ECV1850 Plaque:
Santa Clara Interlocking
Control Tower
| THE SANTA CLARA INTERLOCKING CONTROL TOWER |
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BUILT IN 1926 AND USED AROUND THE CLOCK UNTIL JULY 17, 1993 THE SANTA CLARA INTERLOCKING CONTROL TOWER IS ONE OF TWO HARRIMAN STANDARD No.4 TOWERS IN CALIFORNIA. THE GENERAL RAILWAY SIGNAL Co. MODEL 2 UNIT LEVER TYPE INTERLOCKING MACHINE ON THE UPPER FLOOR, OPERATED THE MANY SWITCHES AND SIGNALS THAT CONTROLLED RAILWAY TRAFFIC FROM THE PENINSULA LINE FROM SAN FRANCISCO AND THE MULFORD LINE FROM OAKLAND. THE OUT BUILDINGS, THE TOOL SHED AND THE SPEEDER SHED, WERE USED TO STORE TRACK INSPECTOR'S CAR AND TOOLS. AFTER 65 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE, CONTROL OF THE LINE WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE COMPUTER AT THE SAN JOSE DEPOT. IT WAS THE END OF AN ERA. FOR THE BENEFIT OF OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR HERITAGE. THE SBHRS, THE CITY OF SANTA CLARA AND MOUNTAIN CHARLIE CHAPTER No. 1850 OF E CLAMPUS VITUS HEREBY DEDICATES THIS PLAQUE. "RIGHT WRONGS NOBODY" |
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THIS PLAQUEWAS TO BE DEDICATED IN 1999, BUT AFTER MANY DELAYS, THE MONUMENT WAS BUILT AND DEDICATED ON MAY 25, 2013. |
| SANTA CLARA TOWER |
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| DEDICATED TO SERVICE AND SAFETY |
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THE SANTA CLARA TOWER, BUILT BY THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD, WENT INTO SERVICE IN 1927. LOCATED AT THE JUNCTION OF THE COAST AND WESTERN DIVI- SIONS, THE TOWER CONTROLLED SIGNALS AND SWITCHES AT THE NORTH END OF THE NEWHALLYARD. HISTORIC PASSENGER TRAINS SUCH AS THE COAST DAYLIGHT OPERAT- ED THROUGH THIS JUNCTION. THE RAILROAD YARD PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE CREATION AND OPERATION OF HIGH PRIORITY FRAIGHT TRAINS. THE TOWER WAS EQUIPPED WITH A 48 LEVER GENERAL RAILWAY AND SIGNAL MODEL 2 ELECTRIC INTERLOCKING MACHINE. THE DESIGN OF THIS EQUIPMENT PREVENTED AN UNSAFE ROUTE FROM BEING SET BY AN OPERATOR. THE TOWER AND ADJACENT STRUCTURES HAVE BEEN RESTORED BY THE SOUTH BAY HISTORICAL RAILROAD SOCIETY. THIS SITE COMMEMORATES ALL OF THE DEDICATED AND HARDWORK- ING MEN AND WOMEN OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD. |
OCTOBER 12, 2002
The Switch Tower is located just north of
the Santa Clara CalTrain Depot,
near the corner of
Benton Street and Railroad Ave.
(behind the Santa Clara Police Department building)
City of Santa Clara.
Santa Clara County, CA 95050
Visit the South Bay Historical Railroad Society Museum
inside the Santa Clara Depot building.
Hours are:
Tuesdays 6:30pm - 9:00pm
Saturdays 10:00am - 3:00pm
www.sbhrs.org
(408) 243-3969
| GPS Santa Clara Switch Tower |
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| WGS84 Datum |
| N 37.35376° |
| W -121.93781° |
The unveiling.
Plaques being christened... Clamper style.
(L-R) NGH Steven Perez and XNGH Larry Helling.
SATISFACTORY!
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