txrrhistory.com - Interlocking Tower 84 - Houston, Texas (Walker Ave.)
Crossing of the San Antonio & Aransas Pass (SA&AP), Houston Belt &
Terminal (HB&T), and International - Great Northern (I-GN) railroads
We have limited and somewhat confusing information about Tower 84. It first
appears in Railroad Commission of Texas (RCT) records in the 1911 RCT Annual
Report where it is listed as an electrical interlocker at location "Houston"
with 36 functions, but with no authorization date, controlling a junction of the
SA&AP, HB&T and I-GN railroads. This information is repeated in subsequent
annual reports until the 1917 report, which lists it as having 34 functions, but
still no authorization date. Finally, in the 1924 annual report, Tower 84 is
listed with an authorization date of February 18, 1918 and 35 functions. The
1925 and 1926 reports repeat this same data, but the 1927 report lists the
authorization date as August 10, 1910 and the number of functions as 46. The
1928 report further augments this information by listing the location as
"Houston (Walker Ave.)". Perhaps confusion over the large number of Houston area
interlockers (and occasional erroneous information about them in RCT annual reports)
motivated RCT to add the "Walker Ave." designation. Whatever the case, this was
apparently not the only designation used. In the book The Southern Pacific
Guide Texas and Louisiana Lines, author David M. Bernstein refers to Tower
84 as "Rusk Ave.", but no source is cited. Bernstein states that the functions
of Tower 84 (along with those of Towers 116 and 116A) were consolidated into
Tower 117 on June 1, 1971, and that on April 17, 1983, the functions of Towers
81 and 84 were transferred to HB&T's Traffic Operations Center at Houston Union
Station. Bernstein lists 1988 as the date Tower 84 was "retired", but whether
this refers to Tower 84's interlocking functions or the structure itself is
unclear.
The precise location of Tower 84, where the SA&AP crossed Walker Avenue, can
be determined from the 1924 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Houston (below).
If you have a historic photo of Tower 84, a current photo of the site of
Tower 84, or any other
related information, please contact
us.
Historic Map, Tower 84
Above: The 1925 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Houston shows a structure located
along Walker Ave. on the west side of the diamond near a "Pipe Storage" area for
"Horton & Horton Building Contractors". Under magnification (at
right), the map reveals the structure to be a two-story "Signal Tower".
We believe this is Tower 84 because the three railroads known to be interlocked
by Tower 84 cross in this area (see map below), and the Railroad Commission 1928
Annual Report lists Tower 84 as "Houston (Walker Ave.)".
Location Map, Tower 84
Tower 84 Area Satellite Image
Above: From this satellite image, it appears that the SA&AP right-of-way that
crossed at Tower 84 was abandoned many decades ago. But while only faint traces
of the SA&AP remain, the other rail lines in this area are still intact,
although the former I-GN connection to the HB&T is no longer in place. The
I-GN line crossing McKinney St. is the former "Columbia Tap" rail line that was
one of the earliest rail lines in Texas [see discussion at
Tower 134].
Below: Under
greater magnification, it appears that a communications cabin with an
antenna now occupies the former site of the Tower 84 crossing.
Tower 84 Site Photos from Tom Kline (Click to enlarge)
