Spaulding Tower

For over 90 years, Spaulding Tower protected the junction of the Milwaukee Road and the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern at Spaulding, just east of Elgin, Illinois. Originally built around 1890 when the EJ&E extended north toward Waukegan, the tower was expanded to its present size when the Milwaukee Road added a second main and a yard lead in 1909. It housed a 36-lever hand-operated interlocking machine to control all of the track switches and signals at Spaulding. The junction was converted to centralized control and the tower closed in the 1980's. Spaulding Tower was donated to IRM in 1988 by the EJ&E and by Metra and the Soo Line, which took over the Milwaukee Road route after the line's bankruptcy. IRM volunteers dismantled the huge interlocking machine before the upper story of the building was cut off, and both halves were moved by truck to Union. IRM crews reassembled the building and restored it to its 1950's appearance.

Illinois · United States