RAILROAD SIGNALS of the U.S.

TYLER TX
RAILFAN GUIDE

along with
TOWER 183
 

Back in the old days before the UP took everything over,
it was the MISSOURI PACIFIC and the COTTON BELT
 

This diamond is protected by a simple swing gate. The Cotton Belt has the majority of traffic coming thru here - even back in the 60's I only remember seeing only one train a day on the Mopac.  I grew up in Tyler between the years of 1959 and 1964 and never paid it much mind.  However, I use to come down to the Cotton Belt yard all the time (that's where I first saw my first GP-30).  After leaving there,

The depot is located off of E. Oakwood St, two blocks off of N. Broadway Ave, but you need to take E. Line St. off of Broadway, and then north on E. Spring Ave.

If anyone has pictures of the depot, we could use that for the website, I was there and didn't get pictures of it :-(

When I lived there and went down the the yard, I used to get rides on the engines and a kid could ride all around the yard on his bike, imagine a world when no-one chased you off!  I don't remember if there was a hump in the yard, but they did do switching... there was also a turntable and roundhouse.   On one trip to the yard, there was a burnt-up F unit sitting in front of the roundhouse!  But the last time I was there, the turntable was gone, and it didn't look like much was going on in the yard, since it's only a hundred miles from the yards in Dallas.  The yard still has 13 tracks in it, tapering off to 5 on the east end.  The are signals just off to the west side of the diamond, station, and Spring Ave.

The Cotton Belt tracks run east-west, and the Mopac line ran north-south.

    1     The Depot

A few pictures of the depot from Google Street View are below.

    2      The Diamond / Tower 183

The diamond is referred to as Tower 183.  Almost all junctions and diamonds in Texas are numbered, something set up by the state in the early days of railroading.  It's kind of lucky for us, for no matter where in the state towers were built, we have an orderly record of them... it's too bad other states didn't do the same thing! 

After leaving Tyler in 1964, I returned in 85 and 99, and the pictures below are from then.  Luck was with me for catching both a Mopac and Cotton Belt freight at the gate in 85.  It appears that the red/green reflectors on the arm disappeared over the years.

If anyone in Tyler has additional shots, they would be appreciated... I could also use some better pix of the station too!  Tnx, Todd

For a few more shots of this diamond, check out: http://www.towers.txrrhistory.com/183/183.htm

For a great guide to the area, check out Steve Sandifer's Houston railfan guide at: http://www.trainweb.org/jssand/Houston/Houston.htm

For more info on the towers of Texas, check out:
http://www.towers.txrrhistory.com/index.htm (the motherload of information!)
http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasRailroads/Railroad-Interlocking-Towers-of-Texas.htm

Another great site with info on railroad structures in all of Texas (listed by county, ie: The city of Tyler is in Smith county, so don't click on Tyler county) is at : http://www.rrshs.org/Texas/txrrstruc.htm

    3       The Yard

Where the turntable and roundhouse used to be.

The entrance is just off of Beckham at Oakwood via Poplar.

The west end of the yard, adjacent to the turntable area.

The east end of the yard.

Anyone else have any crossing signals to share with the world? send em to toddgp30@yahoo.com

New: 2/21/2007
Mod: 22-Jan-2011