www.txrrhistory.com - Tower 5 - Houston
Crossing of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio
(GH&SA) Railway and the San Antonio & Aransas Pass (SA&AP) Railway
After the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio (GH&SA)
Railway built westward across the state to complete a transcontinental
connection at Sierra Blanca, it began to expand its trackage in
the rapidly growing Houston area. Building north from Harrisburg,
the GH&SA bridged Buffalo Bayou and then completed tracks
westward into the center of Houston along what is now Clinton Drive. As the
GH&SA became formally merged into the Southern Pacific system in 1905, the
tracks into downtown saw a reduction in traffic
and gradually became industrial trackage serving businesses along
Buffalo Bayou. The San Antonio & Aransas Pass (SA&AP) Railway entered Houston in 1888 from
the west, crossing south of the downtown area and constructing a station at Polk
Street. To make a connection with the Texas & New Orleans (T&NO) Railroad in
northeast Houston, the SA&AP built an extension north toward what is now Englewood
Yards. After bridging Buffalo Bayou, this extension crossed the GH&SA east-west
line just north of Clinton Drive. On December 4, 1902, Tower 5 was commissioned for operation at this
crossing with a mechanical interlocker having 12 functions (four home signals,
four distant signals and four derails).
Files of the Railroad
Commission of Texas (RCT) indicate that Tower 5 was discontinued on July 11, 1925
and then reinstated on March 10, 1927, but this period of discontinuance was
never reflected in RCT annual reports. Other T&NO interlocker documentation
explains that Tower 5 was "placed out of service July 11, 1925 account taking
over the SA&AP Ry." This is consistent with the original RCT rules that required
numbered interlockers only where two different railroads crossed. Once
the SA&AP had formally been brought under T&NO control, the numbered interlocker
was, in theory, no longer required although this does not imply that
the interlocking function was no longer needed. When Tower 5 was "placed out
of service", the specific rules the T&NO may have used for this "single
railroad" crossing immediately after July, 1925 are unknown. The T&NO
documentation only says that Tower 5 was "replaced in service as cabin
interlocker on March 10, 1927...". Presumably, this was the date of the actual
reactivation of the interlocker as a cabin-type system which would have required
RCT approval. By this time, the RCT was requiring all interlockers to be
approved, even for "single railroad" crossings [see discussion of this
requirement at Tower 121].
The 1928 RCT Annual Report was the first to
list Tower 5 as an 8-function "mechanical-cabin". Cabin interlockers were used
where the traffic was insufficient to justify a manned tower, typically in cases
where one line was more heavily used and the other lightly used. By lining the
interlocker to permit continuous movement on the busier track, trains on that
line did not have to stop. When a train approached on the lightly used line, the
crew would stop and manually throw the interlocker signals to permit passage
over the crossing, warning oncoming trains on the busier line that the crossing
was occupied. After crossing, the signals could be re-lined by the train crew to
permit trains on the busier line to resume normal operations.
Although Tower 5 became a cabin interlocker in 1927, it was a manned tower
for many years prior. The 1924 Sanborn Fire Insurance
map of Houston (below) shows a small, square two-story "office" structure
standing alone at this railroad junction. Presumably this is Tower 5 for there
would be no other reason for such a structure to be located near a railroad
junction. RCT files state that Tower 5's interlocking functions were moved to
Tower 139 in 1940. If you have a photo or any
additional information about this tower,
please contact us.
Historic Map, Tower 5 Location
Above: The 1924 Sanborn map of Houston shows the T&NO (ex-GH&SA) line
running east-west along Baron Drive, just north of Clinton Drive, crossing the
SA&AP line about 500 ft. east of the bridge over Ingram's Gully. Below: A
magnification of the map shows Tower 5 documented in the southwest quadrant of
the crossing (lower right edge of the image) as a two-story "Off" [office] structure. The doorway was located on
the south side of the building, and the rectangular shape and the lack of an
externally-indicated staircase implies that the staircase was inside.
Site Photo, Tower 5 foundation (Jim King, December 2006)
Above: This crumbling concrete foundation was found at the northeast
corner of the adjacent lot, precisely where Tower 5 appears on the Sanborn map.
It is not known whether the cabin interlocker that replaced Tower 5 also used
this foundation.
Track Chart, T&NO Clinton Branch (courtesy,
T&NO Archives)
Above: This image extracted from a 1926 T&NO track chart of the Clinton
Branch shows the T&NO crossing the SA&AP west of Baer Jct., but also includes a
closeup of this crossing in the upper left corner. The Tower 5 location is
indicated on the southwest corner of the diamond.
Additional Photos, Tower 5 Site (Jim King, December 2006) - click to
enlarge
Communications poles line the former GH&SA right-of-way looking west toward
downtown.
Tracks
remain in place to the north. Westbound trains arrive from the right edge of
photo and curve north toward Englewood Yard. The "S-curve" in the foreground
appears to result from increasing the radius of the connecting track from the
east while maintaining the original northbound grade. The condition and use of
this track is unknown.
Signals for
the grade crossing of the tracks are visible along the right-of-way to the east,
leading to Baer Jct.
South of Clinton Drive, the SA&AP right-of-way is now an unusual looking
greenbelt heading toward Buffalo Bayou.
Location Map, Tower 5
Satellite Image, Tower 5 Location
Last Revised: 1/21/2007 JGK - Contact the Texas
Interlocking Towers Page.
