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BX Tower - Brooklyn . . .
I had been on the extra list for just shy of five years when I was finally awarded my first regular position. It was second-shift at Brooklyn (BX). And such a thrill it was to report for duty there that first day, to a job I actually "owned." I clearly remember Coleman Terry, the daylight man (and office manager), show me my locker as I came in the door. Wow! My very own locker. Such is one of the perks I had not enjoyed in five years of nomadic existence on the extra list.. Still, I was looking for something else. In all due respect to the legacy of BX Tower, it was not my ideal assignment. Sure, it had (for me) great days off (Friday and Saturday), and it WAS a tower. But it had something missing.. Trains. On average, there would be no more than about six moves in an eight-hour shift. Moreover, sequestered where it was at the end of a two-track subdivision with a mere three tracks leading into the yard, BX offered but a fraction of the activity enjoyed by the other towers within Baltimore Terminal. In short, I wanted to be where the ACTION was! (Picky, picky!)
HX Tower - Halethorpe . . .
It was without hesitation that I submitted a preferred assignment request, known as a step-up, onto the second-shift job at Halethorpe (HX). The incumbent on the Halethorpe job was an extra train dispatcher, and with he being pulled frequently from his tower job - sometimes for weeks at a time - I decided that I would rather work those vacancies than the job I had. Moreover, both jobs had the same relief days, so no matter which job I would be working at any one time, I could still make my plans interchangeably.. Halethorpe, unlike Brooklyn, was uniquely busy. With four main tracks to attend to at the tower itself, plus a remote control model board for the switches in the area of West Baltimore and Mount Winans, the place was at time a veritable beehive of activity. It was not uncommon to have three or four things happening at once.. In the due course of time, My second-shift position at HX Tower became permanent. And except for a couple of instances when I got displaced (each time moving to the relief position at the same location), I remained on the second-shift job at HX Tower for ten years. I loved that place!
JD Tower - Alexandria Junction . . .
Alexandria Junction Tower (JD) near Hyattsville, Maryland, added about 55 miles to my daily commute (round-trip), but this, I felt, was a small price to pay for the honor of staying in the towers... I never regretted taking the job. It was a wonderful place. It was located at the junction of the Washington (now Capital) Subdivision with the Alexandria Subdivision (now Alexandria Extension) in Prince George's County, just outside of Washington. And, in time, the tower became a clubhouse for the many fans of the area.
Remembrance Day at HX Tower . . .
In 1990, five years following the closing of HX Tower, I came up with an idea to return to the place, with all my friends, for a day of nostalgia. The division manager agreed to the plan, and on September 29 of that year, two days prior to the actual fifth-year anniversary of its closing, it was reopened for an event known as "Remembrance Day." The second-floor office portion of the building (still used by the signal department as a maintainer's headquarters) was put to use for the showing of videos, the parking spots became a picnic area, and an RDC Budd car (borrowed from MARC), with tables, was spotted on the track in front of the tower for use in socializing. Approximately 90 people - including employees, retired employees, friends and railfans - came to the tower for 12 hours of pure fun. As day turned into night, an outdoor slide show emerged in a corner of the parking lot. It was an event long to be remembered, and I consider Remembrance Day to be the fondest moment of my career.
QN Tower - Rhode Island Avenue - Washington . . .
QN Tower, built in 1906, next to Rhode Island Avenue, within sight of the U.S. Capitol, had once been an extremely busy place. At one time it controlled moves to and from Eckington Yard, just across from the tower - but that yard had been torn up a decade earlier. By the time I took the position, only two main tracks, and the lead into Union Station, were still a part of the immediate plant, plus the operator controlled remotely the switches at Georgetown Junction, just west of Silver Spring.. My last day at QN Tower was September 26, 1992, and it closed two days later.
R Tower - Miller . . .
Then it was to Miller Tower. Following a week of vacation, I displaced onto the second-shift position on October 7, 1992.. Miller was sequestered within the splendor of the Potomac River Valley, peaceful, and in company with nature. No finer place had I ever been on a full-time basis on the railroad; I knew I had found a tower I could truly call my "home." Never mind that Miller involved a commute of two hours - about 215 miles round-trip from Baltimore - this, again, was well worth the pleasure that resulted - doing what I had come to love in the span of over 22 years of railroading. In fact, I might even have questioned the wisdom of not coming to this wonderful place sooner, except for the long commute. I even told folks that I would plan on staying at Miller until I was 90. Ha! Perhaps I would have, but for the fact that the place would close long before that. Anyway, with no immediate plans that the place be closed any time soon, I was more than ready to stay for whatever its duration.
Cherry Run Railroad Club . . .
Many of my railfan friends did drop in for a visit, and we even had picnics on the grounds next to the river on a number of occasions.. In the photo above, Amtrak's Capitol Limited passes Miller Tower during a picnic held on the grounds on August 20, 1994, for the Cherry Run Railroad Club. [Photo by Tom Kraemer]
HO Tower - Hancock . . .
My next, and last, duty station was HO Tower at Hancock, West Virginia. My first day on the job was October 5, 2000.. My last day, December 10, was a quiet one. I took some notes, knowing this would probably be my last day on the railroad. As my final minutes of duty unfolded, I took refuge next to the tower's model board (it not being busy at the desk). I remembered my first visit to the tower in 1964. I fondly recalled the many happy times spent through the years and how thankful I was that I had the good fortune to serve in such a happy function. The tune "Bless This House" (a hymn we had sung at the closing ceremony at Miller Tower) played in my head, over and over. And I had thoughts of serving here once again - as a volunteer - if and when the B&O Museum acquires the building for display after Hancock's turn to be closed... At 11 o'clock, Doris Smith came in. She was there to post the third-shift position. Then Debbie Mentzer arrived. She would be my relief. The three of us made transfer, then talked for a while, a few moments of reminiscing, until the time came for me to leave. With hugs from Debbie and Doris, I left. It was 11:41 P.M.. Five days later, the day before my 60th birthday, I officially tendered my resignation due to retirement. It has been fun.
Some other photos from HO Tower . . .
[Photos by Matt Atkinson, taken prior to the last day]