www.txrrhistory.com - Interlocking Tower 114 - Sugar Land, Texas

Crossing of the Missouri Pacific (MP) and the Southern Pacific (SP)

The only photo we have so far of Tower 114 is this aerial photo taken of Sugar Land, Texas about 1937. This photo is a copy from the files of the Imperial Sugar Company which owned the Sugar Land Railroad which crossed the Texas and New Orileans (Southern Pacific) at Tower 114. William Thomas Eldridge was the manager of the sugar company during the era just before the photo was taken.  The copy of this photo was provided to us by Russell Straw of Sugar Land, TX. The tower is depicted on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Sugar Land (February, 1926) as a 2-story "R.R. Off." (railroad office).

Observations:

The From Russell's collection of data, the diamond was still in place in 1965, but the tower was gone.  The the crossing was retired in the late 1970s when the MoP local started running on the SP Sunset Route and the old Sugar Land Railroad was abandoned to south of First Colony. Missouri Pacific did not want to pay for an overpass for Highway 59 that was being built at the time.

Historical Photo - Tower 114 - Aerial photo dated 1937:

Detail of Tower 114 from aerial photo:

Above: The Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Sugar Land, February 1926, shows the tower at the crossing. Magnification (below) shows that the illustrator documented the tower as a 2-story structure with a door (x) on the southeast corner and an internal staircase (1-2) in the southwest corner. The dashed line surrounding the tower could indicate that it sits on a foundation extending out slightly on all sides, or perhaps it indicates a roof overhang on all sides. If anyone knows the correct interpretation, please contact us.

Location Map - Tower 114:

Last Revised: 10/7/2006 JGK - Contact the Texas Interlocking Towers Page.