www.txrrhistory.com - Interlocking Tower 22 - Dallas (East), TX

Crossing of the Texas & Pacific (T&P) Railway and the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe (GC&SF) Railway

Modern Photos - Tower 22

Looking due north the the former location of Tower 22 at the intersection of the Santa Fe and T&P railroad main lines.  The T&P tracks are still in place although the line has long been out of service.  The Santa Fe tracks were pulled out several years ago.


Looking northeast down the Santa Fe right-of-way, the T&P tracks are barely visible at the rear of the building to the right.  Tower 22 would have been visible just behind the trees on the left.


Tower 22's location in the northwest quadrant of the crossing is shown on this 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance map.
Under magnification, the printing in the rectangle depicting the tower says "Switch Tower, 2" (indicating a 2-story structure).

Tower 22 was established in 1903 at the junction of two major rail lines in east Dallas. The Texas & Pacific Railway main east-west line crossed the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe's main north-south line at Tower 22. The T&P arrived first, building from Longview into Dallas in 1873. The Santa Fe line was new construction originating at the Santa Fe yards in Dallas and building northeast toward Paris in 1886. Tower 22 undoubtedly saw significant rail traffic for many years before changes in Dallas railroading rendered the crossing obsolete.

The Santa Fe line remained viable into the 1990s before it was abandoned. The former Santa Fe yard southwest of Tower 22 became the maintenance yard for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail system. For many years, the T&P line has been out of service west of the Age of Steam Railroad Museum at Fair Park although the tracks remain in place. This will change soon - DART will be using the T&P right-of-way to construct a light rail line to southeast Dallas. The line will pass the site of Tower 22 and then turn south to pass the front of Fair Park before resuming eastward progress along the former Texas Trunk (Southern Pacific) right-of-way south of the park. Future DART passengers on this line will have a nice view of Tower 19 which is now located near the northwest corner of Fair Park.  Text and photos by Jim King.

Location Map - Tower 22

Map by Jim King.


Last Revised: 10/11/2006 - Contact the Texas Interlocking Towers Page.