Towns and Nature: Morrisville, PA: 1903+1941 Pennsy Morris Tower and Railyard

Railyard: (Satellite, it is now a commuter train yard.)

It is now used as a MoW office.

Street View, Sep 2023

Rich Gunther posted five photos with the comment: "Second Trick, Morris Tower, 1990."

William Chaplik: Loved working Morris. By 1989 I think I was Division Operator. and part of the job was to make periodic visits on various shifts to the 21 towers in three states which we still had then.

Jim Walls: William Chaplik Division Operator, NY Division, was a great job for sure!

Rich gunther: William Chaplik Well Jim, you hired me, Bill inherited that decision (for better or worse), and Pat’s was great.

Once while working Hudson 2’nd trick, there was a rules violation at Morris. I was the only one around qualified to provide relief. So they sent someone out from 40 office to relieve me so I could get picked up by a Trenton local, then get driven to Morris from there. Everything worked out great and there I was.

At 11 pm I got relieved and wanted to stop the only train that would be able to get me back to my car at Hudson at that hour, the last Amtrak. I asked Section B for permission to do so and was denied. Stopped it anyway and caught hell for it, but you backed me up Bill. (Thanks again!).

Frankie Lippölis: William Chaplik 21 towers in 3 states. They're all remoted now. Q included.

Gwendolyn R. Schmidt: I published video on a demonstration in there a while ago. https://youtu.be/PayB4gsVIq8 [I could not understand them, but your hearing is probably better than mine. And YouTube offered this 16:19 video.]

Rich Gunther: Gwendolyn R. Schmidt Different tower, but similar and smaller.

Rich Gunther: An explanation of the operations at Morris Tower from another post of mine.

in the evening of March 4, 1990. Morris is where Conrail’s Morrisville Line left the NEC to access Morrisville Yard, and onto Glen Loch on the Harrisburg Mainline. Morris was a complete interlocking with the 3 Morrisville Line tracks crossing over Tracks 3 and 4 to directly access tracks 2 and 3 from the center. Tracks 2 and 3 were originally designed by the PRR as primarily freight tracks, and their jump over/duck under design allowed freight trains to not have to cross over the passenger tracks. Morris also controlled remote interlockings. Going west from Morris there were 3 tracks, from south to north they were The Thorofare, Middle and Single. (originally Tracks 1, Middle, and 2, respectively). First remote interlocking on the line is ”MY”, it governed entrance to the east end of the yard with 3 levers for 1 crossover (single to middle) and 3 signals west and east on the single and middle). The Single Track continued about a mile and a half to CP Copper, a holdout signal guarding a hand operated crossover, and its counterpart governing eastward movements (42R and 42L). A mile and a half further there was “MA” where the middle, single ( Track 2 in the interlocking) and Track 1 come together. MA originally had the 44RA, 44RB and 44L governing movements on the middle and 1 with 1 crossover (43) with Track 2 not interlocked here. Later they included Track 2 with a crossover going from 1-2 east (45) and 2-1 west (47) with the 46 signal also added.

By 1990, most of the yard was idle. There was a Trailer Train facility there that hosted TV-1 and TV-2 picking up and dropping off on their way through between South Kearny and points west, and two daily freights from the big yard (MOPI and PIMO). There were a couple of TT mail trains (Mail-3 and Mail-4) that bypassed the yard on the single track. The Morrisville Line at this point was a mainline only to “Nest” around Norristown to a connection to the Reading. The rest of it had become a non- signaled secondary down to “Glen” and “Thorn” on Amtrak’s Philadelphia to Harrisburg main.

I have attached a couple of track charts showing the area. Morris also controlled “MB” on Track 1, just a holdout signal. Other than that one lever being removed, the tower in 1990 was still intact, being with much less freight. At Morris proper our main job was to put the Septa locals over to Track 3 eastbound to Fair so they could put them in on Track 5 in Trenton.

The second photo shows the machine and model board, MA is on the right. The US&S Model 14 machine had 20 switch levers and 12 signal levers in a 47 lever frame. The model board track chart was on thin Bakelite panels about 2 feet square attached to the board, only one I’ve seen like that. Third photo is me a lifetime ago at the machine. Usually wore a jacket, It was always cold in there. The radiators were at the ends of the building, desk in the middle, and a bad draft from the windows in front. The last two images are 2 track charts to show the layout. One curious thing about the Morris chart is that there are two exit signals, 2R and 4R on tracks 3 and 2. Look east and there are Home Signals for Fair Interlocking on Tracks 1 and 4, but none on 2 and 3. Almost looks like the two exit signals at the time (1941) doubled as the Home Signals for Fair. I can’t think of any other reason to have exit signals there. I need to find a Fair track chart from the same period to confirm, the chart I have in 1967 shows Home Signals.

Tommy Tomson: All that stuff still in there?

Gene Anirina Sr: Tommy Tomson turned into offices upstairs. It was my office from early 2000's until 2016.

Peter James Paras: That track model board, I see track lights on it. Did the tower control switches and signals in the yard areas at one time?

William Chaplik: Peter James Paras Yes. It was still busy enough when I worked there that there were two jobs, a freight operator and a passenger operator. I was qualified on and worked both jobs.

Darren Reynolds shared

This aerial allowed me to find the location of the tower. Unfortunately, I found the building east of Pennsylvania Ave. on the north side of the tracks rather than the building west of Pennsylvania Ave. on the south side of the tracks. Fortunately, a street view of the eastern building and photos of the tower allowed me to catch my mistake.

Apr 3, 1953 @ 20,000; AR1XI0000020116

This provides context for the above and shows the railyard.

Apr 3, 1953 @ 20,000; AR1XI0000020116

"MORRIS tower is located in MORRISville Pa, and and has its home signal right at the western end of the long stone arch bridge over the Delaware River and into New Jersey. MORRIS is the point where the Trenton cut off diverges out of the center of the main line. Instead of routing its east-west freight trains south some 40 miles to ZOO for the trek up the Main Line with its curves and grades, the PRR built, sometime in the 1890's, a new freight only line which cut the corner between Morrisville Pa and Downingtown Pa. PRR freight trains would race down the 4 track New York main and then rise up and out of the center, flying over the southbound tracks as it curved into the huge, electrified Morrisville yards." [SignalBox]

Brad Panaia posted
This is Morrisville Yard. 1952 and today. It looks like the roundhouse had already been removed by 1952 but there is evidence of it. Today, CSX and Norfolk Southern share the yard. Half the Yard was split and now, New Jersey Transit stores many of their trains here at night.

Brad Panaia commented on his post
ok, you are looking for the roundhouse, the yard is split by Route 13. I broke the yard into 2 pictures. This is the other half of the yard with the roundhouse footprint