(The following story by Katie Warchut appeared on The Day website on September 29.)
GROTON, Conn. — An inconspicuous brick building next to the train tracks on the Groton side of the Thames River was once a key part of operations: It was where a railroad operator would manually throw levers so a train could change tracks.
In the early 20th century, the switch tower was part of a campaign by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to upgrade train switching and signaling operations along its routes.
Today, however, the tower is obsolete. Amtrak uses an electronic centralized traffic control system established in the mid-1980s, operated remotely in Boston, said Amtrak project engineer James Garden.
The tower, along with others like it, have been abandoned or used for storage space, he said. Many have been vandalized, burned out or used by vagrants.
Amtrak is proposing to demolish the Groton tower, behind Ferguson Water Works on Bridge Street, in addition to towers in Hartford, Westerly, Pawtucket, R.I., Central Falls, R.I. and Attleboro, Mass., built between 1909 and 1930.
Because they’re near high-powered electrified lines, the small buildings are not suitable for adaptive use and pose significant safety and security hazards, Garden said.
”We don’t want these to become dangerous places for people to hang out,” Garden said.
Groton Town Councilor James L. Streeter, a local historian, called Garden for more details on the planned demolition, as he tends to object to tearing down a historic structure.
”I’m not sure if it’s worth moving or if it could be moved,” he said. “It’s a beautiful structure.”
The Groton tower, which closed Dec. 2, 1994, was the last active early-20th-century tower.
But the towers also serve as reminders of the golden era for train travel. A report by Public Archeological Laboratories in Pawtucket details a time when demand was growing so quickly that in 1890 the railroad doubletracked the Boston to New York mainline.
They were part of the interlockings – the complex arrangement of tracks, switches and signals found at railroad junctions and the machine in the tower that controlled them. The towers had windows on the second floor with overhanging roof eaves, giving the operator a clear, shaded view of the tracks.
The first floor contained an intricate assembly of sliding bars and levers, while mechanisms prevented the operator from directing trains onto collision courses. The Groton tower – at the junction of the Northeast Corridor Mainline and Norwich Line of the Providence & Worcester Railroad – also controlled train access to the Thames River Railroad Bridge by interconnecting the position of the drawbridge span.
The towers have a distinctive Mediterranean Revival-style, which became even more popular on southern routes, invoking images of travel to exotic destinations. Both are in fair condition with pagoda-style roofs. Westerly’s retains its terra-cotta roof, but Groton’s has been replaced with modern asphalt shingles.
Most have had the old machinery removed, though Attleboro still contains switch levers and an illuminated switch board.
Because Amtrak receives federal funds, it has to follow a procedure outlined the National Historic Preservation Act to tear down the towers. It includes public input and possibilities for preservation by certain organizations. Amtrak is currently developing a memorandum of agreement with the state historic preservation office, Garden said.