Friday, June 21, 2024

Limestone, NY: 1919 Riverside Junction (RJ) Tower

(Satellite)

This B&O route is now owned by the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR).

The Buffalo Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway Company posted
The interlocking tower at Riverside Junction in the early 1950’s. Located on the south side of the Allegheny River between Carrollton and Limestone, the tower protected the crossing of the BR&P mainline and Erie RR Bradford branch over the Pennsylvania Railroad Salamanca Branch. The PRR had a connection with the BR&P here, to access their tracks in Bradford. The PRR provided the tower operators here despite being built by the BR&P. The tower closed in the mid 1960’s when the PRR abandoned the branch. It was razed in the mid 1970’s, the only one of five similar structures to be removed.
Paula Bataitis Kirsch: Looks very similar to the tower that is still at Ashford Junction.
Tim Shanahan shared
Stan Carlson shared
Riverside Junction NY looking south in the mid 1950’s.
John Butts: Any pics of the tower in Heath Ohio? My Father worked there for awhile. They installed a new Hot box detector and he was a car inspector who could stop the train and repair the issue.
Dennis DeBruler: John Butts There are a few photos in these notes: 

Dennis DeBruler commented on Stan's share
Since we can see the tops of the Erie tracks to the right of the tower and since the Erie was west of the B&O, the photo is looking South. What is the timecard direction of the train? B&O was an east/west railroad, but this route was north/south. 1943 Salamanca Quadrangle @ 24,000

RJ Tower (Riverside Jct. north of Limestone NY: built in 1919) - governed the diamond and connecting track with the PRR (running east-west along the south side of the Allegheny River). The tower also governed the Erie (Bradford Division) crossing of the PRR just to the west. The BR&P's double-track line passed along the east side of RJ, with the parallel Erie line on the west side. The PRR line was immediately north of the tower. This was the smallest of the five towers and is the only one which is gone. One of the men who was involved in its demolition in the 1970's recalled that they first tried a wrecking ball, but that the 22" thick (at the base) reinforced walls were too much. They filled the building with flammable material and set fire to it. After softening the reinforcing with the heat, they dynamited it. They had plans to demolish one or more other towers, too, but decided to leave them to the vandals and mother nature. There were, by the way, three diamonds. The BR&P / B&O Buffalo Division double-track and the nearby Erie Bradford Division both crossed the east-west Pennsy branch south of the river.

 

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