Interlocking: Lansing, MI - MA Tower

MA Tower (or Michigan Avenue Tower) was an interlocking tower in downtown Lansing which served as a street railway crossing of the Michigan Central Saginaw Branch, as well as a junction of the Pere Marquette and MC lines.  The PM used the double tracked Michigan Central line from MA Tower to North Lansing Tower before heading off on its own line west to Grand Rapids.

Image info: Top, MA Tower in Lansing in 1984. [Jim Slater]. 2nd photo, a night shot of MA Tower in December, 1974. [Dennis Schmidt]. 3rd, the MA interlocking track diagram in 1984. Drawn from the interlocker files at the State of Michigan Archive. [Dale Berry], 4th image, a blueprint of the track arrangement at MA Tower in 1944. [Mike Delaney collection]

Notes

Comment from "Tim" on the RRHX History Bulletin Board in 2004: "The towers at North Lansing and MA were identical and both contained desktop mechanical interlocking machines. Both also controlled the highway protection via an electrical switch in the tower. When North Lansing closed, an electrical CTC-style box was installed at MA and the gates were automated. A local model railroad club tore down the tower at North Lansing in 1964 for materials to remodel their GTW depot in Millett. The stairs are still in service to the basement there.

Larry Harrell notes on [FB] that the crossing gates at Michigan Avenue were manually controlled from the tower before automation.

Time Line

1902. The railroad commission approves first class interlockers at the junctions of the MC and PM railroads at Lansing and North Lansing. [MCR-1902]

1902. The railroad commission received a report from the Lansing Electric Street Railway Co. of an accident occurring upon that line at its Michigan avenue crossing of the Michigan Central railroad. It appeared that the brakes of an street railway car refused to work and the car ran into the gates, breaking the gate on the eat side of the railroad track. The derailing device apparently did not work. The street railway company will make repairs. [MCR-1903]

1986. Conrail closes the tower which is remoted to the CSX dispatcher. The tower is moved to Lansing's Old Town. After sitting vacant for 30 years, the Lansing Model Railroad Club moved the tower to the club's property.