Bluffington Interlocking Tower - HO

Buffington MN Interlocking Tower and Buffington Interlocking Tower levers. Tower and levers sold separately.

Buffington Tower, built in 1917, was located 9.9 miles north of Crookston on the line to St. Vincent and Winnipeg, where a Northern Pacific branch crossed the Great Northern. This was an ‘Armstrong’ plant, the term ‘armstrong’ referring to the man-sized control levers that were moved by brute force. That force was transmitted by movable pipes, called rodding, to operate the switch or signal controlled by each rod.

Bluffington Tower controlled movement over an at grade crossing of the Great Northern main line and a Northern Pacific branch line. Since the NP was ‘junior’, meaning that it crossed the pre-existing GN line, the NP installed and owned the entire plant, maintained it, and manned the tower, all of which standard industry practice then as now.

Because the NP had far fewer movements over the crossing, they chose not to have an operator man the tower. The signals were left clear for the GN and stop for the NP. When an NP train appeared at Bluffton the head brakeman went to the tower, and if no GN train was approaching, set the GN signals to stop, and the NP to clear. The NP train crossed the GN, and then the NP man returned NP signals to stop and GN to clear.  

Foot print 2 1/2 by 2 3/4 inches.

See Reference Sheet 255.