Operating Towers

You mean Amtrak South Bay Trailer, right? LOL.

Uh, well, yeah. South Bay is definitely in the running for the "lowest active railroad tower in the world" award.

For a short time before the current BET was built, Tower H was also located in a portable office trailer. Unlike South Bay, the trailer was placed atop a raised platform about 15 feet tall, so it was still a "tower" in a sense. The presently unused Tower 1 at South Station is built that way as well.

Of course South Bay is the lowest level tower design wise....far from that with rail traffic though. lol

And speaking of the old Tower One, what's with the 2 black cats that always seem to be hanging around there adjacent to the tracks?!? Is that trailer used at all by anybody such as MofW?

Just to clarify things about Waltham:

-controls W.Cambridge (inclusive) to CPF-WL (exclusive) under
the direction of the Boston West T.D.
-West Concord Interlocking no longer exists, retired in the 80's.
-Clematis Brook Interlocking is just a shell of its former self.
Only switch left is the one to the former Central Mass Branch,
which is used strictly for MW equipment.
-Has two machines: 1) a lever machine which controls Waltham
proper and 2) a CTC board which controls the rest of the
territory. It's code room is in the small brick building next to the
tower on Elm Street.

I got to work this tower many times between 1979-1982. Nice
job. Got to see and hoop up train orders to the last SAED (rerouted
via Lowell the next week).

D

Where exactly is West Cambridge railroad-wise? Is it where the Porter Sq. Station is?

Where exactly is West Cambridge railroad-wise? Is it where the Porter Sq. Station is?

West Cambridge Interlocking is located at Sherman Street grade crossing.
It between Porter Square and Alewife Brook Parkway (much closer to Alewife)

d

GP40MC1118 wrote:Just to clarify things about Waltham:

-controls W.Cambridge (inclusive) to CPF-WL (exclusive) under
the direction of the Boston West T.D.
-West Concord Interlocking no longer exists, retired in the 80's.
-Clematis Brook Interlocking is just a shell of its former self.
Only switch left is the one to the former Central Mass Branch,
which is used strictly for MW equipment.
-Has two machines: 1) a lever machine which controls Waltham
proper and 2) a CTC board which controls the rest of the
territory. It's code room is in the small brick building next to the
tower on Elm Street.

I got to work this tower many times between 1979-1982. Nice
job. Got to see and hoop up train orders to the last SAED (rerouted
via Lowell the next week).





D

Doesn't Waltham have the controlling of part of the Watertown Branch as well, i havn't been that way in a while, but i think thiers a track that comes off the mainline crosses the street their, and goes down a few until it ends by a Cold Storage or some sort of Warehouse

Yes, I forget to mention the Watertown Branch.

It's connection and the lead to the East Yard here are part of West
Cambridge Interlocking.

d

GP40MC1118 wrote:Yes, I forget to mention the Watertown Branch.

It's connection and the lead to the East Yard here are part of West
Cambridge Interlocking.

d

Speaking of the Watertown, any activity on that in a while or?

See my reply on the Guilford "Watertown" thread from yesterday.

D

TomNelligan wrote:Waltham Tower controls the switches at West Cambridge, Hill Crossing, Clematis Brook, Beaver Brook, Waltham, West Concord, and South Acton - basically the territory between West Cambridge and a point just east of Willows interlocking (which is controlled by the Guilford dispatcher).

I was on MBCR Train 466 the other day from S. Acton Station to Waltham. The one question I had well the few questions I had was somewhere on the line near i think it was Brandeis/Roberts Sta we passed under another railroad tessle with tracks on it i think, anyone know what this line is? Also more on the towers portion i was looking arround Waltham Station once i got off the train and at the tower and such, it seems like thier is a sting of old boxcars that are in the area after the grade crossing. Also does any trains actually switch off of the line at Waltham, not MBCR ofcourse but Guilford or not anymore?

I believe that the old box cars are used for MofW or C&S crews but I could be mistaken.

CSX Conductor wrote:I believe that the old box cars are used for MofW or C&S crews but I could be mistaken.

Ahh, does anyone know about if the switch at the Waltham tower which leads to Watertown I believe is ever actually used?

Between Kendal Green station and RT128, you passed under the old
Central Mass Branch that went, at one time, all the way to Northampton.

The boxcars near Waltham Tower at Elm Street are part of Savages
and used for storage by them.

The track behind Waltham Tower is the former Bemis Branch, which
is only good for 100ft or so and strictly used for MW purposes.

D

Any memory of the date of that last SAED in Waltham?

GP40MC1118 wrote:Just to clarify things about Waltham:

-controls W.Cambridge (inclusive) to CPF-WL (exclusive) under
the direction of the Boston West T.D.
-West Concord Interlocking no longer exists, retired in the 80's.
-Clematis Brook Interlocking is just a shell of its former self.
Only switch left is the one to the former Central Mass Branch,
which is used strictly for MW equipment.
-Has two machines: 1) a lever machine which controls Waltham
proper and 2) a CTC board which controls the rest of the
territory. It's code room is in the small brick building next to the
tower on Elm Street.

I got to work this tower many times between 1979-1982. Nice
job. Got to see and hoop up train orders to the last SAED (rerouted
via Lowell the next week).

D