D. B. Arthur Wrote:
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> RA Phillips Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Great Photo story, observation and opinion! I
> learned something new from this. I didn't know MP
> ever went to Colorado Springs.
>
> The Colorado Eagle from Pueblo to Denver used MP
> equipment, but it was, for all intents and
> purposes, a DRGW train.
>
> > Off the topic question? Did you hire on with
> Santa Fe before 1979, when San Bernardino West
> Yard Tower, Colton Tower, and Riverside Junction
> Tower were closed?
>
> I hired on in October of 1979 and West Yard Tower
> and Colton Tower were still open but I didn't work
> them. I think Riverside Jct. Tower may have
> already been closed. I did work San Bernardino
> Telegraph and they trained me on some clerical
> jobs. I learned how to tie the knots in the
> string to hang the train orders for UP trains and
> Amtrak. I obviously didn't have to hang orders
> for crews that were going on duty at San
> Bernardino. The clerical jobs were using all
> sorts of machines that are now obsolete. They
> used key punch cards and that little ticker tape
> type stuff that had a whole bunch of small
> circular holes in it.
>
> > I know you worked Mission Tower and Redondo Jct.
> Of the 2, what one was your favorite and what one
> did you work the longest?
>
> I think I liked Mission Tower better because it
> had more traffic but Redondo had its advantages
> too. At Redondo I could leave the tower briefly
> and walk over to the roundhouse when the "roach
> coach" was there and load up on snacks and
> viddles. It seemed like I spent about an equal
> amount of time at each. Mostly vacation reliefs.
>
>
> Are you still working a tower? You may be the
> last man standing. Open towers are becoming as
> rare as hen's teeth.

Well yes and no. I work 1st Trick DBTL (Drawbridge Tender Leverman)at the Illinois River Bridge in Pekin.The Control House I work in is referred to by some as a Bridge Tower, so take your pick.The Bridge was built in 1912 and was Telegrapher's work. It was a Train Order Office until mid-1986. After lightning stuck the Heat Oil Tank in 1979, the Control caught fire and the old Pistol Grip Machine was replaced by a push button Machine. I Control 1 dual control switch, 3 Signals and 1 set of locks. I'm also qualified at the Mississippi River Bridge in Clint on, Iowa, and get pulled to work there 1 day a year. That one is also in a Control House, that some call a Bridge Tower. If only DCB could have visited me when he was still alive, he would have enjoyed the show!