Spring Hill Tower

Spring Hill Tower controlled the 3-way interlocking between the C&EI, Milwaukee Road, and New York Central railroads in southern Vigo county. In May of 2001, the tower was moved 9.5 miles to its present location on the WVRM grounds. Spring Hill Tower is centered around a massive 1900s-vintage Saxby & Farmer “armstrong” interlocking machine.

"The Hill" - March 25, 1949

This view is being used as the guide for the restoration and recreation of Spring Hill's interior. Notably absent from this desk are now-familiar items like radios and modern telephones. A few of the items in this photo, such as the CTC display mounted between the windows, have already been recovered by the museum.

New From The Inside Out

The restoration of Spring Hill Tower has been far more involved than Haley's. The decision to revert Spring Hill to its 1950s appearance required an almost total reworking of the tower's interior, including re-installation of many of the windows which had been removed or boarded up over the decades. When the modern wall and ceiling treatments were removed, the original wall materials were exposed, providing a guide for accurate replacement materials and paint colors.

Spring Hill's Saxby & Farmer interlocking machine has been restored to operation. Find out why they call them "armstrongs" and listen for that gratifying CLACK sound that tells you everything is ready when you line up a Milwaukee Road coal drag past the tower.

Speaking of coal drags, the original hand-painted model board in Spring Hill tower is letting you know there's a northbound Milwaukee Road train on the approach ... but he's not going anywhere until you line him up and give him a signal.