Boy does this video bring back memories! I worked at B&o for 41 years 30 of those years with facility maintenence we maintained the building and gas switch heaters at this crossing, lot of cold winters at 75st was sad to see it go. Progress! all those years I worked never took pictures or videos.. guess I thought these places would be around for ever. I was wrog............. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Great video. I live about 3 blocks from the crossing and can easily hear when a train hits the diamonds. The sounds of NS units idleing by the old yard office lulls me to sleep. The one thing I do miss (thanks to a whistle ordinance) is the sound of trains on the B&OCT whistling for all the crossing south of 83rd street. There is nothing like the sound of a train disappearing into the night as it headed south. Some nights I used to be able to hear the GTW going through Evergreen Park as well as the B&OCT.
I used to live at 82nd and Winchester and we'd walk those tracks in the early 70's, by Dawes Park. I later moved to 79th and Central Park 6 houses off the GT tracks. Yes, where we lived, you could here horns from the southeast near Damen when the wind blew right. I, too, remember the low rumble of the Norfolk and Western GP9'S (7'S?) at viaduct at 79th and Kedzie. Great stuff. We walked all those tracks and many others, north, south east and west. The best area to be if you wanted to walk the tracks was right around there.
This is outstanding. It's longer than any other tower videos on UA-cam to my knowledge. A retired CSX operator mentioned how the sound of levers being thrown was unique and would vanish with the tower. This video preserves it for posterity. Another part I really enjoyed was the lack of horn/bell noise drowning the sound of the train. This video was 99% horn/bell free which is a very fresh and welcome change from other videos. This rocks !!
I remember 20-some years ago while railfanning Dolton the tower operator invited us up, and even had us line up a movement for a train, using the same type of Armstrong levers. Awesome memories!
It's really a shame something like this is gone. I'm glad you got to see it in action and documented its operation.Fascinating video.I just watched all of it. thanks for posting!
Oh man, so many of us wish we had taken the time to film our tower visits back when dozens still existed. Thanks heavens you did so, and a "strong-arm" tower to boot! THANK YOU!
Real railroading here. That dude is one strong fellow. He just flicks those levers like it’s nothing. We can see that all that’s left of the PRR Panhandle is a few Telegraph poles where the tracks used to be. Thank you so much preserving this for us.
This interlocking illustrates a most impressive piece of engineering in terms of complexity, reliability and longevity. It makes one better appreciate the achievements of past generations who made this possible. I would add that this definitely outshines the bug-prone software found in too many "modern" applications, not to mention the Boeing 737-Max. Ontario, Canada. 2020/10/23.
I hung around mission Santa fe tower downtown Los Angeles when I was a signalman for SP and metro link in the late 1980s and early 90s. It was truly a sight to see and hear. The tower operators really knew their shit. It was amazing to watch them
I railfanned a few of CSX's pipe-connected plants back in the day (Hardman, West Keyser, Hyndman, and Miller). I got to work the plant a couple of times at Hardman. It had three pipe-connected switches just west of the tower; the three switches to the east at Newburg were electric, although they were controlled by the armstrong-type levers. Only the points and facing point locks were pipe-connected. All of the signals were electric color position lights, but again they were controlled by the big levers. I didn't find the switches particularly hard to throw. The trick was to take advantage of the tension in the line when unlatching the lever and then move the lever fast to either normal or reverse. The lock levers required stepping on a button in the floor before unlatching and moving the lever. I miss that place.
This is a priceless documentation of railroad history. Thanks for making this video. I never get tired of watching it. I know progress is inevitable but I just mourn the passing of time from simpler days. I like the comment about the strong coffee. It makes me want some every time I watch!
Thanks for making and posting this. I worked 2d trick there in 1967-1968. The traffic isn't close to what it was then and there are fewer working levers in the machine, but it was a great trip back to a great time.
Thank you so much for sharing this! There used to be an old interlocking near my place, sadly it burnt down. I always wondered how these things worked. Your video was awesome and informative. Real old school stuff, I love it!
Amazing! Today I railfan this location quite often and never knew an interlocking ever existed here. Thanks for sharing both the video and the backstory.
When I was a kid here in Columbus, me and my dad would go sit at a diamond downtown off broad st. It had a switch tower like that, and one day the guy invited us up to take a look. I'll never forget the sound the levers made. A very cool experience. They tore in down in 2001 I think
Here in Marion, Oh we have 2 sets of "double diamonds". There are 2 main line CSX tracks running East & West that cross over 2 sets of main line Norfolk Southern running North & South. They're are also 2 sets of main line CSX tracks running North & South parallel to the Norfolk Southern tracks that also cross over the East & West main line CSX tracks making a total of 8 diamonds all together in one spot. It's really loud when a CSX train running East & West go over the 2 sets of diamonds. You can watch all of this right up close at the Marion train museum Erie Lakawanna station that sits right next to all that.
Thanks for recording this video. I used to be the signal maintainer that maintained 75th street interlocking for CSX. In 1996 it got cutover to a Harmon VHLC.
Gosh there is way too much appealing stuff in this video to comment on! I especially liked the WC guy headed for Calumet Yard on the NKP. I did not assume they would use the Harbor to Chicago Ridge and route themselves to Calumet that way. I assumed it was all aimed for Cragin and the BRC routing. Very neat!
In '96 I visited the tower to photograph it as 1 of 7 of B&O's Armstrong towers still in operation. At that time there were 10 Armstrong towers operational in all of the US. It looked unchanged from '91. Thanks for the memories.
I railfanned at Hardman on a regular basis a few years either side of 1990 (it closed June 1998). I also visited the manual towers at Hyndman, Miller aka Cherry Run, West Keyser, and Hancock (not inside Hancock). Amazing they kept those old plants in service so long. In 1996 they may have had almost as many Armstrong towers as electric pistol grip or push-button plants in service.
I was in there with my brother, John and buddy Jimmy in about 1989. We met Dave and went up into the building. It was fascinating, of course. Dave told us some good stories, including one about a northbound locomotive on fire in 1971. He said to stop by anytime. I believe we did. This was way before 9-11 and the heightened security that followed.
This is absolutely amazing! Found where this tower use to be located on google earth! It’s Ben a real treat to see all the fallen flags you’ve filmed here! Thank you
You are right, sir. My Mom's uncle once worked at Starnes Tower, also located in Springfield. He worked for the IC. The Illinois Central "Green Diamond" line crossed the Decatur to Kansas City line of the old Wabash. He worked 3rd trick and I went to work with him some. I remember that the NW trains out of Decatur hauled a lot of auto traffic. They used to fly through there at 60+ MPH!
'94 and '95 just seem like yesterday... I was just out of high school, but what a different world...... I took this for granted. This reminds me of Calumet Tower in East Chicago, which I had part in dismantling
That’s gotta be the busiest section of railroading in the country, my lord, tracks criss crossing every which way, spur lines, just a great great bunch of footage
Wow, that is cool, they let you film inside the interlocking. More than once I had an engineer allow me into the cab of a locomotive. Two of my favorites, a Santa FeGP35(my absolute favorite for modern diesels) and an SW1500 Rail America, ex SP pile of JUNK! The hood doors on the SW1500 were rattling and everything sounded like it might fall off any second. I blew it however, the guy actually offered me to operate it for about 1/4 mile until the BNSF came to interchange on our branch, I was worried he would get into trouble!! Lost opportunities never allow you to stop kicking yourself!
Towers were great places to get the feel of railroading. Unfortunately in today's high security atmosphere, the few that are left are pretty much off limits to those without official permission. Once PTC becomes a reality, probably the few that remain will go the way of the rest.
What is also striking is also the amount of jobs that were BRC powered. It has completely changed now with them mostly being exclusively within Clearing and not much else. You still have the South Chicago job with their power, but that's about it for long haul moves.
Agreed. I used to live literally an easy stone's throw from the 68th St. wye, at 69th and Kenneth, and I no longer see any BRC power outside the yard. If I would like to scope out the South Chicago job you mentioned, would you please give me a starting tip or two? Thank you.
@@anthonyc1883 they seem to have two trips a day. One in the morning. Returning to Clearing around noon or so. Then there is an afternoon trip that I hear leaving Clearing any time after 4pm. Just listen to the Belt over the scanner and you should hear them leaving. I've never formulated if this happens daily (the two trips that is) but I have a feeling it is. They interchange a lot of business with South Shore and Chicago Rail Link down at Commercial Ave Yard. Hard to believe that there is enough for two trips a day, but it seems to be the case.
@@iancontreras7688 Why thank you for the quick reply! I'm going to check it out. Are there any other yards where Belt action takes place, like where power might be stationed? I remember about 10 years ago (no more) seeing a small-ish yard around 100th St. on the SE Side?
@@anthonyc1883 100th St Yard is served by a job stationed there MWF 4pm. They shuffle around cement cars I believe. There is an industry outputting a lot of hoppers buried in there at the south end of the yard. Chicago Rail Link will also shove from their yards along Torrence up the BRC and swing into Commercial Ave to drop off interchange. The BRC power is usually hanging out at 100th St normally, unless they bring it back to Clearing to be serviced over the weekend. Again, I'm not too often in the area, just my observations from when I do toil around the SE side.
I’ve been around some crossings where if you’re not careful you might trip on some old concrete block in the weeds that had the hardware on it to support the rods of the “analog” plant that was there before the electronics we take for granted.
If you're tripping over concrete blocks in the weeds, you're probably trespassing. Not a good idea in this day and age. Railroads are not as tolerant as they were years ago.
I used to go to landers and the NW forest hill Intermodels back in the 90's before they consolidated it all to landers , the forest hill lot was GTw before NW took it over for a overflow then they closed some years later .
+Tommy Haynes Glad you enjoyed it. It probably is still a good location for photos, not sure how tight security is today though. The sun is on the far side of the tracks from road access most of the day, so you would have to cross the tracks which is a no-no in today's environment. Also, with mergers, etc. a lot of the variety has gone, as well as the classic motive power on the BRC and WC.
***** probably some kid starting out's job to paint grease on those things daily then back in the day. Surprised just grease would be enough but I guess with a busy tower those switches are thrown many times a day and that would help keep things free. Were the blankets over the rods in the tower to help keep drafts out?
to give you a time-line on people who work there, great mix of ww2 era guys, handful born in the 30 handful in 40's, i was one of the younger guys hired for 2 chicago railroads, i was 19 in 1979 and worked for 2 r.r.'s....c.w.i. r.r. and the ih.b. rr. my towers i operated: 21st street, 81st street, pullman jut, main line bridge, state line tower......ihb- 55th street, argo, calumet, east end , graselli,osbourne switchtender...westend of hump blue island. also was a switchtender/trainman for c.w.i.- 80th street and pullman jct. active yrs...79 to 82...laid off-82-85..came back for 1 month when i was recalled, i let them terminate me in 1985, i was a police officer in florida since 1983 so although lower pay etc it was permanant and later was a well paying career in which i retired at age 49 with 26 yrs of police service.
I retired from the Chicago police department and got to go up in main line bridge tower. The city had purchased it for $1 and tore out all the asbestos floor tile and all the wiring coming into the basement. Just the relays were left. Dozens of them. They put in a new electronic system to raise and lower the bridge. Ford was using it to get cars to their storage yard north of the river. They removed the tracks and paved the bridge as the Torrence bridge was closed for lengthy rebuilding. Ford use only and us for emergencies. I went in there the night they opened the Torrence bridge back up and were closing it for good. I got to bring the bridge up to it’s resting place, possibly forever. Still had a C&WI marked locker downstairs.
Block. A length of track of defined limits, the use of which is governed by block signals, block-limit signals, automatic speed control or any combination thereof.
Interesting video! Thank you. Did anyone ever try filling in the flange gaps where tracks cross to lessen the impact on the crossing "frogs"? You would pull a lever which inserts a piece of metal for an East/West train. Lever pushed back pulls the metal piece out and inserts another for north/south trains.
Robert Gift This has never been tried, probably due to its complexity and the possibility of derailment if something fails. It would also be difficult to assure the operator that the blocks were properly placed before movement. They are trying flange bearing frogs in some locations to alleviate wheel impact, but these can only be used in locations with slow speeds.
***** Thank you, nut. I was wondering if flanges could roll up on ramps which prevent the horrible wheel impact, but are all flanges the same depth from the wheel? Wheel wear would increase flange depth. I saw photos of a track where the slow track rose up and crossed the unbroken high speed double track. The wheel flanges rolled right onto the top of the high speed rail head, causing little damage to the rail!
Robert Gift Yes, that is what is known as a flange bearing frog. They are also making a variation of this for ordinary turnout frogs where the diverging wheels ride up and over the continuous main track rail. Again, they can only be used where speeds are restricted (generally 10mph or less) on the side that the flanges are lifted.
NOTHING BUT AMAZING GOT love how all the trains meet in Chicago and that Conrail train that would be the BREL MANIFEST AND THE NS FORD HAULER FOR THE CHICAGO FORD PLANT NEAR CALUMET YARD
I always wondered what it's was like up in them old towers when all the RR's where here. Looking at them levers I'm Guessing that hard pulling levers are for the switches and easy smooth pulling are for the signals 🤔
At 25:49 it shows a length of track with the rail on the left hand side of the track has a switch that literally leads to nowhere... Was this an accident in the design or does it actually serve a purpose? Sincerely, a novice railroad fan.
In the USA, this is commonly referred to as a "switch point derail". In Britain, "catch points". The idea is to derail a train that passes a stop signal before it runs into a conflicting movement. The points are interlocked with the signal so a positive signal cannot be displayed until the points are closed on either side of the diamond.
are there any of these manual interlockings left in the usa? id hate to see if we loose the electrictity for good and we would have to go back to the old days .
Everett Nichols Yes, it's a switch point derail, manually interlocked with the signals so a signal cannot be cleared across the diamond until the correct derails for the route are closed and the opposing derails are open (in derailing position). This would prevent a train running a stop signal from plowing into a train already crossing the diamond.
Not for too much longer, though. All the diamonds will be gone in the next 3-4 years due to the CREATE P3 project. Grade separation of all the CSX mains, going up and over NS/Metra/BRC tracks.
+Steve Williamson You are describing the way British signal boxes work. US operation is somewhat similar, but the trains in the US do not run on timed "paths" the way they do in Britain, other than the passenger trains shown, so it is a bit more of a free-for-all when it comes to scheduling The man in the tower is called the "operator" and talks with the train dispatcher who can be hundreds of miles away. In a location like this where several different rail companies cross and most trains are freight, the operator will talk to dispatchers from all the railroads involved, as well as towers further down the line if there are any. Each will give him an idea of the lineup of trains, but it is usually the operator's discretion as to which trains get handled first, naturally giving priority to scheduled passenger trains. The video does show a close up of the "manipulation chart" which shows which levers to throw to achieve a desired route. However, a well qualified operator would seldom have to refer to this.
@guyhartsel8797 the name of the tower is the title of the video. Also visible in the closeup of the track layout panel. Sometimes referred to as Forest Hill interlocking, but the proper name is 75th St..
I'm sorry but I have another potentially stupid question to ask. How exactly does this system work? Is it strictly mechanical ( relying solely upon mechanical principals to operate) or does it also utilize hydraulics and electronics?
The system is purely mechanical for the operation of switches and locking. To throw a switch, first the lock rod must be released, then the points thrown on a separate lever, then the lock rod replaced to hold the points closed. Originally, all of the signals were also mechanical. As shown in this video, the semaphores on masts and ground signals remained mechanically linked (Belt Railway), while electric color light (Wabash/NS) and color position lights (B&O Chicago Terminal) were added over the years to various routes. Before the PRR side of the interlocking was removed, there were also PRR style position lights in the mix. All of these electric signals were activated by electro-mechanical actuators attached to the original locations in the mechanical frame, and were tied into the respective signal systems of the PRR, B&OCT and Wabash so speed indications could be given, rather than just the stop/go indications of the semaphores on the Belt Railway side. There was no hydraulic or air operation involved at this interlocking.
those old machines were ment to last forever, they were also more reliable than the computer dispatch center they have today as they seem to go haywire anytime the weather gets bad, they work ok in nice sunshine days but cold,rain,ice,snow, they always screw things up and a maintainer has to come out and fix the problem which makes for many delays, the rr,s did central dist thing for only 1 reason, to get rid of jobs and nothing else.
Uh, does that mean you like to listen to FM or you like Fairbanks Morse? I like the Fairbanks Morse the most, after all, the days of Zeppelin blocks, Deep Purple and other great groups seem to be over. Great video. A friend sent me the link. Keep it up!
Not a great place to put intermodal yards on CSX and NS, where the switch engines foul the interlocking when making up trains. I'm sure this would not have been done when train frequencies were higher, such as before the Panhandle was torn out.
allgr8 unfortunately they had to put the yards where they had the space. That's why the newer big intermodal yards are being built out in the countryside, to avoid this congestion as well as lower real estate prices and less problems with NIMBYs
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Boy does this video bring back memories! I worked at B&o for 41 years 30 of those years with facility maintenence we maintained the building and gas switch heaters at this crossing, lot of cold winters at 75st was sad to see it go. Progress!
all those years I worked never took pictures or videos.. guess I thought these places would be around for ever. I was wrog............. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
Great video. I live about 3 blocks from the crossing and can easily hear when a train hits the diamonds. The sounds of NS units idleing by the old yard office lulls me to sleep. The one thing I do miss (thanks to a whistle ordinance) is the sound of trains on the B&OCT whistling for all the crossing south of 83rd street. There is nothing like the sound of a train disappearing into the night as it headed south. Some nights I used to be able to hear the GTW going through Evergreen Park as well as the B&OCT.
I used to live at 82nd and Winchester and we'd walk those tracks in the early 70's, by Dawes Park. I later moved to 79th and Central Park 6 houses off the GT tracks. Yes, where we lived, you could here horns from the southeast near Damen when the wind blew right.
I, too, remember the low rumble of the Norfolk and Western GP9'S (7'S?) at viaduct at 79th and Kedzie.
Great stuff.
We walked all those tracks and many others, north, south east and west. The best area to be if you wanted to walk the tracks was right around there.
This is outstanding. It's longer than any other tower videos on UA-cam to my knowledge.
A retired CSX operator mentioned how the sound of levers being thrown was unique and would vanish with the tower. This video preserves it for posterity.
Another part I really enjoyed was the lack of horn/bell noise drowning the sound of the train. This video was 99% horn/bell free which is a very fresh and welcome change from other videos. This rocks !!
I also like the older videos that have a variety of loco manufacturers, cabooses, and NO intermodal crap or vandal's graffiti.
I remember 20-some years ago while railfanning Dolton the tower operator invited us up, and even had us line up a movement for a train, using the same type of Armstrong levers.
Awesome memories!
It's really a shame something like this is gone. I'm glad you got to see it in action and documented its operation.Fascinating video.I just watched all of it. thanks for posting!
I don’t know much about trains or switches, but as a programmer I can truly appreciate this awesome mechanical routing system!
Oh man, so many of us wish we had taken the time to film our tower visits back when dozens still existed. Thanks heavens you did so, and a "strong-arm" tower to boot! THANK YOU!
Real railroading here. That dude is one strong fellow. He just flicks those levers like it’s nothing. We can see that all that’s left of the PRR Panhandle is a few Telegraph poles where the tracks used to be. Thank you so much preserving this for us.
This interlocking illustrates a most impressive piece of engineering in terms of complexity, reliability and longevity. It makes one better appreciate the achievements of past generations who made this possible. I would add that this definitely outshines the bug-prone software found in too many "modern" applications, not to mention the Boeing 737-Max. Ontario, Canada. 2020/10/23.
I passed through this crossing on the Wabash "Blue Bird" in 1963. Remember the interlocking.
I hung around mission Santa fe tower downtown Los Angeles when I was a signalman for SP and metro link in the late 1980s and early 90s. It was truly a sight to see and hear. The tower operators really knew their shit. It was amazing to watch them
I railfanned a few of CSX's pipe-connected plants back in the day (Hardman, West Keyser, Hyndman, and Miller). I got to work the plant a couple of times at Hardman. It had three pipe-connected switches just west of the tower; the three switches to the east at Newburg were electric, although they were controlled by the armstrong-type levers. Only the points and facing point locks were pipe-connected. All of the signals were electric color position lights, but again they were controlled by the big levers.
I didn't find the switches particularly hard to throw. The trick was to take advantage of the tension in the line when unlatching the lever and then move the lever fast to either normal or reverse. The lock levers required stepping on a button in the floor before unlatching and moving the lever.
I miss that place.
This was great all around but the 2 Rio Grande GP40s shoving into Forest Hill was unexpected and awesome!
This is a priceless documentation of railroad history. Thanks for making this video. I never get tired of watching it. I know progress is inevitable but I just mourn the passing of time from simpler days. I like the comment about the strong coffee. It makes me want some every time I watch!
Thanks for making and posting this. I worked 2d trick there in 1967-1968. The traffic isn't close to what it was then and there are fewer working levers in the machine, but it was a great trip back to a great time.
Thank you so much for sharing this! There used to be an old interlocking near my place, sadly it burnt down. I always wondered how these things worked. Your video was awesome and informative. Real old school stuff, I love it!
A great mix of power, love the cow/calf set at 23:00!
Nice clip, I spotted some of that KCBX coal coming thru in the avalanche cars (PRBX) good memories !
Amazing! Today I railfan this location quite often and never knew an interlocking ever existed here. Thanks for sharing both the video and the backstory.
Wow the rr industry sure has changed thanks for sharing
When I was a kid here in Columbus, me and my dad would go sit at a diamond downtown off broad st. It had a switch tower like that, and one day the guy invited us up to take a look. I'll never forget the sound the levers made. A very cool experience. They tore in down in 2001 I think
That had to be Scioto Tower off Broad st. I used to work there in the 80’s
This is the same time I was filming and photography of all the Midwest railroads..great era . Glad I started in the late 70’s
Here in Marion, Oh we have 2 sets of "double diamonds". There are 2 main line CSX tracks running East & West that cross over 2 sets of main line Norfolk Southern running North & South. They're are also 2 sets of main line CSX tracks running North & South parallel to the Norfolk Southern tracks that also cross over the East & West main line CSX tracks making a total of 8 diamonds all together in one spot. It's really loud when a CSX train running East & West go over the 2 sets of diamonds. You can watch all of this right up close at the Marion train museum Erie Lakawanna station that sits right next to all that.
Thanks for recording this video. I used to be the signal maintainer that maintained 75th street interlocking for CSX. In 1996 it got cutover to a Harmon VHLC.
Hiya Rex!!!
John- CKIN
I used to stare at those B&O CPL's for what seemed like hours at a time.
Fmnut, I don't know how you do it. But you have the best stuff on U Tube. Thanks bro.
Thanks for having the foresight to shoot this before it was gone and thanks for sharing it!
Gosh there is way too much appealing stuff in this video to comment on! I especially liked the WC guy headed for Calumet Yard on the NKP. I did not assume they would use the Harbor to Chicago Ridge and route themselves to Calumet that way. I assumed it was all aimed for Cragin and the BRC routing. Very neat!
In '96 I visited the tower to photograph it as 1 of 7 of B&O's Armstrong towers still in operation. At that time there were 10 Armstrong towers operational in all of the US. It looked unchanged from '91. Thanks for the memories.
I railfanned at Hardman on a regular basis a few years either side of 1990 (it closed June 1998). I also visited the manual towers at Hyndman, Miller aka Cherry Run, West Keyser, and Hancock (not inside Hancock). Amazing they kept those old plants in service so long. In 1996 they may have had almost as many Armstrong towers as electric pistol grip or push-button plants in service.
Thank you Thank you, What a GREAT FILM...
I was in there with my brother, John and buddy Jimmy in about 1989. We met Dave and went up into the building. It was fascinating, of course. Dave told us some good stories, including one about a northbound locomotive on fire in 1971.
He said to stop by anytime. I believe we did. This was way before 9-11 and the heightened security that followed.
Excellent film. Thanks for posting. Pulling those levers all day must have been a great work out. Not to mention the saving in gym fees!.
By the looks of the operator he could have used a few double shifts!
This is absolutely amazing! Found where this tower use to be located on google earth! It’s Ben a real treat to see all the fallen flags you’ve filmed here! Thank you
What a classic! Great video, and the fallen flags geesh!
Great action. Loved the video. Not many of these "dinosaurs" left. True "Armstrong" action. Thanks for the view.
Todd Behrends There aren't any left at all. The last one was out of service June 29, 2010. Ridgley Interlocking in Springfield Ill.
You are right, sir. My Mom's uncle once worked at Starnes Tower, also located in Springfield. He worked for the IC. The Illinois Central "Green Diamond" line crossed the Decatur to Kansas City line of the old Wabash. He worked 3rd trick and I went to work with him some. I remember that the NW trains out of Decatur hauled a lot of auto traffic. They used to fly through there at 60+ MPH!
'94 and '95 just seem like yesterday... I was just out of high school, but what a different world...... I took this for granted. This reminds me of Calumet Tower in East Chicago, which I had part in dismantling
Well done, you put a lot of time into this ... important history well documented.
This is fantastic, just don't know what to expect next
That’s gotta be the busiest section of railroading in the country, my lord, tracks criss crossing every which way, spur lines, just a great great bunch of footage
Wow, that is cool, they let you film inside the interlocking. More than once I had an engineer allow me into the cab of a locomotive. Two of my favorites, a Santa FeGP35(my absolute favorite for modern diesels) and an SW1500 Rail America, ex SP pile of JUNK! The hood doors on the SW1500 were rattling and everything sounded like it might fall off any second. I blew it however, the guy actually offered me to operate it for about 1/4 mile until the BNSF came to interchange on our branch, I was worried he would get into trouble!! Lost opportunities never allow you to stop kicking yourself!
Towers were great places to get the feel of railroading. Unfortunately in today's high security atmosphere, the few that are left are pretty much off limits to those without official permission. Once PTC becomes a reality, probably the few that remain will go the way of the rest.
What is also striking is also the amount of jobs that were BRC powered. It has completely changed now with them mostly being exclusively within Clearing and not much else. You still have the South Chicago job with their power, but that's about it for long haul moves.
Agreed. I used to live literally an easy stone's throw from the 68th St. wye, at 69th and Kenneth, and I no longer see any BRC power outside the yard. If I would like to scope out the South Chicago job you mentioned, would you please give me a starting tip or two? Thank you.
@@anthonyc1883 they seem to have two trips a day. One in the morning. Returning to Clearing around noon or so. Then there is an afternoon trip that I hear leaving Clearing any time after 4pm.
Just listen to the Belt over the scanner and you should hear them leaving. I've never formulated if this happens daily (the two trips that is) but I have a feeling it is.
They interchange a lot of business with South Shore and Chicago Rail Link down at Commercial Ave Yard. Hard to believe that there is enough for two trips a day, but it seems to be the case.
@@iancontreras7688 Why thank you for the quick reply! I'm going to check it out. Are there any other yards where Belt action takes place, like where power might be stationed? I remember about 10 years ago (no more) seeing a small-ish yard around 100th St. on the SE Side?
@@anthonyc1883 100th St Yard is served by a job stationed there MWF 4pm. They shuffle around cement cars I believe. There is an industry outputting a lot of hoppers buried in there at the south end of the yard. Chicago Rail Link will also shove from their yards along Torrence up the BRC and swing into Commercial Ave to drop off interchange.
The BRC power is usually hanging out at 100th St normally, unless they bring it back to Clearing to be serviced over the weekend. Again, I'm not too often in the area, just my observations from when I do toil around the SE side.
I’ve been around some crossings where if you’re not careful you might trip on some old concrete block in the weeds that had the hardware on it to support the rods of the “analog” plant that was there before the electronics we take for granted.
If you're tripping over concrete blocks in the weeds, you're probably trespassing. Not a good idea in this day and age. Railroads are not as tolerant as they were years ago.
Such an outstanding collection of footage
I used to go to landers and the NW forest hill Intermodels back in the 90's before they consolidated it all to landers , the forest hill lot was GTw before NW took it over for a overflow then they closed some years later .
This is true history. Museum quality stuff.
Thanks for posting this , I really enjoyed it. Looks like a great train watching location
+Tommy Haynes Glad you enjoyed it. It probably is still a good location for photos, not sure how tight security is today though. The sun is on the far side of the tracks from road access most of the day, so you would have to cross the tracks which is a no-no in today's environment. Also, with mergers, etc. a lot of the variety has gone, as well as the classic motive power on the BRC and WC.
Interesting video of a scene now gone. thanks for posting.
Awesome video of a piece of history, just wandering does anybody know how they kept the miles of linkage rod from freezing in the wintertime?
Lots of grease
*****
probably some kid starting out's job to paint grease on those things daily then back in the day. Surprised just grease would be enough but I guess with a busy tower those switches are thrown many times a day and that would help keep things free. Were the blankets over the rods in the tower to help keep drafts out?
+bcbloc02 yeah, the blankets were for drafts. the signal maintainers did the greasing.
to give you a time-line on people who work there, great mix of ww2 era guys, handful born in the 30 handful in 40's, i was one of the younger guys hired for 2 chicago railroads, i was 19 in 1979 and worked for 2 r.r.'s....c.w.i. r.r. and the ih.b. rr. my towers i operated: 21st street, 81st street, pullman jut, main line bridge, state line tower......ihb- 55th street, argo, calumet, east end , graselli,osbourne switchtender...westend of hump blue island. also was a switchtender/trainman for c.w.i.- 80th street and pullman jct. active yrs...79 to 82...laid off-82-85..came back for 1 month when i was recalled, i let them terminate me in 1985, i was a police officer in florida since 1983 so although lower pay etc it was permanant and later was a well paying career in which i retired at age 49 with 26 yrs of police service.
I retired from the Chicago police department and got to go up in main line bridge tower. The city had purchased it for $1 and tore out all the asbestos floor tile and all the wiring coming into the basement. Just the relays were left. Dozens of them. They put in a new electronic system to raise and lower the bridge. Ford was using it to get cars to their storage yard north of the river. They removed the tracks and paved the bridge as the Torrence bridge was closed for lengthy rebuilding. Ford use only and us for emergencies. I went in there the night they opened the Torrence bridge back up and were closing it for good. I got to bring the bridge up to it’s resting place, possibly forever. Still had a C&WI marked locker downstairs.
Block. A length of track of defined limits, the use of which is governed by block signals, block-limit signals, automatic speed control or any combination thereof.
Interesting video! Thank you.
Did anyone ever try filling in the flange gaps where tracks cross to lessen the impact on the crossing "frogs"? You would pull a lever which inserts a piece of metal for an East/West train. Lever pushed back pulls the metal piece out and inserts another for north/south trains.
Robert Gift This has never been tried, probably due to its complexity and the possibility of derailment if something fails. It would also be difficult to assure the operator that the blocks were properly placed before movement. They are trying flange bearing frogs in some locations to alleviate wheel impact, but these can only be used in locations with slow speeds.
***** Thank you, nut.
I was wondering if flanges could roll up on ramps which prevent the horrible wheel impact, but are all flanges the same depth from the wheel? Wheel wear would increase flange depth.
I saw photos of a track where the slow track rose up and crossed the unbroken high speed double track. The wheel flanges rolled right onto the top of the high speed rail head, causing little damage to the rail!
Robert Gift Yes, that is what is known as a flange bearing frog. They are also making a variation of this for ordinary turnout frogs where the diverging wheels ride up and over the continuous main track rail. Again, they can only be used where speeds are restricted (generally 10mph or less) on the side that the flanges are lifted.
***** _"...where the diverging wheels ride up and over the continuous main track rail"_
Fascinating! Hope someone can video one in use.
This is truely a great, well done video. 14:42 that is a sharp power move!
Great video. Thanks for posting it.
Sacré responsabilité à ce poste d’aiguillage il faut pas se tromper 👏👏👏👍👍
NOTHING BUT AMAZING GOT love how all the trains meet in Chicago and that Conrail train that would be the BREL MANIFEST AND THE NS FORD HAULER FOR THE CHICAGO FORD PLANT NEAR CALUMET YARD
Dang all those fallen flags
I always wondered what it's was like up in them old towers when all the RR's where here. Looking at them levers I'm Guessing that hard pulling levers are for the switches and easy smooth pulling are for the signals 🤔
That's true, but also the distance from the tower can be a factor. A signal far from the tower can be a harder pull than a switch close by.
@@fmnut That's also true to
Huge variety of signals
what is the handle number on the crapper.anyone get that
At 25:49 it shows a length of track with the rail on the left hand side of the track has a switch that literally leads to nowhere...
Was this an accident in the design or does it actually serve a purpose?
Sincerely, a novice railroad fan.
In the USA, this is commonly referred to as a "switch point derail". In Britain, "catch points". The idea is to derail a train that passes a stop signal before it runs into a conflicting movement. The points are interlocked with the signal so a positive signal cannot be displayed until the points are closed on either side of the diamond.
Ah, I see. Thank you very much for that lil lesson. I really do appreciate it.
Back in the 70's I worked with a couple of old railroaders and they made their coffee the same way! Just add more coffee to the top.
It was called Wabashing.
A conversation about Jean Luc Picard and The Borg and Hugh's liberation as a Borg Drone.
There are obviously edits to the footage but that operator looks very consistently busy.
There were many spans of 10 to 20 minutes when the camera was off and we were just chatting. I was there most of the afternoon.
are there any of these manual interlockings left in the usa? id hate to see if we loose the electrictity for good and we would have to go back to the old days .
No they are all gone.. last one closed in 2010 in Springfield IL.
Ib often wonder how those rods worked when they wee covered with 3 ft of snow and ice?
What in He.. is that track device at 25:48? Derail? For What? Why???
Everett Nichols Yes, it's a switch point derail, manually interlocked with the signals so a signal cannot be cleared across the diamond until the correct derails for the route are closed and the opposing derails are open (in derailing position). This would prevent a train running a stop signal from plowing into a train already crossing the diamond.
you know he enjoyed his job with that kick at 12:24
lol
Excellent,75 th street might not be the same but its still a good place to see some good action
Not for too much longer, though. All the diamonds will be gone in the next 3-4 years due to the CREATE P3 project. Grade separation of all the CSX mains, going up and over NS/Metra/BRC tracks.
unlike today, a time when there was VARIETY in railroads and their engines
The control tower room looks like a bunch of throttles
Awesome stuff!!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing!
I saw something like this on the tv show "Ripper Street" How does it change the tracks so far away? How does he know witch levers to pull?
+Steve Williamson You are describing the way British signal boxes work. US operation is somewhat similar, but the trains in the US do not run on timed "paths" the way they do in Britain, other than the passenger trains shown, so it is a bit more of a free-for-all when it comes to scheduling The man in the tower is called the "operator" and talks with the train dispatcher who can be hundreds of miles away. In a location like this where several different rail companies cross and most trains are freight, the operator will talk to dispatchers from all the railroads involved, as well as towers further down the line if there are any. Each will give him an idea of the lineup of trains, but it is usually the operator's discretion as to which trains get handled first, naturally giving priority to scheduled passenger trains. The video does show a close up of the "manipulation chart" which shows which levers to throw to achieve a desired route. However, a well qualified operator would seldom have to refer to this.
I wonder if there are any of these lever interlocking towers still in service anywhere in the US.
SOU6900 No. The last one closed in 2010.
fmnut That sucks.
This is a great video. Lots of different roads and power. What is the name of this tower. Reminds me of walbridge ohio
@guyhartsel8797 the name of the tower is the title of the video. Also visible in the closeup of the track layout panel. Sometimes referred to as Forest Hill interlocking, but the proper name is 75th St..
@guyhartsel8797 the similarity to Walbridge is not coincidental as 75th St was also a B&O facility.
WOW. Great footage
Whats up with that split rail? How do trains go thru that?
It closes like a switch point so trains can pass over it when the operator lines the route. It acts as a derail when the route is not lined to pass.
I'm sorry but I have another potentially stupid question to ask.
How exactly does this system work?
Is it strictly mechanical ( relying solely upon mechanical principals to operate) or does it also utilize hydraulics and electronics?
The system is purely mechanical for the operation of switches and locking. To throw a switch, first the lock rod must be released, then the points thrown on a separate lever, then the lock rod replaced to hold the points closed. Originally, all of the signals were also mechanical. As shown in this video, the semaphores on masts and ground signals remained mechanically linked (Belt Railway), while electric color light (Wabash/NS) and color position lights (B&O Chicago Terminal) were added over the years to various routes. Before the PRR side of the interlocking was removed, there were also PRR style position lights in the mix. All of these electric signals were activated by electro-mechanical actuators attached to the original locations in the mechanical frame, and were tied into the respective signal systems of the PRR, B&OCT and Wabash so speed indications could be given, rather than just the stop/go indications of the semaphores on the Belt Railway side. There was no hydraulic or air operation involved at this interlocking.
binge watching fmnut vids again....
those old machines were ment to last forever, they were also more reliable than the computer dispatch center they have today as they seem to go haywire anytime the weather gets bad, they work ok in nice sunshine days but cold,rain,ice,snow, they always screw things up and a maintainer has to come out and fix the problem which makes for many delays, the rr,s did central dist thing for only 1 reason, to get rid of jobs and nothing else.
Was anything saved from the tower either during the demolition or shortly before
Much of the tower's hardware including the interlocking frame and levers are at the National Railway Museum in Green Bay.
Kick ass footage 👍
I noticed in the vedio sophomore signals. Is it still used in the u. s.
No. Not since 2013.
You would think homeboy would be a little more in shape?
Forgive me in asking this question if it’s already been asked and answered but when was this video made ? I’m guessing mid 90’s ?
Thanks. Really enjoyed that.
Absolutely Amazing!!!!! I want to time travel soo freaking bad right now!!!! Only wish they would blow their horn here!
is this tower still t here in 2022?
No. Read the description.
@@fmnut yes! thanks! I just got too excited...good video thanks!
He had a job at Walmart but he decided to switch !!!! get it !!
What are the closest north-south streets to these tracks?
West of S. Damen Ave, east of S. Oakley Ave.
Did these levers control switches too?
Yes, the switches for the connecting track.
Very interesting...
Who's tower was it? Which RR?
It was constructed for the B&OCT (Chicago Terminal). At the time of the video it was manned and maintained by CSX.
WoW , THANKS
Good Stuff FMN, what replaced this tower ?
Remote computer control by train dispatcher.
@@fmnut shame most of these towers have gone away
Uh, does that mean you like to listen to FM or you like Fairbanks Morse? I like the Fairbanks Morse the most, after all, the days of Zeppelin blocks, Deep Purple and other great groups seem to be over. Great video. A friend sent me the link. Keep it up!
fmnut = Fairbanks Morse enthusiast.
Were the tracks, ripped up?
No. They just replaced the manual controls and signaling with modern equipment controlled remotely by computer.
Not a great place to put intermodal yards on CSX and NS, where the switch engines foul the interlocking when making up trains. I'm sure this would not have been done when train frequencies were higher, such as before the Panhandle was torn out.
allgr8 unfortunately they had to put the yards where they had the space. That's why the newer big intermodal yards are being built out in the countryside, to avoid this congestion as well as lower real estate prices and less problems with NIMBYs
Is it bad that I understood the Trekkie talk going on?
No not all, I understand it as well.
Wish I had a nickel for every time I crossed the diamond at 75th St.!
This is living.