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| Mart Hager posted The lighting is not great but it's a good view of JD tower in Hyattsville MD in operation. Also shows the old-style car racks. Autos would sometimes arrived damaged from rocks thrown trackside. Gary Chaney: Eastbound |
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| Industrialmodels posted May 73' a train coming west down the EB main is preparing to cross over to the Alexandria sub (I suspect). The tower looks great in its yellow and buff...... Jim Kelling shared JD tower at Alexandria Junction in Hyattsville MD. |
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| Industrialmodels posted 9/56 JD Tower Al Holtz dupe slide. This is one of my favorite pics of JD and one of the earliest in color. JD (or Alexandria Junction) lies 3 miles east of Ivy City on the Washington Sub. It controls the interlocking with the Alexandria Branch (which is the line that leads down to DC and across the Potomac River to Alexandria VA yard and connection with the Southern & RF&P. Al shot this from the Baltimore Ave bridge I believe looking east. We see DC transit in the foreground, and a local switcher stopped for a visit with the tower operator likely discussing the days work. The passing track was still in operation then. So much to see in this pic! Rich Sampson: In the Pennsy & B&O era (ie. pre-Conrail), did both roads have a distinct track on the Alexandria Extension west of the Anacostia, or were they shared & jointly managed? Sean Emerson: Rich Sampson They were always shared from the Anacostia bridge west through the Virginia Ave tunnel and over the Long Bridge. The B&O’s Alexandria Extension merged into Pennsy’s B&P just east of that bridge, near today’s DC 295 overpass at Benning Yard. The tracks in that area have been modified in the past 15 years, but the area when the Extension joins the former Pennsy tracks is roughly the same. Erich Houchens: DC Transit No.82 line which ran all the way to Laurel at one time. You can still see the ROW through College Park and Berwyn. Deane Mellander: As mentioned earlier, the trolley line once went all the way to Laurel. It was cut back to Beltsville sometime in the late 20's/early '30's. Then about 1952 it was cut back to a new loop at Branchville, about where Greenbelt Road crosses Rhode Island Avenue. The line was abandoned in Maryland around 1960, and all DC Transit trolleys were abandoned in January 1962. |
Darren Reynolds posted seven photos with the comment: "B&Os "JD" tower (Alexandria Jct) Hyattsville,Md."
James Churchill: Sadly, I saw it burn. I was going into S&J bar in Riverdale, saw the smoke and called CSX Police. Still pass by on MARC once or twice a week.
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| 1 With storm clouds Brewing Operator Bob Uhland stands in front of JD tower May 1985 Photo by: Gordon Bjoraker |
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| 2 A westbound with Auto racks passes "JD" tower on March 2,1986 Photo by: Steve Salamon |
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| 3 A short westbound Passes "JD" tower in the distance. On February 25,1978 Matthew Malibu: What overpass was this taken from? Dennis DeBruler: Matthew Malibu It looks like Baltimore Ave, https://maps.app.goo.gl/frvsyYiejwTRuE1U9 |
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| 4 In between trains Bob would have time to Read his Railpace magazine May 1985 Photo by: Gordon Bjoraker |
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| 5 The orange blossom special eastbound passing "JD" tower on May 1985 Photo by: Gordon Bjoraker Gordon Bjoraker: Note the train orders. That’s my Frisco semaphore that Bob is holding. The train is the northbound (timetable east) Orange Blossom Special. |
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| 6 A eastbound screams by "JD" tower on March 16,1986 Photo by: Steve Salamon |
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| 7 "JD" tower back in 1934 Note the trolley car tracks on the left hand side. Photo by: Henry Wilhelm NRHS All images from North American interlockings States A to Z and Canada. Jeff Peck: And where the steps were. They got moved to the other side after a derailment took them out... Darren Reynolds: Jeff Peck No, they put a bathroom in that corner and put the steps on the other Side no Derailment |
Dale V Rockwell posted seven photos with the comment:
A Sunday Reminisce, 56 years ago today [Jun 21, 2026],Sunday, June 21, 1970 was an important day for this 18-year-old railfan. "2nd trick" (3p-11p) Operator Donald Breakiron took a sick day so I could make my first official shift with the B&O railroad at JD Tower in Hyattsville, MD. I'd been hired between college semesters so the regular guys could get better summer vacation days from towers that were manned 24-7-365. After 4 weeks of training I was eager and focused to do my best. I was ready!Sunday afternoon was the slowest shift of the week and a perfect debut time. I'd been hanging out at the tower with Donald & Paul Hicks for several months prior to this, absorbing railroading like a sponge. When I relieved Paul & he went home, I was alone in my own office on a rainy afternoon.I took my camera to work and photographed the first two moves of my shift, a "Cab Extra" westbound to balance engines and cabooses, and the "Hudson", a hot train from Potomac Yard to Philadelphia and beyond. The day went smoothly and I was on the roster as a qualified Block Station Operator for America's oldest railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio!That summer job lasted over 42 years.(Captioned photos)
Dale V Rockwell shared
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| 1 My first office. JD Tower, "Alexandria Junction". Potomac Yard was located in Alexandria, VA. |
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| 2 The desk. Two phone speakers activated by foot pedals. Train Orders and train messages lantern & timetable hung on the blackboard. Ken Jamin: The mics were activated by the pedal, not the speakers. |
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| 3 Black "Armstrong" levers threw and locked switches. Red ones were signals. Gray changed direction of traffic. White were no longer in service. (1971 photo after we had sandpapered and urethaned the handles and Paul painted the levers and bed) |
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| 4 6/21/70-first move. Since eastbound traffic generally had more loaded cars and needed more power, locomotives were typically sent west on Sunday afternoons to use eastbound during the week. Cabooses were serviced in Baltimore and extras sent back west on these moves, hence "Cab Extra" . |
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| 5 The HUDSON. All eastbound trains from Potomac Yard had to pick up paperwork at JD, first B&O office encountered. Pole in window is for engine crew. Foreground pole for conductor on caboose. Paperwork wrapped in c-fold paper towels and hung out at last minute to keep it dry. |
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| 6 HUDSON rolls east. The pipes [signalling pipelines] were connected to the levers in the tower to manually throw and lock switches. They extended under the tracks. |
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| 7 Conductor on the rear picking up his Train Orders, messages and "Clearance Form A", with Chief Dispatcher's initials and signed at the bottom "Operator ROCKWELL" for the first time. |
It is next to the square building in the upper-right corner of this aerial. That square building is extant.
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| Sep 24, 1964 @ 24,000; AR1VBBM00010069 |
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