Romulus, MI: Junction Tower: Wabash & PM Union Station and CSX/PM vs. NS/Wabash

(Satellite)

Peter Dudley shared
Here's a c. 1930s (?) view of the east / west Wabash Railway mainline at Romulus Junction, where the north / south Pere Marquette Railway (PM) crossed at right angles (J.M. Cave photo).
Today's Norfolk Southern Railway / CSX Transportation double-track rail lines still cross here, but the depot and the interlocking tower are long-gone.
Some favor a railroad park here.

Comments on a post

Doug Hefty posted

Photo credit:  Mark Hinsdale

🎶"Blinded by the light...."🎶 I've noticed Romulus is one of the most-photographed locations on the Michigan Division, and Mark got this nice shot of a northbound passing the tower in February 1979.  Unfortunately, the tower operators' days are numbered here and the tower will close in a few months -- September 1979.  If you look to the left of the train you can see part of the new cantilever and signal mast as part of the installation to automate the interlocking.  Before the changeover, a panel on our CTC concole in Saginaw was modified to include the switch to double track and associated signal icons.  A signal coded-in by us north or south did not line in the field until our train was on the approach -- around New  Boston for NB and around Palmer Rd Wayne for SB (provided Wayne Jct was lined).  In the meantime, N&W could get the signal if they beat us to the punch.  The days are also numbered for N&W.  In July 1980, N&W would be folded into Norfolk Southern.  I missed working with the operators at Romulus after the tower closed, no longer hearing them announce "Romulus--northbound!"

Mark Hinsdale: Life-long friend Erick Facknitz trying to “exit, stage left,” from the picture. Erick dispatched for many years at GTW, in Pontiac and Troy. Mostly the 2nd Trick, “TD-2” position.

Tim Shanahan shared

Romulus Michigan

Jim Kelling shared

Romulus Michigan (C&O/Wabash crossing)

Charlie Whipp posted

First of all, most of my railfan friends know from first glance where this was taken. I wrote the caption for Flickr keeping in mind many out of State and overseas folks that have never set foot in Michigan and know that Romulus was the first king of Rome but have never heard of Romulus, MI. That said, I simply pasted my Flickr caption here because being basically lazy, I didn't want to write another one

"One of the slides that were a little difficult to scan I recently picked out to is this one, taken at Romulus, MI MP 19 (From Detroit) on the ex-Wabash main line that stretched between St. Louis and Detroit, then into the Buffalo gateway via CN trackage rights through Ontario.

The 3483 is an ex-Wabash GP7 that I caught on a quick stop on a circle trip that I used to enjoy taking in south eastern Michigan that hit as many towers as I could in a day. I usually spent a limited time at each spot, moving on if there wasn't anything happening. The sun obviously wasn't in the greatest position for this photo but I'm glad that I decided to snap it. It shows the old Wabash depot that would burn a few years later, Romulus tower not lasting too much longer after the depot went by the wayside.

With a little fiddling around in Photoshop, I was able to bring out some details in the shadows that only Kodachrome could have rendered. 11-6-1975." Yesterday's Flickr photo

Charlie Whipp shared

CSX/C&O/PM is the north/south route. Building I-94 must have gutted what was between I-94 and the Wabash tracks so Goddard no longer crosses the tracks. We are looking west along the Wabash. Historic Aerials indicates the buildings were removed between 1973 and 1999.

Mark Hinsdale posted

"Run Through"

Back in the 1960's and 70's, a railroad's locomotives didn't often leave home rails, except in a few exceptional and specially arranged circumstances. So, when Nortolk and Western started operating foreign power to and from Detroit, by way of its western connections in Kansas City and St. Louis, it was a notable event for local railfans. Over time, of course, the standardization of radio technology, accounting methods and the locomotives themselves, brought us to where we are today, with power from any given railroad just as likely to be seen far from "home" rails as it is on it's owning road. It wasn't always that way, though, and I recall being pumped whenever an encounter on N&W (or other lines) would yield a photograph of "exotic" power not often seen where I lived. A case in point: a westbound N&W merchandise train blasts across the Chesapeake & Ohio's Toledo Subdivision at Romulus MI, two days before Christmas in December, 1978, led by a pair of Southern Pacific and SP subsidiary Cotton Belt units. Union Pacific power was also regularly observed on this former Wabash main line. December, 1978 photo by Mark Hinsdale.

Mark Hinsdale posted

Mark Hinsdale posted
A high nosed GE U28B in charge, a westbound Norfolk & Western manifest train is crossing Chessie System's Saginaw to Toledo main line at Romulus MI, on the former Wabash in March, 1975.  The Romulus depot visible to the far right did not have long to live, it was demolished within a year.  March, 1975 photo by Mark Hinsdale.
Mark Hinsdale shared

Marty Bernard posted six photos with the comment:

Bill Howes spent some time at Romulus, MI the afternoon of August 25, 1972. Romulus is where the C&O and N&W (now CSX and NS) cross and is about 25 miles west and a little south of Detroit.
Captions with photos.

1
The N&W Local about to cross the C&O. N&W 1366 was a high hood GP 40. Bill Howes photo
Winston Beech Classic ball herald fade on locos from this time period. The herald was solid yellow with the inverse half moon logo painted over it - when it faded you just got the "sunshine" version. Most common on GP40s for some reason. I did that on my 1349.

2
2 and 3. The N&W Local switching the C&O interchange.

3
2 and 3. The N&W Local switching the C&O interchange.
Ray Schloss Omg remember when boxcars looked this clean.
[And the "green light" in the O of SOUTHERN.]

4
The N&W Local again at the Tower. Bill Howes photo
Dennis Holmes Wow. Cool old '68 Ford Country Squire!

5
An N&W westbound manifest about to cross the C&O ~2 PM. The leader, N&W 8532, was a high hood U30B. Bill Howes photo
John W. Lyon Probably DK13

6
An N&W westbound manifest about to cross the C&O ~2 PM. The leader, N&W 8532, was a high hood U30B. Bill Howes photo
Bob Finan James -ex Wabash streamlined cupola caboose #2808.
Mark Hinsdale Passing Romulus (MI) Tower westbound, crossing C&O.
Colin 't Hart https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=133810
Winston Beech Class C18 caboose; made by OMI in brass and Wright Track in resin.

Jeff Mast posted
Jumping way back again to Romulus, Michigan - September 6, 1975 and there are more flowers than sunshine, however this N&W train KD-12 (Kansas City to Detroit) was doing the best to set some land speed record as usual on the former Wabash. The diamond with the C&O was in pretty bad shape, being "low" and I was really surprised how fast this eastbound was approaching. I see the tower operator Harry who would usually watch trains from the middle landing on the stairs, had the same idea I had which was get ready to run in case the train decided to distribute itself across downtown Romulus.
[And another view of the depot. Did they move the depot to make room for the double track?]

Roger Riblett shared

Comments on Jeff's post

5 photos, the first one shows the signaling pipelines being scrapped