Towers, CSXs Relics in the 1990s

The Baltimore & Ohio was a railroad of firsts. By 1842, it had connected Cumberland, MD, with the East Coast. Under CSX ownership, this important mainline boasts heavy-duty welded rail over which rolls the most modern diesels and Amtrak’s newest Superliners. Armstrong levers, however, continue to operate switches at several locations, which are visited in this program.

In 1994, only eighteen mechanical interlocking plants survive in the United States. In addition to Miller Tower, located in Cherry Run, WV, we visit Hancock, Cumberland, plus a few towers which are no more. View the “Closing Ceremony’ for JD Tower in March, 1992.

Of course, you will see plenty of CSX freight activity from Baltimore to Sand Patch, in addition to Amtrak’s “Capitol Limited.” But listen for the locking of levers and squeal of pipes and cranks after the trains pass – a sound fast vanishing from the American railroad scene.