Queens Tower RIP

[gamer4616]

As per General Notice 5-42 paragraph (A) effective Saturday January 11th, 2020 at 12:01 a.m.

"The Block Operator in Queens Tower has been relocated to the Jamaica Central Control Theater and when contacting via phone or radio will be addressed as JCC-Queens."

[Head-end View]

If this is true, I wonder if they're going to do the same thing with Nassau Tower when the time comes.

[Backshophoss]

This GN will followed by a GO to the current ETT, Queens has now been remoted,Nassau or Divide could be next.

[Teutobergerwald]

What will become of Divide when it gets taken over by JCC ? Demolished?

[Head-end View]

My guess would be Nassau logically next, due to its impending removal anyway. I imagine Divide would be last since it controls such a huge territory so far east. I'll guess Valley goes after Nassau.

[MACTRAXX]

H-E View: Nassau Tower is set to be closed at some point within the next 18 months.
As you know NT is right in the path of the new third track. Whether it can be saved
from demolition remains to be seen. If it turns out that NT can not be moved or
salvaged hopefully artifacts from the tower such as the model boards are preserved
and end up at either OBRM or RMLI or with the Mineola Historical Society.

Divide Tower controls everything from Carle Place and Westbury east including the
entire Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma/Greenport Lines east. This includes B Tower
interlocking and part of the Central Branch.

Divide Tower will likely be the last to be closed and integrated into JSCC. With its prime location along with being in an area where maintenance equipment is stored (trucks in
the parking lot below) it can see another use for the LIRR.

Will the LIRR have any other use for Queens Tower by any other department?
That will remain to be seen depending on factors such as its structural condition.

MACTRAXX

[Kelly&Kelly]

The current plan is to demolish the Queens tower building.

[Backshophoss]

Nassau is too hacked up on the inside to save,also Locust on the Oyster Bay Branch,remoted to Nassau will wind up in JSCC as well.
Rock,Port Wantagh, and Amtyville on the middle Montauk are already setup to be remoted to JSCC.
That leaves Valley.Divide,and Babylon as the remaining big signal projects to remote to JSCC.

[RGlueck]

Strange, how we put our lives and the lives of others, in to hands of digital electronic systems, don't you think?

[newkirk]

Queens Tower back in the MP-54 days

[MACTRAXX]

BM: Good picture from Queens Tower looking west towards Queens Village Station.
This picture of four of the old MP54 round roof MU cars is now around 50 years old or more...
Depending on when this picture was taken this probably was a weekday Main Line MU
from East Williston - those MU trains turned there off the Main Line - or a local from Hempstead.
MACTRAXX

[Head-end View]

More likely from Hempstead. If it was a main-line train from E. Williston, it wouldn't be crossing over as it would already be on Main-Line track-3, the north most track.

[krispy]

Agree with Mac as it's taken from the Tower, looking west. Arrt's website has a couple of great pics taken from the eastward platform of QVG station looking back at the tower, prolly a little before this pic was taken, if you want to see the tower from the station. Agree with Head-end as it's a FBA bound Hempstead train, as it's over that cross-over (slower than the one at Bellerose) and also it's got 4 cars, too small for anywhere else account of gapping. What's also interesting as there's two signals for going west on ML4 and ML2, which is after they tore down the old Hollis to what it is now, but before they put in Hall East, which took care of the ML2 signal (only the one on ML4 remains now).

Nassau is next on the cutting block, and both Nassau and Queens are destined for the dumpster as has been mentioned before. Next one to go after Nassau will be much later in the year but that is yet far enough in the future to be still in the deep end of the rumor mill. But don't underestimate the gents in Signal, especially if it means better air conditioning, room with a view, etc.

Nice shot! Thanks for posting.

[tomdoyle409]

My recollection is that most of the mid-day trains from East Williston to Flatbush Avenue were only two MP-54's, three at the most.

[krispy]

My recollection is that most of the mid-day trains from East Williston to Flatbush Avenue were only two MP-54's, three at the most.

Really! I missed that era so don't know how the MP's performed, but there are portions of Jamaica where 2 car moves today require both permission from a higher-up and a clear shot across the plant. There was once a PM Brooklyn/West Hempstead 4 car train, but after gapping too many times on the ladder at Valley, they're all minimum 6 cars now. I do recall hearing how they used a jumper (aka snake) wherein a crew member would put one end on a third rail shoe and the other end CAREFULLY on the third rail so the engineer could get the gapped car back on the third rail, but that is not done today.

Someone dug up a long time ago at Nassau an old block sheet which showed at that time (forgot the year, but it was during the era where they still had the track south to the "Fairgrounds" and Garden) 6 motor jobs that turned at East Williston. There's only one now, in the morning, but that must have been busy for the operator back when there was just the crossover at East Willi, regular OYB's and freights going up the branch also.