http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/bethpage/bethpage.htm Lots of new and old material added!
This is the first "B" tower constructed in 1925. Looking west in James V. Osborne's c. 1928 image we see the Long Island Motor Parkway trestle just visible in the distance beyond the semaphore block signals. The switch to access the Central branch is in the immediate foreground and appears to be set for a westbound train. This tower's site was smack-dab in the way of the planned parkway to access the new Bethpage state park in 1936. As a result, the 1925 wooden tower was razed and the replacement brick tower constructed slightly east to allow building of this parkway and railroad girder trestle overhead. Compare the 1925 blueprint with the 1936 blueprint for location of tower versus location of parkway. In this image you can see the tower and tracks were built on an embankment with the surrounding ground at quite a lower level from the tracks. It was probably considered an ideal spot for the girder trestle for the parkway, as special grading of the ROW probably didn't have to take place and the tracks could stay pretty much undisturbed during the bridge installation. (Dave Keller data)
This is the first "B" tower constructed in 1925. Looking west in James V. Osborne's c. 1928 image we see the Long Island Motor Parkway trestle just visible in the distance beyond the semaphore block signals. The switch to access the Central branch is in the immediate foreground and appears to be set for a westbound train. This tower's site was smack-dab in the way of the planned parkway to access the new Bethpage state park in 1936. As a result, the 1925 wooden tower was razed and the replacement brick tower constructed slightly east to allow building of this parkway and railroad girder trestle overhead. Compare the 1925 blueprint with the 1936 blueprint for location of tower versus location of parkway. In this image you can see the tower and tracks were built on an embankment with the surrounding ground at quite a lower level from the tracks. It was probably considered an ideal spot for the girder trestle for the parkway, as special grading of the ROW probably didn't have to take place and the tracks could stay pretty much undisturbed during the bridge installation. (Dave Keller data)
