On a recent visit to Fostoria, Ohio my son asked a question that I found I had no good answer for. With the number of CSX trains (and NS to a lesser extent) that pass through Fostoria each day, is the traffic controlled locally by F Tower or are CSX train movements controlled from Jacsonville? He asked spefically about the signals in Fostoria, but I found myself wondering about the question in general.
Thanks much,
Ross R.
The way I understand it they are controlled locally. The area is a separate division.
However, the F tower is in constant contact with NS in Fort Wayne and CSX in Jax
concerning train movements.
F Tower controls it, it’s one busy place, sometimes its hard for the NS to slip through and you might have noticed, if they can run an NS each direction, they’ll do it.
Thanks for the info. It is a busy spot. Although on a recent Sunday afternoon, it was quiet on the CSX side, and a lot of NS trains were passing through. I assume NS takes advantage of any quiet time they can.
Ross R.
There are some junctions and interlockings on the IHB around Chicago that are controlled remotely by their dispatcher’s desk. Forest Lawn, where CSX crosses the BRC and NS/Metra, is remotely controlled by CSX’s local dispatcher. Blue Island, on the other hand, is still controlled locally by its own towerman.