Photo by Bradley Linda: This is a page from Side Track Records of the SA&AP between Adel and Waco showing "Signal Tower"
(at left) at the junction of the SA&AP and the MKT railroads. In the photo, south is up.
A Crossing of the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway and the Missouri - Kansas - Texas Railroad
During 1887-1891, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass (SA&AP) railroad built a line from Yoakum in south Texas north to Waco, the furthest north the railroad would ever reach. The line entered Waco on the southeast side of town, culminating in a sweeping curve to the west paralleling the south bank of the Brazos River as it reached downtown, the end of the line. A block from the SA&AP passenger depot, the line crossed the Katy railroad a short distance south of the Katy's bridge over the Brazos. At this location, Tower 59 was built and approved for operation by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RCT) on November 21, 1904. It is listed in RCT records as a Mechanical interlocker with 26 functions, and was presumably a manned structure (unmanned mechanical interlockers were typically referred to as "cabin" interlockers in RCT documents).
Finding traces of Tower 59's existence has proven difficult. It does not appear on the 1899 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Waco, nor does it appear on the 1926 edition (and unfortunately, there are no Sanborn maps of Waco between these dates). Research by Bradley and John Linda at Waco city hall initially came up empty, as discussed in this email dated 9/10/2005:
From: Bradley_Linda@vanguard.org
...Dad and I made it down to the basement of City Hall and looked at the 1929 and 1955 aerials of Waco. Neither aerial shows 59 or 144. We think we can make out 8 in both (21 is distinctly evident). ... With regards to Tower 59, Dad said he thinks the SA&AP freight house near the SSW/SA&AP crossing had a second story on it, that looked like a tower. Perhaps this is Tower 59? The building has long been demolished. My grandfather seems to recall that this area where the SA&AP crossed the MKT and SSW was known as Brazos Jct, but he hasn't come across the photo of it in his collection yet.
Subsequently, Bradley had some success in confirming the existence of Tower 59. In an email dated 9/16/2005, he wrote:
Regarding the continuing saga of Waco Interlocking towers, I am now able to confirm a tower existed at the MKT/SA&AP diamond in Waco. We went down to Temple this evening to set up the NMRA booth at the Temple Train Show. We got done, and I started wandering the hall. I found my timetable source there, and laying on his table were, for $8 a copy, copies of a "Side Track Record" of the SA&AP between Adel and Waco. I've attached the photo of one of the two pages on Waco. It shows a "Signal Tower" at the MKT/SA&AP diamond (an 89 degree, 55 minute crossing). There are two dates on this page, "Nov 23, '18 ELV" and "-b- Jan. 26, 1921...
Photo by Bradley Linda: This is a page from Side Track Records of the
SA&AP between Adel and Waco showing "Signal Tower"
(at left) at the junction of the SA&AP and the MKT railroads. In the photo,
south is up.
Map of Waco showing historical location of Tower 59 immediately south of the
Brazos River
We do not have a photo of Tower 59. If you have a photo or any additional information, please contact us at the link below.
