The Hagerstown Conundrum, Again: HJ "Hager" Tower

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In our time, there were two towers at Hagerstown, both north of Vardo/Shomo
Yard.

The northernmost tower, north of the passenger station, was "NC," which
stood for "North Crossing," where the Western Maryland crossed the PRR's
Cumberland Valley RR. After the vocabulary of railroad management
degenerated to monosyllabic, it was called simply "Town." (It was closed
December 19, 1986... I was there.)

The southernmost tower, south of the passenger station and just north of
Vardo/Shomo Yard, was "HJ," which stood for Hagerstown Junction. The N&W,
the WM and the PRR all had tracks leading into the interlocking at HJ.
After the vocabulary of railroad management degenerated to monosyllabicity,
this one was called simply "Hager." (It was closed January 3, 1983... I was
there.)

C.D. Potts, of the N&W Signal Department, in an article titled "When
Signals Were New," published in N&W Magazine in February 1932, states, "The
oldest [interlocking] plant on record is that at Hagerstown Junction, which
is mechanically operated. It was installed in 1883, was enlarged to
accommodate additional tracks in 1903, and was overhauled in 1930 by the
Pennsylvania."

Okay, so we had an N&W interlocking at Hagerstown Jct in 1883. But >> WHERE
<< was it located ? Was this the interlocking we remember as the "Hager" of
our time ?

The PRR Philadelphia Division 1965 Interlocking Book shows the "built date"
for the tower we remember as "Hager" as "1930." So, the tower we remember
as "Hager" could NOT have been the interlocking constructed by the N&W in
1883. The location of "Hagerstown Junction" has not changed, but how about
the location of the tower controlling the interlocking?

Further in support of this thesis, I offer two points: (1) The relay room
of "Hager" Tower was wired according to PRR standards and maintained by PRR
Signal Maintainers... I checked out the circuitry. (2) The towermen were
all PRR men (they reported to me, and I worked for Conrail at the time.)

To thicken even more the soup of mystery surrounding this subject, I offer
these additional details. In the tower we remember as "Hager," there were
18 "Unit Switch Boards" which demarked the north end of the N&W's telegraph
and telephone circuits. (I brought them home, and they had circuit
nomenclature tags for each line.) Also, a 1954-hire PRR towerman there told
me that about 1957, after a debilitating storm, all the N&W's phone lines
to Roanoke were down, and N&W Superintendent W.O. Tracy, Jr, came into
"Hager" Tower and asked if he could use the telegraph key and attempt to
contact Roanoke. (And yes, the telegraph line still worked and Mr. Tracy
was able to communicate with the Train Dispatcher in Roanoke.)

So I place before the group this series questions: What was the exact
location of the N&W's 1883 interlocking at Hagerstown; What became of it;
And are there any surviving photographs? (This question amounts to a
throwing-down-of-the-gauntlet for that indefatigable detective, Mr. Harry
Bundy. Git busy, Harry!)

As a sweetener, I am attaching a 1928 property map of Hagerstown, which I
found years ago in an old baggage car used for the storage of records at
Harrisburg. Perhaps the map will inspire Mr. Bundy to work a little bit
harder and a lot faster...

-- abram burnett
last of the curmudgeons
(well... excepting Mr. Bundy)

===========================
Sent to You from my Telegraph Key
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The oldest plant on record is that at Hagerstown Junction, which is
mechanically operated. It was installed in 1883, was enlarged to
accommodate additional tracks in 1903 and,
was overhauled in 1930 by the Pennsylvania.

===========================
Sent to You from my Telegraph Key
... better than AT&T 4G LTE
===========================

Moderator:
 http://nwhs.org/mailinglist/2016/20160511.Hagerstown Property Map 1928.jpg
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