ARRT'S     ARRCHIVES





THE     SECOND
FRESH   POND   JUNCTION


THE SECOND FRESH POND JUNCTION WAS CREATED IN 1883 WHEN THE MANHATTAN BEACH DIVISION WAS WIDENED TO STANDARD GAGE AND EXTENDED NORTH TO A CONNECTION WITH THE MONTAUK DIVISION.   RAILROAD GAZETTE REPORTED ON SEPTEMBER 19, 1884 THAT THE SAXBY & FARMER MACHINE HAD 12 LEVERS   - 7 FOR SIGNALS, 2 FOR SWITCHES, 1 FACING POINT LOCK AND 2 SPACES.

THIS WAS TOWER NUMBER 8 - LATER "DF" TOWER.

THIS 1912 BLUEPRINT SHOWS THAT THE ORIGINAL MACHINE HAD BEEN REPLACED WITH A 20 LEVER MACHINE OR THAT 8 LEVERS HAD BEEN ADDED AND THAT A CROSSOVER AND SWITCHES TO THE WEST YARD HAD BEEN INSTALLED.




IN THE BLUEPRINT ABOVE WE SEE THAT LEVER NUMBER 10 THREW TWO SWITCHES - THE FACING POINT SWITCH TO THE EASTWARD MANHATTAN BEACH DIVISION AND A MOVABLE POINT FROG. THESE SWITCHES WERE LOCKED BY FACING POINT LOCKS OPERATED BY LEVERS NUMBERS 7 AND 9   -   SWITCH NUMBER 11 WAS A "SWITCH LOCK MECHANISM"   -   LEVER 11 UNLOCKED,   THREW AND THEN LOCKED THE SWITCH.   IN ORDER TO REVERSE SWITCH 11 FOR A WESTWARD MANHATTAN BEACH TRAIN SWITCH NUMBER 10 HAD TO BE REVERSED FIRST. SWITCH NUMBER 8 WAS A TRAILING POINT SWITCH WITH A DERAIL AND WAS ALSO LOCKED BY LEVER NUMBER 7.

WHEN A ROUTE WAS SET UP FOR A TRAIN AND THE SWITCHES HAD BEEN LOCKED, THE APPROPRIATE SIGNAL COULD BE DISPLAYED - SIGNAL 19 FOR A WESTWARD MONTAUK DIVISION TRAIN OR SIGNAL 16 FOR A WESTWARD MANHATTAN BEACH TRAIN. THEN THE DISTANT SIGNAL - NUMBER 20 OR 17 COULD BE CLEARED. AS LONG AS THE SIGNAL LEVER WAS REVERSE - DISPLAYING AN ASPECT FOR A TRAIN - THE LEVERS CONTROLLING THE SWITCHES IN THE ROUTE WERE LOCKED BY THE MECHANICAL LOCKING IN THE MACHINE - THE "INTERLOCKING". ONCE THE TRAIN HAD PASSED THE SIGNAL AND ENTERED THE INTERLOCKING LIMITS THE SIGNAL LEVER WOULD BE RESTORED. TO PROTECT AGAINST A SWITCH BEING UNLOCKED AND THROWN WHILE A TRAIN WAS PASSING OVER THE SWITCH,   DETECTOR BARS WERE USED.   ON THE BLUEPRINT THE FACING POINT LOCKS - NUMBERS 7, 9 AND 13 ARE SHOWN AS LONG LINES WHICH REPRESENT DETECTOR BARS.   THESE IRON BARS, LONGER THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TRUCKS OF THE LONGEST CARS - 50 FEET AND MORE - WERE MOUNTED ON THE OUTER SIDE OF THE RAILS AND WERE OPERATED BY THE LOCK LEVER IN THE TOWER. WHEN THE LOCK LEVER WAS PUSHED TO UNLOCK THE SWITCH, THE DETECTOR BAR LIFTED ABOVE THE TOP OF THE RAIL - IF A TRAIN WERE PRESENT THE SWITCH COULD NOT BE UNLOCKED

BELOW IS THE WEST END OF POND TOWER'S CROSSOVER SWITCH NUMBER 10 AND FACING POINT LOCK NUMBER 11. THE PIPE PARALLEL TO THE RAILS IS FROM LOCK LEVER NUMBER 11 AND HAD ORIGINALLY OPERATED THE DETECTOR BARS. IN LATER YEARS THE SWITCHES WERE LOCKED ELECTRICALLY BY MEANS OF DETECTOR (TRACK) CIRCUITS.
AT THE RIGHT THAT'S A (SIGNAL) CIRCUIT CONTROLLER BOX
CONNECTED TO THE FRONT ROD OF THE SWITCH.




SOME DETECTOR BARS WERE ATTACHED TO THE BASE OF THE RAIL,
OTHERS TO THE WEB (OF THE RAIL, NOT WORLD WIDE WEB).


THIS PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN 1917 SHOWS THE 1883 TOWER AND THE NEW TOWER WHICH HAD A 36 LEVER MACHINE.   THE NEW NEW YORK CONNECTING RAILROAD OVERHEAD BRIDGE CARRIED 5000 TON NEW HAVEN RAILROAD FREIGHT TRAINS ENROUTE TO AND FROM BAY RIDGE.




1920'S   PHOTOGRAPH   OF   EASTWARD   DISTANT   SIGNAL   "S35"   SHOWS   IT   WAS   AN
AUTOMATIC   SIGNAL   -   THE   LETTER   "A"   -   AND   A   GRADE   SIGNAL   -   THE   LETTER   "G"
 

THIS 1926 PLAN SHOWS THAT FROM 1917 UNTIL DETECTOR CIRCUITS WERE INSTALLED
MANY DETECTOR BARS PROTECTED TWO SWITCHES.   F.P.L. NUMBER 11 LOCKED THE
EAST END OF CROSSOVER 8 AND THE WEST END OF CROSSOVER 10,   F.P.L. 15 LOCKED
THE EAST END OF CROSSOVER 10 AND SWITCH 14,   F.P.L. 23 LOCKED CROSSOVERS
22'S EAST END AND 24'S WEST END.


AFTER CIRCUITS WERE INSTALLED BOTH ENDS OF CROSSOVER   8
WERE LOCKED BY F.P.L.   9,   BOTH ENDS OF   10   BY F.P.L.   11   etc.


NOTE THAT THE PIPELINE ROLLERS AND DEFLECTING BARS WERE COVERED.


DF WAS A TRAIN WATCHERS' PARADISE WITH OPEN PLATFORM EL CARS
PASSING WEST OF THE TOWER, NEW HAVEN FREIGHTS PASSING ON THE EAST,
STEAM PASSENGER AND FREIGHT TRAINS PASSING SOUTH OF THE TOWER
AND SWITCHING OCCURING IN AND BETWEEN BOTH YARDS.


THIS G5s IS BACKING TO LONG ISLAND CITY TO COUPLE TO AN EASTBOUND RUSH-HOUR TRAIN.


THE STUCCO BUILDING NEXT TO THE TOWER HOUSED THE TRACK GANG,
YARDMASTER AND ASSISTANT FREIGHT TRAINMASTER.




THE VERTICAL PIPELINE MOTION FROM THE LEVERS WAS TRANSFERRED TO
HORIZONTAL MOTION AND FROM NORTH-SOUTH TO EAST-WEST MOTION BY DEFLECTOR BARS.




ED MAY PHOTOGRAPHED THIS H6sb IN THE 1930'S WHEN IT WAS A ROAD FREIGHT ENGINE.
HIS FAMILY WAS BURIED IN THE ADJACENT LUTHERAN CEMETERY.


FRANK ZAHN PHOTOGRAPHED THESE LEASED PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD L1'S IN 1944.




LOOKING WEST IN 1939 - NOTE THIRD RAIL ON EASTBOUND MAIN AND YARD LEAD TRACK.     IN 1928 THE MONTAUK BRANCH HAD BEEN ELECTRIFIED BETWEEN THE EAST YARD AND EAST OF GLENDALE JUNCTION SO THAT ROCKAWAY BEACH BRANCH FREIGHT TRAINS COULD PICK UP AND DROP OFF CARS AT FRESH POND YARD.   THE THIRD RAIL WAS REMOVED AROUND 1940.


go to ----> GLENDALE STATION

go to ----> THE LONG ISLAND CITY AND MANHATTAN BEACH RAIL RAILROAD

return to ----> FRESH POND - BUSHWICK JUNCTION