A blog devoted to explaining the ins and outs of North American railroad signaling, past, present and future. This blog seeks to preserve through photo documentation the great diversity and technical ingenuity of 20th century signaling and interlocking hardware and technology. Related topics cover interlocking towers and railroad communications infrastructure.
Note, due to a web hosting failure some of the photos and links may be unavailable.
I just wanted to share a little info graphic put out by the NYC Transit Authority about its upcoming re-signaling plans. In summary, due to ridership decreases due to COVID, the TA is no longer going to focus on CBTC as a capacity expansion tool, but as a cost reduction tool and will therefore be targeting its remaining un-resignaled lines on the IND, specifically the 8th Ave (A)(C)(E), 6th Ave (F), Fulton and Crosstown (G). These segments have pretty much all of the remaining single interlocking towers with either GRS Model 5 or US&S Model 14 interlocking machines.
Now, my tower list is from 2019 and I haven't been closely tracking NYCTA tower closures, but at risk interlocking machines include Model 5's at 30TH ST, 42ND ST NORTH and 42ND ST SOUTH on the 8th Ave Line, UTICA AVE, BROADWAY JCT, LAFAYETTE AVE and HOYT on the Fulton Line, YORK ST on the Houston Essex Line and NASSAU AVE on the Crosstown Line, as well as Model 14 machines at JAY ST on the Prospect Park Line and BEDFORD-NOSTRAND on the Crosstown line. Likely also affected would be the NYCTA's first GRS NX machine at EUCLID ave, but likely not affected are yard towers or the COURT ST transit museum tower. The Model 14 at PARSONS on the (F) is of currently unknown status as that section is currently undergoing re-signaling right now.
If you are looking to get a glimpse of some living NYCTA interlocking machines, the Model 5's on he Fulton Line are visible from the ends of the platform with UTICA AVE and LAFAYETTE AVE on the outbound platform and BROADWAY JCT on the inbound platform.
I am currently planning an NYC trip for Mid-October and will attempt to check in on these locations.
Now I know what most people are thinking, the Staten Island Railway uses B&O Color Position Light signals and I already covered B&O Signaling years ago. Well you would be correct on both accounts, however after a recent trip to document the SIR after it's 2004 re-signaling project I decided that the 14-mile long quasi railroad deserved its own special section. For those of you who don't know, the SIR, sometimes referred to as Staten Island Rapid Transit, was an orphan B&O property that came about due to 19th century efforts to bust one of Cornelius Venderbilt's ferry monopolies. Electrified for third rail operation in 1925, the B&O made use of the line to test out the new color position light signaling system that the B&O would eventually adopt system wide. Signaling on the line consisted of ABS operation between the terminal at St George and the other terminal at Tottenville with interlockings at each end. A new tower and a GSR NX style interlocking plant was constructed at St George in 1951 while the Tottenville interlocking was presumably under local control until 1990, although I am not sure where the control station would be.
SIR Tower B
Until the re-signaling in 2004, if you were expecting to find main line style B&O CPL masts, one would be disappointed as at some point, probably after the MTA took control in 1971, the high railroad style masts were replaced with CPL dwarf signals on 7 or so foot tall sticks.
The only mast signal was located on track 1 approaching the St George terminal and it was only capable of displaying slow speed indications due to the lack of any orbitals.
While the 2004 re-signaling project fortunately kept the CPL signaling, any though that CTC operation with multiple new crossover interlockings would bring about orbital equipped double sided CPL masts on both tracks was dashed by the incorporation of a new PRR-style pulse code cab signaling system without intermediate wayside signals. Although the plethora of new interlockings likely increased the total number of CPL signals in service on the SIR, the use of cab signals with ATC allowed the SIR to present a reduced menu of B&O CPL signaling.
Although some high mast and gantry mounted signals were added, orbitals were limited to the 12 and 6 o'clock positions, as cab signals were expected to take up the task of controlling speed approaching the next fixed signal, even in the case where signals were ostensibly back to back.
This limits signal indications to Clear, Approach, Medium Clear, Medium Approach, Slow Clear, Slow Approach, Restricting and Stop. Limited speed indications are not used and I am unsure as to the use of Stop and Proceed as any wayside signal that can display Stop and Proceed can also display Restricting.
One interesting addition to the B&O CPL rule set is a Flashing yellow / with 12 o'clock marker for what I have been informed is "Approach Proceed Cab", which would replace Approach Medium and Approach Slow and thus saving on the need for extra orbital modules. I suspect this indication would only be displayed at back-to-back wayside signal locations and could possibly also serve as an Advance Approach as well, which it might be doing in the above situation where a BL20 MoW diesel was making a relay move. Note that while the CPL dwarfs are authentic GRS equipment, the high CPL equipment is long out of production and the SIR opted to use Safetran PL targets with CL-20 modules as the markers.
That about sums it up. One could simply say that the SIR uses B&O CPLs, minus indications for Approach Medium, Medium Approach Medium, Approach Slow, Medium Approach Slow, but with the addition of Approach Proceed Cab. However, I am happy to report that after some painstaking research I was able to confirm that there exists at least one 10 o'clock orbital in service on the SIR and it is located at the Tottenville Interlocking 6W signal (west end of the track 2 station platform).
Click to expand!
Used to give train operators on track 2 visual indication of a lined crossover route to head west, the approach medium capable signal was present when it visited in 2003 and remains there to this day as the Tottenville terminal interlocking was not substantially altered by the 2004 resignaling project. Therefore, despite the slow service and the abysmal headways, I recommend riding all the way to the end of the line where you will be rewarded with what is arguably the most "B&O" CPL on the SIR.
BTW, the above video proved to be a great resource for the SIR's Tottenville
terminal operation. Skip ahead to 8:30 to see the Approach Medium and
7:30 for an eastbound train approaching Tottenville under a Medium
Approach.
I previously reported that the NYC Transit Authority was closing most of the classic towers on the 6th Avenue trunk line in Manhattan. Chief among these these were 34th St tower and West 4th St tower. The latter was notable for its "fishbowl" status with little in the way to prevent the average rider from observing how the GRS Model 5 machine functioned. Previously, when the NYCTA resignaled lines the former "tower"rooms were quickly stripped of the old signaling equipment and then often re-purposed into some other space, usually with the windows being walled or otherwise covered over. For example the Queens Boulevard towers were completely devoid of any heritage equipment mere weeks after their closure.
Therefore you can imagine my surprise when I found the legacy W 4th St tower to have been pretty much untouched, months after it had been closed back in August/September 2018.
Although devoid of personnel, the interlocking machine was still in place with all of the levers tagged out of service. The desks and other tower accoutrements were also still present.
I am not sure if there are some sort of plans to preserve the tower, potentially maxing it a Transit Museum annex, but I wouldn't count such a thing out given the strong support for the historic subway trips and the need for the NYC Subway to put on a better face for the public after completely melting down. It could also be due to the fact that resources have been all diverted to more pressing needs.
In any event, go get some photos while you still can and before this piece of history vanishes from view.
Double shot of bad news today, although none of it was unexpected. At 5am on Monday, February 20th, 2018, the UNION TURNPIKE tower on the NYCTA Queens Boulevard Line closed. The tower had entered service on 12/1/1936 and contained a 43-lever US&S Model 14 machine. It was replaced by the new Forest Hills Master Tower that also closed Roosevelt Avenue Tower (60-lever GRS Model 5) on 7/11/2016 and Continental Avenue Tower (83-lever US&S Model 14) on 9/11/2017. As I reported earlier in the year, the Northern Boulevard tower (12-lever GRS Model 5), remains open on the local alignment, but will also be closed at some point. The Model 14 towers at Parsons and Jamaica Yard are not currently scheduled for replacement.
In other news, the replacement signals covering the CTC island at Warwick, OH (south of Akron) have been cut over. These have some significance for me as I recall that back around 2000 I was taking my first real long distance Amtrak journey via the old Three Rivers. After being delayed by over 4 hours between Pittsburgh and Akron due to freight congestion, I awoke in my coach seat to see all sorts of strange sites out the window. At Warwick, the RoW opened up with yard tracks in the middle. Emerging from the morning fog I saw B&O CPL signals in their native habitat. It wasn't the first ones I had seen in person of course, but just seeing them when so much of the trip was to be filled with darth vaders on the rebuilt Chicago main line was an amazing experience.
Was out on the Queens Boulevard Line this weekend, trying to document the surviving interlocking towers that are visible from the ends of the eastbound platform. Normally it's rather challenging to get good photos of the interlocking machines due to poor lighting and workers who don't like people taking pictures. Fortunately this woman at Union Turnpike was too occupied with her work to notice me. ;-)
That's a 43 lever US&S Model 14 machine there. At this time of day everything is pretty much running on auto.
So about a month ago I reported that CSX was studying closing the famed F Tower, in Fostoria, Ohio. Last week the word came down that the tower would be de-staffed at the end of the month (3/31/2015). Ironically the last straw may have been an incident where the operator got sick and needed a medical transport from the site. The IP dispatcher was able to take over F Tower's territory, but the resulting traffic jam took almost a day to clear. I say ironically because the result of the tower going down seemed to prove its worth.
Now I used the term "closed" in the opening because F Tower was resignaled years ago and as was demonstrated it can be controlled remotely at any time should the need arise. Until I hear that the tower has been torn down or gutted, I am going to assume that F has entered the same sort of zombie existence as HAROLD, still technically active, but only open on an as needed basis. I'm still somewhat optimistic as if the new arrangement proves unworkable CSX could always re-staff the position...or, more likely, NS could get so tied up that they kick in more money to fund the position. Either way this will show once and for all if local control provides any sort of value added in the 21st century.
Like F, the tower is open, but nobody is home.
Speaking of "as needed" towers, I got word that the NYC Subway has re-located the venerable Times Square Master Tower from its prominent position in the platform fishbowl to the new Times Square relay room. All of this is in conjunction with the <7> Line extension project which included a re-signaling of the old TSQ terminal. In its new location the TSQ operators will use the local control maintainers panel until this fall when the extension opens and they are moved to the 34th St interlocking relay room. At some point when the CTBC system goes on line primary control will pass to the Rail Control Center in midtown with auxiliary control at points TBD.
The primary casualty of the relocation is TSQ Master Tower's 1953 vintage US&S 'UR' (Union Route) interlocking machine. The machine had remote control of crossovers at 1st Ave and Hunterspoint Ave. I am unsure how those will be controlled prior to the RCC takeover. The changeover was effective over the weekend of March 14th.
As if the Selkirk Branch hadn't been hit hard enough. This short section of double track main line built by the New York Central as part of their Albany improvement project in the 1920's played host to a fine collection of NYC and Conrail era small target GRA model SA searchlight signals. Unfortunately since 2004 the short CSX owned line has lost almost all of this heritage due to "capacity expansion" projects that saw the searchlights removed between the distant of CP-SH and the distant to CP-FB inclusive. This included the old CP-VO which saw its diamond removed around 2000, but hung in there with a set of hand throw crossovers only to be later converted into a power crossover around 2007.
Anyway, despite all this the western throat to Selkirk Yard soldiered on with NYC era searchlights at CP-FB. Unfortunately I discovered in my daily rounds that these too will soon be falling and worse still CSX will be importing its bullshit Seaboard lunar white Restricting aspect instead of using bottom yellow as is proper in the NORAC zone. What's next, R/Y for Medium Approach? Let's hope that CSX can keep its mits off CP-RJ and the classic NYC cantilever distant to CP-169.
I have just become aware that the last Main Line interlocking tower on the entire IRT located at East 180th St on the White Plains Road Line has been closed and demolished. Built in 1912, E180th St tower stood for 99 years at what became the junction of the Dyre Ave Line shuttling trains in and out of the three track station and E18th St Yard.
E180th St 2011
E180th St 1912
While all the other single interlocking towers on the IRT were closed in the 1950's and 60's to make way for extensive "Panel" type Master Towers, E180th St had survived due in part to its complexity and late model 79 lever US&S Model 14 machine,which would have been much newer than the original IRT signaling.
Later being assigned a US&S UR style NX machine for the Dyre Line, E180th St only lost its semaphore signals in the early 1970's and later the interlocking became the final holdout for the old style IRT route signaling where each complete signal head represented a route. This resulted in such unique signal indications as R/G/R and G/R for nearly a decade after it had vanished on all other parts of the NYC Subway.
