Photo by Daniel Walford, March 23, 2004
A crossing of the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio, the Texas & Pacific, and the El Paso & Northeastern railroads
Photo by Daniel Walford, March 23, 2004
Tower 47 was the second railroad tower in El Paso, Tower 6 at El Paso Union Depot being the first. While the Union Depot was a passenger facility located close to the river and the New Mexico border, Tower 47 was located further east among the main freight yards at what was then the edge of town in 1904. Railroad Commission of Texas (RCT) records indicate Tower 47 was authorized for operation on July 11, 1904 with a 25 function U.S. & S. Co mechanical interlocking machine at the crossing of the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio (GH&SA), the Texas & Pacific (T&P), and the El Paso & Northeastern (EP&NE) railroads. By 1916 the capacity of the interlocker had been increased to 31 functions. Another increase to 60 functions is noted in the report for 1923. By 1928, ten additional functions had been added, bringing the total to 70.
As a result of a lawsuit filed by the T&P against Southern Pacific (SP) pertaining to a dispute over land rights west of El Paso, the T&P had agreed in 1881 to share a rail line with the GH&SA (partly owned by SP) between Sierra Blanca, Texas and El Paso. Within El Paso, the two railroads operated their own tracks and facilities. The third railroad involved in Tower 47, the EP&NE, had been constructed in 1899 to connect El Paso with coal fields in New Mexico, north of El Paso. The EP&NE was leased by the El Paso & Southwestern railroad in 1908 which became owned by SP in 1924.
Historic Map, Tower 47 Location
Above: This image taken from the index of the 1908 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of
El Paso has been annotated to
show the rail junction
where Tower 47 was located. Tower 47 is depicted west of Cotton Ave.,
although this conflicts
with its current location east of Cotton. Although the El Paso & Southwestern
Railroad operated tracks through
this junction, it was never listed in the official RCT records as being part of
the Tower 47 interlocker.
Below: The Sanborn map of 1954 shows a 4-story "Switch Tower" along the left
edge of the image (magnification
second below). Presumably, this was the original Tower 47 west of Cotton Ave.
The map also shows a structure along
the right edge of the map, approximately where Tower 47 is now located.
Unfortunately, the map's description of this
structure is illegible, even under magnification. Apparently, the current brick
Tower 47 structure replaced the
original tower sometime in the 1950's.
Recent Photos, Tower 47 (photos by Ernie Leggett, 2006)
Above: Tower 47 close up.
Below: Tower 47 with Cotton St. overpass in the background.
Email from Bob Phillips,
11/12/2001
"Tower 47 in El Paso is...occupied by only the signal dept. as they still have signal
equipment in the bottom floor of it. The tower was still occupied
with a control operator (towerman), yardmaster, lead carman, and roundhouse
foreman until November 1997 when they were all moved into the
yard office building, known as the line desk. The tower has been
vacant of these employees since then. There is still a "control
operator" at El Paso that controls everything that the Tower
47 operator and Tower 196 operator used to control. They are currently
located in the new yard office north east of the roundhouse that
UP opened up approximately a year or so ago."
Satellite Image, Tower 47
The pale-roofed structure is Tower 47. This satellite image was taken before
the Cotton St. overpass was complete.
