Springfield, IL: Iles Junction: GM&O/Alton vs. Wabash

Randy James posted
Iles tower, Springfield Illinois, GM&O

Mike Breski posted
From the collection of Gary Thompson of Normal, Illinois, comes this photo of a southbound freight train crossing the diamond at Iles Tower, south of Springfield. F3 unit 800B leads a four-unit consist that includes two GP units, dating this photo to some time in the 1970s, but the photographer's identity is unknown. Richard Leonard's Rail Archive.
  Larry Grzywinski I see two F3’s and one GP9.
Bill Edrington Yes, there’s only one “Paducah rebuild” trailing the F3s. This is definitely a post-ICG-merger shot (after 8/10/72).
Edward Miller Now Between the UP and NS No Diamond anymore just 2 lines converge and then separate again
Edward Miller The Eagle and all the St Louis Regional Trains all pass through this point.

Cathy Sallenger shared
My G Grandfather worked at Iles Tower in Springfield. He had served in WW1 in the Signal Corps & upon coming home worked for Wabash RR. He worked his entire life as a Telegraph Operator for Wabash.
As a kid I was always told that tower was where he worked. Probably a dumb question, I just always wondered what exactly his job was?
Dennis DeBruler I'm not a railroader, and I don't know the history of this particular tower, but I can provide some general information about what a tower operator did.
One job was to receive train orders with the telegraph and type them using carbon paper to get multiple copies. He would then use hoops to give a copy to the engineer and to the conductor. Note on the right side of the photo there is an "ironman" that was used to hold the hoops.
https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../hooping-up...
He would also set up routes through the junction by changing the position of turnouts, locks and signals. If he started early enough in this century or if this tower was obsolete enough, he would push and pull long levers that were mechanically connected to the appliances. An interlocking machine would ensure that he moved the levers in the correct order so that he would not create a dangerous situation. For example, giving green lights to more than one route through the junction at the same time. "Armstrong" levers were later replaced with controls that activated electrical and/or pneumatic control of the appliances.
There is an example of armstrong levers near the bottom of the following notes.
https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../75th-st-or...
This is an example of a tower using more modern equipment. The big towers would have assistants to help manipulate the controls.
http://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/.../c-lake-tower...
They would also note on a sheet every train that passed the tower. They, along with station agents, were the eyes and ears of the dispatchers before Centralized Traffic Control was developed.

The Wabash used to cross the GM&O here and follow what has become the Wabash Trail to a remnant of their mainline that now ends at Robbins Road. Now the Wabash joins the UP/GM&O and goes south with KCS, UP and Amtrak to Hazel Del where NS turns west and later curves north to join its original mainline. That new route now also carries KCS traffic into town. The KCS route was originally a C&A branch. to Kansas City. The Wabash route through Springfield is a branch to Kansas City that left the St. Louis route in Decatur, IL. Some railroads that had connections to St. Louis also built direct routes to Kansas City to avoid the monopoly rates charged in St. Louis to cross the Mississippi River. The St. Louis area terminal railroad charged high rates because it owned both railroad bridges across the Mississippi.

The junction tower was in the southwest quadrant so the above train was southbound.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Update:

David Harris posted
A northbound bumps across the NS/NW/Wabash at Iles Tower in April 1986, before the big changes.
Ronald Rice Nice! I've seen several pictures of the old tower, but this is the first one that was taken from the north side.

Brian Spoke posted
GM&O GP35's #618 leads sister 621 and GP30 #518 at Iles Tower in Springfield, IL - Date & Photographer unknown. Brian Sopke Collection.
[The GM&O is northbound. And a train on the Wabash route needs to stop for train orders.]

Stan L. Maddox posted
Iles Tower, Springfield, IL. Facing East alongside the old Wabash/N&W main. Date unknown, but during the Chicago, Missouri and Western Railway (CM&W) era for sure, based on other photos I took that day.

Richard Schroeder posted two photos with the comment: "In the spring and summer of 1994 I was a Consultant Project Engineer for the relocation of the former Wabash Railroad line on the west side of Springfield, IL. For almost a year the contractors had built the new roadbed around the south part of the city and then laid the new track from the west side of town, near I-72, to Iles tower located on the south edge of town. For 7 days we made cutovers with the last day, August 23rd, being the cutover at Iles. Here is the tower July 12, 1994 with the outside covering still in place. The other photo is the day the tower was fallen across the former Wabash line, which was already out of service.  My photos of a sad time for a tower lover."

Steve McMullen: They just pushed it over ‽ Wow

Richard Schroeder: Actually you can see a cable across the track, there was a dozer on the north side out of the picture and they pulled it over. I did not post the pile when it was down.

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