Grade crossing towers in New England

This might be a short list! You're going to have to have quite a fews years behind you for this one:

Where were the grade-crossing towers [not shanties on the ground] in New England in days of yore?

IIRC, there was one on the B&M in Nashua, NH.

The only one I can recall seeing personally was a McGinnis-era black steel 2-story tower on the site of the former Ipswich, MA station. I think it was located so one tender could handle Topsfield Rd. and Washington St. Maybe Linebrook Rd. too, though that would be a stretch in bad weather.

Four that immediately come to mind were Davis Square in Somerville and Mass Ave in Cambridge on the B&M's Hill Crossing Freight Cutoff, and Meriden and Danbury, CT, on the New Haven's Springfield and Maybrook lines respectively. The B&M Mass Ave building was still standing as of a few years ago and in use as an office but I remember some new construction was going on in that area. Both the B&M and NH had a bunch of others.

The one I remember was at Winchester Mass. They controlled 2 major street crossings at grade and switches for the Woburn Loop track.

There was a grade crossing tower in Dover NH at
the Third Street/Chestnut Street crossing. In those
days, Chestnut Street was a dead end at the River,
as the current bridge was not built until the mid-70's.
Many eastbound and westbound passenger trains
would foul the crossing for long periods of time,
while head end business was handled, but with
Chestnut Street being dead end and less auto traffic
in those days, keeping the gates down for lengthy
periods was never a major problem, at least for the
local residents, who were used to it.

When the main line through Dover was single-tracked,
the tower, the Central Ave crossing shanty, the Conway
Branch third (holding) track and two short sidings all
became history.

In order to calm the fears of the local about automatic
crossing protection replacing the manned equipment,
the B&M sold the depot to the City for $1.00 as part
of the deal. The station languished for a year or two,
until one of the politicos that owned a bowling alley on
Third Street pushed through a vote to demolish the
station for a parking lot. Another B&M depot was gone.

I recall seeing one right about here (where the green arrow points) on Cottage St., Hudson MA. It might have been a little closer to the edge of the street.
My only memory of it is waving to the operator during a walk with my grandfather Coolidge when my brothers and I were small, 1956-ish. Didn't really notice it any other time I was near the crossing. In the day, it might have also controlled Warner St. I don't recall any gates. We must have seen a steam locomotive that day, because I do recall my grandfather saying "Look out you don't get a cinder in your eye."

I think the street sloped downhill toward the crossing when coming from the Central St. end, with the track being in kind of a "cut" behind the home on the SE corner and curving slightly as it went toward Warner St., so the sight distance for road users might have been somewhat limited.
I wish Street View was available there. Might be the only way to tell it had ever been a RR ROW.

Tremont St (RT 140) in Taunton (south end of the yard at Danforth St) on the NH.
Wood tower...

D

Wallingford, Connecticut on the Springfield Line, this went about the time the second track came out and the line was converted to CTC. Wallingford was manned by a gateman except on the last trick when it was manned by an operator, thus Wallingford was a "N" office because the station ticket office was still open for the first and middle tricks. There was also a tower at Hills Grove (Just west of Cranston, RI) which had I believe one interlocked switch plus gates, it was a "N" office.
Noel Weaver

Here is one more definate one at Woodsville, NH on the Boston and Maine, there is a photo in one of the B & M books in my collection. I am also pretty sure that there was one at Willimantic, Connecticut at one time but not at Bridge Street but rather at a location east of the station on the Putnam Route. I might think of a couple more later.
Noel Weaver

Here's another in New Haven on the Belle Dock Branch at Grand Avenue crossing there was a crossing tender in a tower who was responsible for operating the gates at that crossing from the tower. I think it lasted through to the end of the New Haven Railroad but not much beyond the Penn Central takeover on January 1, 1969. It was not open continuously and at night the crossing became a stop and protect.
Noel Weaver

There was a tower on the B & M at Worcester and controlled several of the crossings there. It was written up in B & M Employees Magazine, late 1950s.

There was an "elevated cabin" at Cottage St., Hudson, Mass. on the CM Branch and the gate tender controlled flashers at Lincoln, Pleasant, Warner, Cottage, Central, Felton, Pope and Church Sts. while trains were doing work at the CM Hudson Staion. Removed when this section became freight only, 1958, and remaining passenge train shifted to the Fitchburg depot on the Marlboro Branch.

jbvb wrote:The only one I can recall seeing personally was a McGinnis-era black steel 2-story tower on the site of the former Ipswich, MA station. I think it was located so one tender could handle Topsfield Rd. and Washington St. Maybe Linebrook Rd. too, though that would be a stretch in bad weather.

Anyone happen to have a picture of this anywhere? As an Ipswichian I would really like to see it!

edbear wrote:There was an "elevated cabin" at Cottage St., Hudson, Mass. on the CM Branch and the gate tender controlled flashers at Lincoln, Pleasant, Warner, Cottage, Central, Felton, Pope and Church Sts. while trains were doing work at the CM Hudson Staion. Removed when this section became freight only, 1958, and remaining passenge train shifted to the Fitchburg depot on the Marlboro Branch.

Thanks for confirming the one in Hudson. I figured it probably controlled more than just Cottage St., but didn't realize it would be everything from Central St. to Church St.

I seem to remember one in downtown Framingham just in front of the RR station where Rt. 126 crosses.
I think it survived into the 1970's.

Steve