Home My 1963 Work Schedule My Interlocking Tower Site Van Loon Ivanhoe Griffith

GRIFFITH TOWER Interlocking Diagram What can you say about Griffith tower? For me it was an operator's dream come true to be able to work an interlocking with five railroads (EJ&E, EL, C&O, GTW, and MC) and 22 diamonds (count 'em) This had to be the biggest and most complex interlocking on the J. It had everything: Passenger trains on two railroads, many freight trains, through traffic and lots of interchange movements. Five years earlier I made my first visit to Griffith tower. Although physically similar (brick construction), it was different from other J towers I had visited. It had a pistol-grip lever machine (other J towers I had visited had "armstrong" levers). Its five railroads kept the operator busy. One other thing which stood out was the tower operator had to manually operate the Broad Street crossing gates. Broad Street (Griffith's main street) ran north and south right through the middle of the interlocking. There were nine tracks between the gates. It was possible for four of them to have trains at the same time. Several of the Griffith diamonds were within Broad Street and its sidewalks. That must have been a maintenance headache. I'm guessing the two gates were about two hundred feet apart. Thus it was not unusual for automobiles to become "trapped" between the downed gates. Fortunately, there was enough space between several of the tracks to allow an automobile to safely sit and wait for the train(s) to pass. Also, during the day there was a crossing watchman on duty to assure the safety of any cars or pedestrians trapped between the gates. Operation of the gates was a responsibility I'm sure the operators did not like. I know it made me nervous. Once one or more lineups were made, the operator had to be very aware of the location of the approaching train(s). One dared not answer the phone to copy a train order, for example. This June 10th message ordered me to break in at Griffith on June 12, 13, and 14. When a message did not specify a trick, I would pick my own work hours, with the goal of all three tricks in case there were different responsibilities. On June 12 I chose to break in on 1st trick with old-timer Ruth Walters. I had been told earlier that he had been there "forever" and was about to retire. Ruth was very good and helpful in teaching me the job. The second day I chose 2nd trick for break in. My third day I was diverted to work at Waukegan, one of several short notice plan changes during the summer. This June 18th message instructed me to break in at Griffith four more days but specifically on 2nd and 3rd tricks. Just to show again how things constantly changed, I got in two days before this June 21st message instructed me to break in and work at Kirk Yard. As usual I took notes. As I review these notes 53 years later, it's clear that they did not cover all situations for all railroads. Apparently I wrote down only those things involving steps I may not have easily remembered. At Griffith the C&O, J, GTW, and Erie had manned depots. I remember the C&O and GTW agent-operator person would call me about appoaching trains. They apparently handled their own train orders and reporting of trains to their dispatchers. MC had a depot at Hartsdale. That's likely where I got information on approaching MC trains as there was no communication with the MC dispatcher. [Former Griffith resident Leonard Keen worked as a clerk in the joint Erie / C&O operation in Griffith and writes, "The GTW agent / operator received and delivered their railroad train orders and os’ed their trains to their dispatchers. The Erie / C&O joint agent / operator also received and delivered their railroad train orders and os’ed their trains to their respective dispatchers."] Speaking of train orders, Griffith had a train order stand for eastbound movements. Not all trains got orders. Here is a clearance and four orders issued to No. 50 on the Porter line. I acquired these, dated December 29, 1960, during break in time. Here is a list of 2nd trick passenger trains. Unfortunately, I do not have lists for 1st and 3rd tricks. Here is a list of phones used at Griffith. As stated in the Introduction page, telephones at any tower could be a challenge to learn. Griffith was no exception and it turns out I wasn't taught much on how to know who was calling by recognizing the ring tone. Here is a list of engine whistles. With no radios back then, the trains would use their whistles to tell the operator where they wanted to go. One always remembers the things which didn't go quite right. The first morning on the job I had a problem determining who was calling me on the phone. Different phones have different sounding rings. Recognizing who is calling comes from experience which, of course, I didn't have. I answered several phones before determining the EL was calling to tell me there was an eastbound coming on the wrong (#1) main and I was to cross him over to #2 main at Griffith. There was no problem doing that once I figured out who was calling. I got a call from the C&O depot that a westbound was getting close and had no work at Griffith. Assured by the caller the train would be moving right along, I lined the signal. Turns out it took him longer to clear (doesn't it always?) and I slowed down an eastbound GTW passenger train. Of course I then got a call from the GTW depot and had to explain my not-so-smart move. At one time during the week I was busy with several trains in town and failed to hear the whistle request from a J train wanting to make an interchange move. This resulted in the brakeman actually coming to the tower to state where he wanted to go. During break in I was told that sometimes the MC westbound signal would fail to come in. The solution was to jam a small piece of wood into a relay residing in an area above the levers. I actually had to do that one time. I regret not keeping a list of trains but it might have been difficult at times with the multiple moves and responsibility of operating the gates. The only trains recorded in the tower on a train sheet were the EJ&E trains. For the other railroads I believe recording of trains, OS'ing of trains, train orders, etc. were handled through the depots. During the summer I spent four break in and five working days at Griffith tower. I had a great time and wish it could have been much longer but it got cut short as I had to return to school. Next:   Go to Home and select another tower.

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