Buffalo, NY: Junction Towers: Pennsy vs. Erie (Mystery) and vs. DL&W (DM)

Mystery: (Satellite)

DM: (Satellite)

I'm combining these two towers because I started out researching Pennsy vs Erie. But things were not making sense and, when I reread Gregory's comment, I realized I should be researching Pennsy vs. DL&W. I've combined the two towers because the topo map and aerial photo covered both towers.

Darren Reynolds posted four images with the comment:

Conrails (Ex-PRR)

"DM" tower 

Buffalo, New York

Gregory Lund: I worked DM early in my career (1979-1980). PRR side was all Armstrong/pipeline/Position light signals, and the EL( former DL&W) was air switches/color light signals. The PRR’s main yard ( Ebeneezer) was south of here ( by GJ as noted on diagram), but there were several industrial yards ( Yard 2 and Yard 3) north of DM that still saw use even in CR days. The Wye track(s) from PRR to EL saw use as PRR/PC/early CR ran trains/transfers from Ebeneezer (and later Seneca Yard) to Bison Yard(EL) and also had rights over the DLW Black Rock Branch to connect with the CN at Ft. Erie.

Tim Shanahan shared

1
[The overpass is I-190. Note the signalling pipelines in the left foreground.]

2

3
[The overpass is LV. I-190 reused its route through here.]

4

I know enough about Buffalo railroads to know that they confuse me. So I started out with the "big picture." The four routes on the east side about Alden Center were, from top to bottom: NYC, Lehigh Valley, DL&W and Erie. I placed the red "target" on the intersection of Pennsy and Erie. The intersection of Pennsy with DL&W is the next crossing to the East. (I don't know why the route next to the NYC in the lower left corner is labelled "PENNA." That route was the Nickel Plate.)

1960/60 Buffalo Quad @ 250,000

Now that I know where to zoom in, we have this excerpt. I think the third route through this area was the NYC freight connection between their route to the East and their route down along Lake Erie.

1950/50 Buffalo NE and SE Quads @ 24,000

This is the Pennsy vs. Erie crossing.

May 7, 1963 @ 24,000; AR1VAOJ00030185

This is the Pennsy vs. DL&W crossing. Looking at the track diagram, the LV crossing indicates that the top of the diagram is a lot closer to South than North. That puts the tower in the northwest quadrant of the crossing and parallel to the pennsy. And this aerial confirms that. (It appears that LV had already been wiped out to make room for I-190. And after the DL&W was torn up, US-62 was straightened.)

May 7, 1963 @ 24,000; AR1VAOJ00030185