The Olde RR Tower

Pappy

Pappy

Living the Dream
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Moved back to NY from Florida. 🤓 2025
As a little guy, I remember these towers which were located on the Main Street RR crossings. My little town, Norwich, Ny, in upstate Ny, had two or three as I remember. We would watch the man climb up the stairs and was good for a wave or two to us kids.

His job was to lower and raise the wooden gates whenever a train came. We did have a lot of traffic back then as freight and passenger trains ran daily. We often wondered, as kids do, where he went when nature called. He couldn't leave his post.
 

That's really cool!

There's actually at least one museum dedicated to switch towers - this one, the SoNo (Southern Norfolk) Switch Tower Museum is located in Connecticut and gives a complete history of the towers, as well as preserving and displaying many of the pieces of equipment used back in the day.

I realize a switch tower serves a different function than the gate-keeper's little castle you've illustrated, but I wonder if they blended duties in some places?
 
Wow, that's so cool. Have traveled throughout the country and never seen one of those.
 

Never saw these but maybe they were gone in S. FLA by the time I arrived to the world (1955). As far as "nature calling" didn't they have something called a "Brakeman's Friend?"

Oh, Phil, I bet I just ruined your next "What is it!"
 
R. Zimm said:
...Oh, Phil, I bet I just ruined your next "What is it!"
Click to expand...

No, that's OK - I'm probably going to use the "Switcher's Stew-Pot" anyway ... :rolleyes:

I think worker's bladders held more back in the day - they've shrunk over the years.

... the bladders, I mean - not the workers ... otherwise they'd have to make much higher switching towers ...
 

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