Operating Towers

Hello Group,

Was hoping someone could answer a question of mine, recently saw a few images on NERail that hinted to MBTA still using some towers, was interested if this is true and if so which are in service today?

thanks for any help
-Justin Franz

Waltham Tower is the last remaining active traditional signal tower in B&M/MBTA territory. It's an absolute gem, complete with a semaphore order board. Tower A at North Station controls the drawbridges but not train routing. A couple others are still standing (like Ayer) but are used by the signal department maintenance crews or for other purposes.

What does Waltham control? Is it just the single track section? I assume the turnouts to the branch but I don't belive that branch is still used.

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).

What about the tower at Braintree's CR station?

fm535 wrote:What about the tower at Braintree's CR station?

That building was a yard office from the days when the New Haven/Penn Central/Conrail had a fairly busy freight yard in South Braintree, not a signal tower that controled switches and signals.

Thanks for the help,

What's the future for the tower at Waltham? Will it continue to see service in the foreseeable future, or are the day's numbered.

Also, dose MBTA have any problem with photography around the tower?

-Justin

The Red line has the Cabot Tower, The Orange Still has Wellington Tower and on the Blue Tower T is still there but not in use.

TomNelligan wrote:

fm535 wrote:What about the tower at Braintree's CR station?

That building was a yard office from the days when the New Haven/Penn Central/Conrail had a fairly busy freight yard in South Braintree, not a signal tower that controled switches and signals.

It is currently used by MBCR MofW crews as an office.

mc367 wrote:What's the future for the tower at Waltham? Will it continue to see service in the foreseeable future, or are the day's numbered.

Don't know. I'm amazed that it's lasted as long as it has.

Also, dose MBTA have any problem with photography around the tower?

I'm not a photographer so I haven't tried, but the tower is immediately adjacent to a public street and the inbound platform of the Waltham station, so you can certainly photograph it from public property.

There are four towers still active on the Commuter Rail system:

Waltham Tower, as previously described;
Tower H, which controls movements to, from, and within Boston Engine Terminal;
Tower A, which controls the moveable bridge at North Station, and finally;
South Bay Tower, which is still manned by Amtrak and controls movements into and out of the Southampton Street Yard area.

jwhite07 wrote:There are four towers still active on the Commuter Rail system:

Waltham Tower, as previously described;
Tower H, which controls movements to, from, and within Boston Engine Terminal;
Tower A, which controls the moveable bridge at North Station, and finally;
South Bay Tower, which is still manned by Amtrak and controls movements into and out of the Southampton Street Yard area.

I was on a Train from Haverhill this past weekend heading into North Station, I got a very nice look at "Tower A" even still says Boston and Maine on the side of it. Too bad it fairly impossible to get a up and close picture of it unless you know someone who works for MBCR or such can get in that close

jwhite07 wrote:South Bay Tower, which is still manned by Amtrak and controls movements into and out of the Southampton Street Yard area.

You mean Amtrak South Bay Trailer, right? LOL.

fm535 wrote:What about the tower at Braintree's CR station?

I also have seen the Caddigan Yard Tower at Braintree Red Line Station, which has a switch control tower and the Yard Office for the Red Line Cars.

there is a tower in Attleboro, but it was closed when all the dispatching went to Boston during the electrification of the line