FORT WORTH, Texas – Union Pacific’s Tower 55 in Forth Worth, which once controlled the busiest railroad junction in Texas, is being demolished this week. Demolition work began Nov. 14. Originally a wood structure, it was replaced by a three-story brick structure in the 1930s.
As railroads expanded in Texas, several railroads reached Forth Worth. Near downtown was a major junction where the Texas & Pacific crossed the Katy and predecessors of Santa Fe and Southern Pacific. To control the junction, the four railroads collaborated to establish an interlocker which was commissioned as Tower 55 by the Railroad Commission of Texas on Sept. 26, 1904. It was the largest interlocking plant in Texas. At one time trains of several “fallen flag” railroads passed the tower including Cotton Belt, Frisco, Katy, Missouri Pacific, Rock Island and Santa Fe. With railroad consolidations only BNSF and Union Pacific pass the tower today.
UP replaced the tower’s levers with a computerized system in 1989 and moved personnel out in 1995. In 2014, a $100 million construction project improved movement of rail traffic adding a third north-south track, new signals, street closures, and improvements to grade crossings and bridges. After operators were removed, the tower was retained for signal maintenance personnel.
Viewers can see the demolition work on the Tower 55 webcam.
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