Location: Lansing, MI - Washington Crossing Tower

The Grand Trunk Western had a tower here which controlled the crossing of the GTW crossing and the Michigan United Railways, running down Washington.. The tower was destroyed by a train derailment in 1935.

Photo Info: Top, a view of the interlocking tower at Washington Street and the signals along the GTW. This crossing was located at the street railway, but also controlled the MC and Lake Shore crossings of the main line. [RSE-1937-04]. 2nd image, the track diagram here in 1937. [RSE-1937-04]. 3rd image, a photo of the tower after a collision. [LSJ]

Notes

Time Line

1923. The MPSC approved replacing semaphore signals with color light signals. [MPSC-1923]

1934. The street railway is discontinued at this location, [RSE-1937-04]

1937. The control machine for the crossover and associated signals is located in a tower at Washington avenue, a heavily traveled city street just west of the station. This tower at one time housed a mechanical interlocking machine, controlling interlocking facilities provided for a crossing of the railroad and a street car line on Washington avenue. When the street car line was discontinued in 1934, the mechanical machine was removed and the tower used as a block office and control point for highway crossing gates protecting Washington avenue.

The control machine for the new installation is a specially constructed General Railway Signal Company table interlocker, equipped with three levers, one lever controlling the crossover, and two levers controlling eight signals. The switch lever is of the crank type mounted at the bottom of the machine and operates to two positions, normal and reverse, being controlled through intermediate locking positions by an electric lock and a thumb latch. The signal levers are mounted on the upper portion of the face of the machine. An indication lamp to repeat a proceed aspect of a signal is mounted in the face of each signal lever. A diagram of the track layout is provided on the wall above the machine for the use of the operator.· An ammeter on a panel above the machine indicates the operating load at all times. [RSE-1937-04]