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When did the tower by CP Pleasant Street go OOS? Looks like it's been abandoned for a while now.

I want to say the early 1980s when the diamonds were removed and the plant was simplified.

The OOS tower at CP Pleasant Street has been abandoned for quite some time now, but it seems it may be meeting its fate soon. After driving down there today, I noticed all of the second story windows were completely removed. It wasn't vandalism because there was no trace of broken glass anywhere and the windows were completely out of their holdings. I would imagine there are plans to tear down the building in the near future, but I haven't heard or seen anything. There was no demolition equipment or anything down there so I don't know really what's going on. Feel free to reply if you have any idea of its fate or future.

Strippers may have taken the windows and frames. Several places in Detroit where you can buy windows and doors and other used building materials.

I always figured there was leaded paint, asbestos and/or the railroad simply didn't want to pay to take down an otherwise structurally sound tower on their dime. Perhaps the calculus has finally changed. For one, there hasn't been any relevant signal equipment in there since the cut-over several years ago. The tower held guts which still mattered until the searchlights fell.

That area is somewhat up and coming. I wouldn't actually be surprised at all if the city were trying to get CSX to get rid of that retched eyesore.

I think the tower was used as the dispatching center for the Grand Rapids area until dispatching was moved to Jacksonville in 1989.

You're thinking of Plaster Creek Tower, not Pleasant Street. Pleasant St has not been manned in many, many years.

Raildudes dad wrote:You're thinking of Plaster Creek Tower, not Pleasant Street. Pleasant St has not been manned in many, many years.

Was Plaster Creek tower replaced by East Tower in Wyoming? Or was Plaster Creek a dispatching tower?

kd_1014 wrote:

Raildudes dad wrote:You're thinking of Plaster Creek Tower, not Pleasant Street. Pleasant St has not been manned in many, many years.

Was Plaster Creek tower replaced by East Tower in Wyoming? Or was Plaster Creek a dispatching tower?

At one point there were four towers on the CSX side: Lamar, East, Plaster Creek and Pleasant St. Ultimately the dispatching duties of Lamar, Plaster Creek and Pleasant St were given to the dispatchers and the yard management duties were consolidated to East tower.

As a side note, we issued our train orders from Saginaw to the operator at Pleasant St for delivery to eastward movements destined for the Elmdale Sub.

The dispatchers were in the dispatcher's office in Wyoming yard, which was just recently torn down. Pleasant Street, when it was open, was more or less an interlocking tower with an operator that would issue train orders. The small depot at Elmdale was the next operator east, IIRC (in later years).

The Elmdale Sub was dispatched from Saginaw, and we issued the train orders for that line. The Elmdale operator was eliminated by 1960. The next open office was at Alto, and then Lake Odessa. All eastward trains had to get a clearance Form "A" at Pleasant Street. Elmdale Sub trains got two, one issued by the GR dispatcher, and one issued by us Saginaw dispatchers.

C&O Dispatcher wrote:As a side note, we issued our train orders from Saginaw to the operator at Pleasant St for delivery to eastward movements destined for the Elmdale Sub.

Thanks for that nugget. Great to hear from you as always.

Saturnalia wrote:I always figured there was leaded paint, asbestos and/or the railroad simply didn't want to pay to take down an otherwise structurally sound tower on their dime. Perhaps the calculus has finally changed. For one, there hasn't been any relevant signal equipment in there since the cut-over several years ago. The tower held guts which still mattered until the searchlights fell.

That area is somewhat up and coming. I wouldn't actually be surprised at all if the city were trying to get CSX to get rid of that retched eyesore.

I've seen footage of old buildings getting torn down with the fire department hosing the building down to keep the dust and debris from becoming airborne, why couldn't the same be applied here?

I too noticed the windows gone the other day, isn't that area under surveillance? Seems like it would be quite the accomplishment to remove the windows.

hoborich wrote:http://www.aswdetroit.org/

???

Saturnalia wrote:

hoborich wrote:http://www.aswdetroit.org/

???

Group taking down the tower?

MQT1223 wrote:

Saturnalia wrote:I always figured there was leaded paint, asbestos and/or the railroad simply didn't want to pay to take down an otherwise structurally sound tower on their dime. Perhaps the calculus has finally changed. For one, there hasn't been any relevant signal equipment in there since the cut-over several years ago. The tower held guts which still mattered until the searchlights fell.

That area is somewhat up and coming. I wouldn't actually be surprised at all if the city were trying to get CSX to get rid of that retched eyesore.

I've seen footage of old buildings getting torn down with the fire department hosing the building down to keep the dust and debris from becoming airborne, why couldn't the same be applied here?

I too noticed the windows gone the other day, isn't that area under surveillance? Seems like it would be quite the accomplishment to remove the windows.

I think there are signs that it is under surveillance but I don't think there are actually security cams or anything there. Probably just to threaten people that they might be caught if they vandalize/steal anything.

As of 7 pm today the Pleasant St. Tower is a pile of rubble on the ground.

It always strikes me as sad when structures like this are torn down versus being repurposed. I'm betting a local model railroad club would have been happy to put in some 'sweat equity' to have a clubhouse and possibly a home for their layout, ala the AAMRC in Dexter...

- Carsten