Three Concrete Interlocking Towers, and the Model Kits They Inspired
by Richard White #70-3387 (posted 1-3-06; text and photos most recently revised 1-13-06)

The photo (above left) is of the reinforced, poured concrete interlocking tower at Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts. This ex-New Haven railroad tower, built in 1911, is still in service on the Bay Colony RR as its only interlocking facility. There is a virtually identical tower, built in 1914 by the Buffalo, Rochester, and Pittsburgh Railway (later Baltimore and Ohio RR), in Ashford, New York. The Ashford Junction Tower is now privately owned. A third almost identical tower, now abandoned, is located on the former BR&P Railway at Falls Creek, New York. Furthermore, the Rev. Phil Smith reports that this same design tower was at one time in use at a number of locations on the New Haven RR. A photo showing the Buzzards Bay tower under construction can be seen at the Cape Cod Rails site. The second photo (above right) is of an S-gauge model of the Buzzard's Bay tower, constructed from a BTS kit.

This (above left) photo is of the S-gauge version of the Buzzard's Bay tower. The other photo (above right) is of an O-gauge version, constructed from a Model Tech Studios kit. Notice the taller chimney on the O-gauge model. The MTS ad states: "This NEW HAVEN Style Tower kit features detailed section hydrocal casting's, including the pre-assembled & detailed Spanish tile roof, pre-assembled wall sections, pre-assembled window casting's, stringer and landing platform casting's." This kit is currently available.

Here are two photos of another O-gauge version of the Buzzards Bay tower, from a kit by Railway Design Associates (RDA). This is a cast resin kit, no longer available from RDA. This kit seems to be the same as the version described above as an MTS kit, except for using resin castings instead of hydrocal castings. (Two photos courtesy of Mike)

The above photo shows an N-gauge kit-built structure for "Typical New Haven Interlocking Tower", by the N-Scale Architect. This kit is of "Laser-Cut Micro-Plywood" with cast details. Note the tall chimney and the different location of the lower door. One thing that this kit does have that the others lack is the distinctive "shields" at the corners, per the Buzzards Bay prototype in the above photo.

This is my HO gauge model of the Ashford tower (which is virtually identical to the Buzzard's Bay tower-but notice the difference in the lower door placement). This model is styrene, and was constructed from an Ertl kit, and is now available in a kit from RDA (Railway Design Associates). [Also, check on EBay, under HO gauge trains, "Ertl"] The concrete construction of the prototypes gives these models a completely different appearance from most other models, which are usually patterned after wood prototypes.