One of the earliest photos shows Downtown Dalhart still in the horse and buggy days. At the edge of the
tree line on the right side of the photo, at the far end of the street, Tower 4 is standing watch.
www.txrrhistory.com - Tower 4 - Dalhart
Crossing of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific (CRI&P)
and the Ft. Worth and Denver (FW&D) railroads
In 1901, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (CRI&P) Railroad built southwest across the Texas panhandle from Liberal, Kansas toward Tucumcari, New Mexico, crossing the Ft. Worth & Denver (FW&D) Railway at a location they named "Denrock", a hybrid of the two railroads' names. The Post Office later rejected Denrock as a name, so the new settlement was named Dalhart for the two counties, Dallam and Hartley, whose county line the town straddles. Served by two major railroads, the town quickly outgrew other settlements in the region and became the county seat of Dallam County.
As a rural rail junction, the crossing at Dalhart was a perfect
spot for an interlocker. Without one, all trains were forced
to stop at the crossing in a town that would otherwise be bypassed
by most trains. Since the Railroad Commission rules governing
interlockers took effect about the time the crossing was being
established, plans for the control tower were able to incorporate
those rules. The result was that Tower 4 at Dalhart was
one of the earliest authorized interlockers in the state. The railroads crossed in an "X" pattern just north
of what became the Dalhart central business district. Tower
4 was originally located on the north side of the X, less than
a mile from both depots. The proximity of the crossing diamond
to downtown Dalhart created a major traffic congestion and safety
problem; waiting trains blocked street grade crossings and the
main street through downtown, Denrock Ave., crossed both lines
very close to the diamond. In 1939, the Texas Highway Department
and the City of Dalhart began a major grade separation construction
project that would tunnel Denrock Ave. underneath the rail crossing
and also create a tunnel for US Highway 87 along the alignment
for Pine Street. The widening of Denrock Ave. through the tunnel
required Tower 4 to be relocated to the east side of the crossing.
A series of temporary modifications to the interlocker was
approved by the Railroad Commission to facilitate continuous operations
during the various phases of construction. Today, the FW&D line is a main route of BNSF while Union
Pacific operates the former Rock Island "Golden State Route".
Modern Photo of Interlocker 4
Facing northeast, the concrete and iron railings adjacent to the
crossing diamond serve to prevent railroad
workers from falling
into the approaches to the highway tunnels beneath the rail junction
at the site of Tower 4.
The former Rock Island depot is visible
in the distance as a two-story yellow building to the right of
the large tree. (Jim King photo)
Below: A photo of a tower (presumably Tower 4) hangs on a wall at a museum in
Dalhart.
(Help! I have lost the details on who took this photo and when -- if
this is your photo, please let me know)
Tower 4 Location Map
Tower 4 Vicinity, Satellite Image
