Brockway, PA: B&O (WI) Junction Tower: B&O vs. Erie

(Satellite)

This town is now served by the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad.

Stan Carlson posted
An unidentified KK-4b passing WI tower at Brockway Pa with an eastbound freight on the Buffalo Division in 1945. Gordon Rude photo. Mr Rude was the operator at WI tower, and he took a nice set of photos here. The tower controlled the interlocking for the B&O mainline, and Erie RR yard trackage that served various coal mines in the district. The agreement, going back to BR&P days, permitted the Erie to access the yard via the B&O mainline from Johnsonburg Pa to WI tower. With this, the mainline from Mt Jewett Pa to Johnsonburg was owned by the Erie, but leased by the BR&P, and later B&O, and double tracked and maintained by the BR&P and later B&O. With the abandonment of the Erie RR Bradford Branch, the B&O bought the portion previously owned by the Erie-Lackawanna.

This topo map excerpt shows the Erie route between Johnsonburg and Mt Jewett, PA, that provided the B&O a more direct route than their route through Kane, PA. 

1957/64 Warren Quad @ 250,000

And this excerpt shows the Erie branch that went East of Brockway to serve coal mines in the mountains. The B&O route that the Erie shared between Johnsonburg and Brockway was on the west side of the river. The Pennsy was on the east side.

1957/64 Warren Quad @ 250,000

It looks like the junction was a little north of Granville Road.

19l70/72 Carman Quad @ 24,000

At first, I thought the tower was the white rectangle on the west side of the tracks. But that rectangle doesn't have a shadow. I now think the smudge on the other side of the tracks was the tower. The houses and driveways have changed too much for them to help with placement. I would put the tower about here. Of these routes, it is the Pennsy route that is gone.

May 1, 1958 @ 30,000; AR1VPG000020122

Since the tower was east of the tracks, the photo at the top of these notes shows that timecard East is geographic North.