1930 and with it North Philadelphia saw a number of significant upgrades. Chief among these was the application of Pennsylvania Railroad position light signaling and with it the iconic 10-track signal bridge at the western end of the island platforms (although due to the use of single direction signaling only four signals were actually mounted on said gantry) along with older style dwarfs.



Switches were changed from electric to pneumatic operation and two additional crossovers were added (using spare levers #1 and #2) at the eastern end of the platforms to allow trains their choice of center or edge tracks as express passenger trains made increasing use of the center "freight" tracks. On the interlocking machine electric switch amp-meters were removed and additional rundown timers were added since this era of interlocking did not support zoned timers. On the Chestnut Hill branch a trailing point crossover was added just north of the platforms protected by a pair of signals on each track. Without room on the large Type F frame, the new crossover was accommodated on an adjacent 4-lever US&S table interlocker. Finally, some #20 (45mph) turnouts were added, but no Limited speed routes were provided for.

The post war period could likely be considered peak North Philadelphia as in the following decades industrial retreat combined with white flight turned a vibrant middle and working class community into a marquee example of urban decay on par with the Bronx and South Central. Not only did the East-West long distance trains that made North Philadelphia a vital transfer point evaporate, but the local ridership also plummeted due to the aforementioned neighborhood collapse. The freight services were also in disarray with the Penn Central imploding into Conrail and Amtrak taking charge of the Northeast Corridor route that was still configured in the manner of the combined passenger-freight operations of the PRR era. With funding from Regan's Washington in short supply the 1992 edition of NORTH PHILADELPHIA looked surprisingly like the 1972 version with only the #1, #2 and #29 station track access switches removed and the two double slips re-aligned into coventional turnouts.

Regardless it was hard to deny that NORTH PHILADELPHIA was over-built and many of the freight tracks and sidings were falling into weedy decay.

The early 1990's would see a huge push by Conrail and Amtrak to disentangle their operations on the former PRR. Via a new connection at the Reading's old Park Jct, the Conrail Trenton Line would take the place of the old #5 track through NORTH PHILADELPHIA interlocking with the deletion of the #45 and #5 switches and associated signals. Around 2000 Amtrak finally scrapped together enough funding to begin their NORTH PHILADELPHIA modernization effort.

The over the course of a couple years the entire east end of the interlocking save for the #11 and #17 crossovers was removed and reestablished as a new interlocking named CLEARFIELD, remote to the CTEC dispatching office effective 2003.

Amtrak CLEARFIELD interlocking crossovers looking westbound.

Moreover the antiquated station track system was remedied via a wholesale track re-alignment with "Eastward Station" being through routed as Track #1, Track #2 being cut between the #47 and #17 switches, and a new Track #2 being routed along the eastbound platform. This left a rusting portion of concrete tied NEC track on the old track #2 alignment for a number of years after. 

Former track #2, removed and relocated.

Finally both the Westbound Station and 0 tracks north of the westbound platform were removed at the 32R and 34R signals. 

At this point NORTH PHILADELPHIA entered its most awkward phase of existence as a black hole on the dispatch board generally only able to participate in moving R8 SEPTA trains on and off the Chestnut Hill West line and trying not to delay through trains on the NEC. Perhaps the most inconvenient part from an operations point of view was NORTH PHILADELPHIA's continued configuration for single direction Rule 251 ABS operation when the NEC on either side of it had long since been upgraded to bi-directional CTC. Trains arriving on wrong-direction tracks would need to take a slow speed indication from a dwarf signal and stay at 15mph through most of the long interlocking.

Eastbound 40L and 42L home signals.

As 2005 approached Amtrak began to make the final push towards eliminating NORTH PHILADELPHIA. The pneumatic point machines were replaced by electrics, new high position light signals appeared on the westbound super-gantry and a brand new eastbound signal gantry was erected.

 

The track layout was predictably simplified with the 31 and 33 switches being removed along with the associated diamond and north side stub tracks. The #25 crossover was also removed limiting westbound parallel Chestnut movements to track #4. On the main ladder all the crossovers were aligned for Medium Speed (30mph) operation and the new signals were able to reflect this.

Finally the trailing crossover on the Chestnut Hill branch itself was removed shifting the division point with SEPTA to the 10-track signal bridge. However the former 50L and 52R signals remained for another decade as automatics.

Former NORTH PHILADELPHIA 50L turned automatic signal 50CH

In the summer of 2005 NORTH PHILADELPHIA tower was closed after 91 years in service with the new Chestnut Hill Branch junction being named LEHIGH after the nearby street. It's single facing point ladder complimenting the trailing point ladder at SHORE interlocking 2.6 miles to the east.

With this context in mind, join me next time as we head into NORTH PHILADELPHIA tower before its closure for a look at the interlocking machine and related equipment.

PHOTOS: GWYNN Tower

The PRR's GWYNN tower, originally named GWYNNS RUN, was built in 1931-32 and replaced the small, wood frame VN (CalVertoN Yard) tower on the same location adjacent to the viaduct over Gwynn's Falls.  GWYNN served the function of a main line crossover, but being located only 1.5 miles from the end of 4-track territory at FULTON interlocking, its primary reason for existence was to support various industrial tracks south of the City of Baltimore in a similar fashion to MILLHAM interlocking north of Trenton.  With the collapse of urban industry in the Northeast along with a specific reduction of freight services along the Northeast Corridor in the Amtrak era, GWYNN and its entire interlocking plant were ultimately found to be redundant and subsequently removed and abandoned.

GWYNNs layout consisted of a 4-track complete crossover with connections to industrial leads at three of the four corners.  The original main track layout was 2+2 single direction Rule 251 in both directions, although by the Penn Central era track 3 had been converted to Rule 261.  By the 1940's both logical pairs of crossovers were equipped with Limited Speed #20 turnouts with signals having the appropriate yellow triangles. The intent was to allow both passenger and through freight to bypass local industrial movements tying up the outer tracks directly south of the city The tower also had remote control of two nearby interlockings to the south, LOUDON PARK and WINANS.

The demise of GWYNN came with the Northeast Corridor Improvement Program (NECIP) of the early 1980's.  With the aim to increase speeds to 125mph and remove costs associated with legacy freight infrastructure, Amtrak rationalized GWYNN by replacing the old interlocking with the MP 99.3/4 automatic signal location and, in 1985, transferring some of the functionality to a new interlocking named BRIDGE, 1.1 miles to the north (although it can be argued that BRIDGE is more a devolved FULTON than a relocated GWYNN).  Note in the 1992 Amtrak diagram below that the #5 track, #0 track and Gwynn industrial track have all been removed as of 2020.

The former northbound signal bridge now serves as automatic signal location 993 for southbound trains and 994 for northbound trains.  The NECIP completely eliminated Rule 251 operation south of Philadelphia and at this point all 4 tracks were bidirectional.  Note that the track to the far right is track #3 and the track to the far left is track #A, which is different from the PRR which numbered them 1 to 4.

Here we see GWYNN tower and the straight railed interlocking plant looking first northbound then southbound, which compares rather poorly to this 1977 view.

 

The southbound signal gantry today sits empty north of the Gwynn's Falls viaduct, but is past function is still obvious.

Similar in design to towers like CORK, GWYNN was a throwback to the more ornate towers of the teens and twenties, just before the general adoption of  the cleaner designs of the 1930's.  Compare the wooden bay window to that of WINSLOW tower, built just a few years later.  In the photo below, taken around 2005,  we can see that whole the structure is clearly decaying, it is relatively graffiti free and appears to have had a spot of paint applied to its concrete foundation. 

15 years later the tower has seen some significant deterioration with the wooden bay window structure having completely rotted off and the walls not covered in spray paint.  Unlike the DL&W style towers which had poured concrete roofs, the PRR tended to use wooden roofs and once the roof is compromised it tends to undermine the rest of the structure.  Fortunately the cantilevered bay window floor did not appear to be going anywhere. 

Website: Hidden Trackside Treasures Of Southwestern PA

I wanted to take a moment to plug another blog I just found that takes an in depth historical look at the PRR Main Line between Altoona and Pittsburgh.  Given the title, I am sure that it will eventually cover other topic, but at this point the articles have focused on the PRR Main Line, specially the transition from the Classic PRR configuration of the 1950's and 1960's. to the modern Conrail configuration of the 1980's. 

 The articles are well researched with much scanned and displayed primary source material. One series covers the lost interlockings and interlocking towers of the Western PRR Main Line, like Latrobe's KR tower, seen above. 

The future CP-WING, with and without CTC applied as the Penn Central envisioned it.

Another series covers the Penn Central's plan to convert the PRR Main Line to CTC operation a decade or two before Conrail was able to complete the task with its influx of Federal funding.  It's just say things would have been a lot more interesting if the line was rebuilt with the PC's understanding of how railroading would work.

My only criticism is that over the past 3 years there have only been a handful of posts, so let's show the creator some appreciation with the hope that he'll increase his output ;-)

ALTO: One Tower, Four Roads

This article originally appeared in The Trackside Photographer in November of 2018.  It builds on my previous coverage of ALTO tower posted in 2011 with additional photos taken in 2012 and 2018 and additional reference materials that I had obtained during the intervening years.

ALTO (JK) tower, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1915 and remained in service for the next 97 years, closing in 2012. Over that time it worked under the auspices of four different railroads, the PRR, Penn Central, Conrail and Norfolk Southern and each railroad, in turn, brought something new to the table. It is easy to think of railroad history over the last century to be one of subtraction, infrastructure being removed as a transportation monopoly yielded to competition from air travel and highways. However, for at least it's 97 years in service, ALTO's story was one of adaptation to the ever changing times.

ALTO tower in 2012 as a pair of NS helpers push past.

What did the PRR bring to ALTO? A simple answer is wealth. The PRR was something like the Google or Amazon of it's day, a technological pioneer with the deep pockets to afford more than the basics. The wooden construction wasn't a cost cutting measure, but actually a mark of the PRR's dynamism as up into the early years of the 20th century the railroad's constant re-investment would render interlocking towers quickly obsolete, requiring frequent replacement. In fact the odd pop-out on the east side of the tower was added  when the original interlocking machine proved to be insufficient and a two more had to be installed in the 1930's. On the front of the tower, the bay window was an optional extra that gave the tower staff an unobstructed view of the Main Line, reducing delays and operator error.

Extensible wooden construction.

Although ALTO's design had a degree of implied disposability, the PRR nevertheless spent money on architectural flourishes such as the fish-scale siding, the shade over the relay room windows and the wheel-like ornamentation.

Transportation themed ornamentation.

To control the train movements at the west end of the busy Altoona passenger station and the freight yard, the PRR invested in an early style of Union Switch and Signal Electro-Pneumatic interlocking machine with 27 levers. In 1915 this type of machine was typically seen only in major urban junctions and station terminals like New York's Penn Station, but the PRR had no compunction against installing a very expensive piece of technology in what might otherwise be a "temporary" interlocking tower given the railroad's uniquely heavy traffic density. Still, the PRR was no spendthrift and had a penchant for building slow speed interlocking plants in busy terminal areas. Since trains were going to be making station stops, changing power or having helpers attached little was lost in having all trains move through the interlocking at 15 mph with the advantage of vastly simplified interlocking logic and compact dwarf signals.

Original 1915 US&S "EP" style interlocking machine.

Although by 1915 most interlocking arrangements in North America made use of track circuits and other forms of non-mechanical logic, "armstrong" style lever frames with mechanically worked switches were still the norm as they reduced the number of the highly expensive relays and could also be run on battery power. Situated in the PRR's own company town, the road had no problems supplying ALTO with a full time source of electricity.

Rear of the 27 lever EP machine.  The glass top is protected by a canvas mat.

 

Signs! Signs! Everywhere a Sign! - Eastern Passenger Roads

In Part 1 of my look at railroad station signs I covered the East Of Mississippi Class 1 freight railroads, NS, CSX, CP, etc.  Here in Part 2 I am going to be covering the passenger roads in the northeast, Amtrak, SEPTA, NJT, LIRR, Metro North, etc.  Surprisingly, as time has gone on the passenger roads have become significantly less labeled than their freight counterparts.  This could be due to cost cutting, a compact territory that makes getting lost less likely or simply a desire to hide operating practices from the general public. 

Amtrak operates its own trackage as part of the Northeast Corridor, Springfield Line, Harrisburg Line and, for a time, the Atlantic City Line.  Inheriting the infrastructure from bankrupt roads that would be later folded into Conrail, Amtrak would often just leave the old, typically Penn Central, sign in place.

The first thing Amtrak decided to properly brand were its manned interlocking towers where they

adopted a white on blue motif that would last through the present day. 

For remote interlockings constructed during the early NEC Improvement Project era, the Government dollars didn't really cover signs so Amtrak had to settle for stenciling on the relay hut.

The next standard that appeared around 1990 was a totally-not-Conrail white letters on blue background sign which also appeared on the Atlantic City and Springfield lines that were re-signaled at that time.

In the late 1990's Amtrak decided to add a touch of flare with a colorful sign that really showed off the old pointless arrow logo.  These appeared in just a few locations.

Meanwhile, further north Amtrak experimented with a white on black sign.  These are mostly seen on the Boston to New Haven segment and in northern New Jersey.

Which leads us to the present standard which I would call "low observable".  Not sure why Amtrak doesn't want to advertise it's interlocking names, but at least they kept the white on blue.

PHOTOS: Port Road Trips - TOME to PERRY

Well it's been about two years, but we have finally come to the end of our Port Road trip.  Having passed through Port Deposit , the town that put the Port in Port Road, there is still a bit more to cover before the line intersects the Main Line - Philadelphia to Washington at Perryvillle, MD. Having collapsed to a single track at CP-TOME, the Port Road will expand back to two tracks at CP-QUARRY  before passing through the retired interlocking at MINNICK and finally terminating at PERRY.  Here is the signal sheet covering today's featured territory.

Having pass CP-TOME we have left the CTC territory controlled from the console in COLA tower and entered the territory controlled from the CTC machine in PERRY tower (at least up through the Penn Central era).   QUARRY interlocking is one block length east of TOME and is located on the side of a rock outcropping that constricts the right of way down to a single track.  CP-QUARRY was modernized during the Conrail era with fresh vital components in a modern relay hut.  It was also upgraded with a 45mph Limited Speed turnout.

Here we see the 2E eastbound PRR PL mast at CP-QUARRY as well as the narrowness of the right of way.  Like CP-TOME, there is a gap between this signal and the turnout in order to place the signal before the curve.  The 2E mast has full upper and lower heads, which is contrary to what is shown on the signaling diagram that shows only a lower Stop and Proceed Marker.  This is because CP-QUARRY was signaled as an equilateral turnout due to the low track speed in the area. Since the Conrail refurbishment, it has been treated as a standard switch with the left hand route onto the main track tagged as the diverging route.  The bridge in the background is the I-95 crossing of the Susquehanna River.

One can also see signs of NS-era refurbishment in the form of a grey plastic signal cable snaking up the side of the pole.  This part of the like also retained its catenary masts, which are still employed to carry the pole line for block status communication between CP-QUARRY and CP-TOME and utility power for the interlocking. 

Here we can see the pole line passing through the eastbound mast relay box.  Due to the distance between the eastbound mast and the relay hut a second battery box has been provided.  BTW if you are interested in what this signal sounds like, you can listen to it here.

Around the curve the eastbound mast is out of sight when we encounter the interlocking power supply fed from a utility circuit run along the old catenary masts.  This was installed after the 6kv 100Hz power supply was removed ~2009.  These photos were taken in 2013.

Closeup of the new 60hz utility transformer.  The commercial supply is single phase with a hot line and neutral line.

Here we see the CP-QUARRY Limited Speed turnout in the eastbound direction.  The placement just avoids being that thing MoW forces hate, a turnout on a curve.  The point machine has been a dual control M23 since the Conrail refurbishment.

CP-QUARRY with the original power supply located directly above it. 

Like the other interlockings up and down the Port Road, the 504B code line at CP-QUARRY has been replaced by a satellite link.

The new brown painted relay hut is augmented by a pair of PRR vintage relay cabinets connected by wire pipes.  Again we see the block line passing through the old cabinets on their way to the westbound signals and MINICK.  These cabinets hosted all of the CP-QUARRY relay logic in a manner reminiscent of CP-JEB  until the new hut was installed in the 1990's.

The two track westbound gantry is of the typical hybrid catenary mast style.  There is a bit of a discrepancy between the interlocking as it exists today and how it appears on the interlocking diagram above due to my previous comments about the equilateral signaling.  Today the main track is signaled for a diverging move, while the siding track gets the straight route.  Of course none of this matters with track speeds of 30mph.

The 2WS signal (according to the diagram) off the signaled siding track, is equipped with a full upper head for the straight route and a lower head with a Restricting \ and an Approach Medium (Limited?) | for the back-to-back CP-TOME.  Prior to the re-signaling the lower head consisted of a lone | with a Stop and Proceed indication.

The main track 2W signal was designated to run over the diverging route, hence the lack of a Clear | on the upper head.  However an upper / is provided for Approach Medium (Limited?) indications for a diverging move at CP-TOME.  The full lower head supports not only a Restricting \, but also a Medium Approach / and | for Medium Clear and Approach Medium (Limited?).

CP-MINNICK is another oddity, which would make it rather par for the course on a route that has seen so much alteration over the last 50 years.  Today CP-MINNICK isn't a CP at all, just another intermediate signal located between two interlockings, CP-QUARRY and PERRY.  However from the layout and a few other features, it is clear without even having to look at a historic timetable that this was previously an interlocking.  These photos were taken in 2010, after the lineside signal power had been removed, but before the catenary poles were scrapped.

This heavily guyed two-track catenary gantry holds the eastbound PRR PL signals for the former CP-MINNICK.  MINNICK was located at the west end of the old Perryville freight yard, providing interlocked access to the C&PD with control remote to the CTC machine in PERRY tower.  By the 1980's the yard was on its last legs and by the 1990's it was little more than a public delivery spur with a non-interlocked switch.  When the interlocking was removed CP-MINNICK reverted to an automatic signal location with a bit of depth, distant to both PERRY and QUARRY.

The automatic conversion consisted of apply auto number plates and removing the Restricting \ position on the lower head.  The numbers given were 22E/W and 21E/W with 22 applying to the main track and 21 to the siding as per Conrail practice as opposed to PRR practice which would have had a C prefix and different numbers eastbound and westboumd.

 The eastbound siding signal is a clone of the main track signal with --- and / positions on the upper head and a / position on the lower head.  This is because the wye onto the NEC at PERRY is a slow speed curve so approaching trains get an Approach Slow if the signal is pulled up or an Approach if it is not.  If you look at the 1997 interlocking chart above you can see the diagram was poorly updated and still reflects the old CP-MINICK configuration that has only a \ on the lower head of what became 21E.  The stop and proceed indication displayed during my visit shows that traffic was westbound on the siding.

Traffic on the main track was in the eastbound direction as indicated by an Approach signal on 22E.  This signals lower head / was original to the CP-MINNICK configuration.  The lower head \ was removed.

 Frontlit view of the signal gantry showing off some of the rust on the old MINNICK signals as well as the approach to the interlocking.

I didn't know what this was at the time, but I later yearned this rather large relay-hut looking thing was actually the southern supply point for the 6kv 100hz signal power line running from here to Enola.  By 2009 the pole line power had been retired, but for almost 20 years this had lit up the position lights after whatever arrangement Conrail had with Amtrak fell apart in the late 1980's.  I assume whatever did the frequency conversion was solid state, but I didn't venture close enough to listen for motor-generator sounds.

This catenary section switch was located right past the 5 switch to the Perryville Yard lead.  Attached to it was the former power tap for the 6kv 100hz signal power.  The downfall of the self-generated system was that every time a tree blew into the wires it was Conrail/NS that had to send out crews to fix it instead of the local utility.

Closeup of the south pole shows the power lines running from the frequency converter up to the 6kv level (small insulators).

The cinderblock relay house  still sports its Conrail blue interlocking signs (like I said, it wasn't hard to tell this was an ex-interlocking).  I suspect that most of the old interlocking relay logic is still in place, just modified slightly to act in an automatic setup.  What looks like a TBS hut has been installed.  If I had to guess its use it would be a place that crews could be sign in/out when their trains were waiting to enter the NEC.

As far back as 1986 MINNICK only consisted of a single switch on the controlled siding.  Interlocking was in service on both tracks, but the main track had no interlocking appliances.  It would be logical for a crossover to be installed, but in my 1986 video I see no evidence of one.  One reason to include the interlocking on both tracks would be to create a holdout signal for reversing movements at the Perryville Wye.

Evidence of the old yard lead can be seen in the westbound signal gantry which is clearly three tracks wide.  The 5 switch was converted to electric operation sometime between 1986 and it's ultimate removal.  No evidence of the old compressor plant or pipeline caught my eye during my visit.

MINNICK also included a Dragging Equipment Detector within interlocking limits.  Can't be too careful when bringing freight trains onto Amtrak's delicate NEC.

The 3-track heritage of the westbound gantry is more in evidence in the other direction with the left hand support now well off the RoW into the trees.  As you can see the 21W signal on the siding is displaying Approach with traffic set in the west direction.  This is a popular nighttime railfan hotspot due to a road running next to the RoW and the ability to illuminate slow moving night trains under classic PRR PLs.

 The 22W on the main track was altered back when CP-QUARRY was changed from equilateral to its standard configuration.  The upper head was replaced with one that lacked the Clear | position.  We can see this thanks to the significant reduction in rust.  I am not sure if these signals were re-painted by NS, but they would certainly be candidates for it.  The lower | is for Approach Limited indications for CP-QUARRY.

The 21W signal on the siding track  lost its lower head Restricting \ and now serves as a basic ABS signal.

At PERRY we finally reach the end of the C&PD at what is now Amtrak territory.  The entirety of PERRY interlocking is a bit outside the purview of this trip, however I do feel that the crossover on the C&PD wye does count as part of the Port Road so we'll dive into it here. 

NS trains enter Amtrak territory at the 18R and 22R signals at PERRY interlocking.  PERRY has long since been re-signaled, but the oddball nature of the wye setup didn't jive with the US&S numbering scheme, so the old lever numbers were retained.  A PRR pot signal governs movements on what is today the main track while a colorized PRR PL mast handles the siding.

Apart from the colorization the 22R mast has been left untouched, even retaining its finial. The non-standard round lower head goes back to at least 1986.   The signal displays Approach Slow for movements onto the NEC, even though the 8S signal has a Medium Speed route.  I suspect the 22R mast displays Slow Approach for any stop at either 9N or 8S.  Behind the mast is the last active 6kv power feed on the C&PD.  Prior to Conrail building its own power supplies, the lines would continue on to Safe Harbor and beyond.

The 18R dwarf on the main track supports the full compliment of slow speed indications.  The signal is caged to prevent rock damage or vandalism. Behind it is the 17 switch in the reverse position.

When I first visited  the interlocking back in 2004 I found a special bonus in the form of the 17B switch machine which was sill equipped with an old version of the US&S M3 point machine evidenced by the rounded motor housing.  When I returned in 2011 it had unfortunately been "upgraded".

Here we are looking back through the C&PD part of PERRY through the 19 turnout.  With today's level of traffic on the NEC, daylight movements are few and far between, but once the white period ends around 9am this wye sees a constant stream of trains heading to and from the Baltimore area and the DelMarVa peninsula. Chief amoung these are crude oil trains heading to refineries in Delaware.

 The eastern entrance to the C&PD is in the form of a pair of switch dwarfs governing movements off the Perryville Wye.

Unlike many stick-dwarfs these are equipped with ladders and baskets.  This is the surprisingly grown up 18L signal.

Head on view of the 22L dwarf.

Like COLA, PERRY tower was one of the PRR's forays into CTC control, although in this case PERRY's home interlocking was handled by a US&S all electric machine (of which that 17B M3 might have been wired to).  In addition to QUARRY and MINNICK, PERRY also controlled PRINCE to the north and GRACE and OAK to the south.   The tower was built in the 1940's in the same style as the other brick towers constructed up and down the NEC to accommodate wartime traffic.

Northbound trains heading off the wye pass by the 9N stick dwarf and onto Track 4 to make the run to PRINCE interlocking. 

The original configuration of the interlocking had a ladder to access tracks 2 and 3.  Today track 4 is the only option.  The 4N signal creates a pocket to allow MARC passenger trains to wait at the platform while lingering freights exit the NEC.

Southbound Port Road trains pass by the 8S pedestal signal  and onto a medium speed ladder to access the NEC. 

Beyond the northbound signal trains proceed onto the Susquehanna River bridge and from there points south.

And that bring our Port Road Trip to an end.  I hope you found this informative and I apologize for the delays in getting the last parts out. As you can see they got rather lengthy. Anyway, if you are interested in my next big project I am planning to Survey the B&O main line between Washington, DC and Pittsburgh.