Pennsy Smith Tower (SF) on Enola Low Grade Route

(Satellite via UncharteredLancaster)

"At its peak, six tracks stretched west of Smith Tower, with three of them extending for nearly two miles. This made it possible to move an entire train out of dedicated east and westbound traffic. By 1941, the average Enola Low-Grade freight length peaked at 89 cars or 3,500 to 4,000 feet long." [UnchartedLancaster]

Uncharted Lancaster posted two images with the comment:

On this winter day, the operator at Smith is sitting snuggly inside his tower. The brisk air is a sure sign that snow is not far away.

Smith is located along Pennsylvania Railroad’s electrified Atglen & Susquehanna Branch near Martic Forge. The wooden structure is notched into the side of a river hill, and except for freight trains, only an occasional rabbit or deer offers any movement to this desolate landscape.

The mighty M1 steam locomotive No. 6857 is blasting its way westward with an empty string of coal hoppers. This locomotive is one of more than three hundred 4-8-2’s built for freight and heavy passenger service. In the distance, a peddler freight is heading eastward with its wooden N6b caboose bombing along, vibrating the coffee on the pot-belly stone. For many years Smith Tower was important along the low grade line, but as motive power was improved, helper engines were no longer needed on eastbound trains, and Smith became obsolete. 

During the Sixties, the tower was taken out of service and later torn down. Click the link to learn more. https://wp.me/pazrDx-1OD

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Deb Kelley commented on the above post
Pic above: Working ‘Roy’ TBS and handing on orders. And I cut the ribbon for the tower at the Strasburg Railroad.
[Another photo of handing up train orders.]