Berea Ohio Tower Being Demolished Soon?

Why not ask those folks over on TrainOrders.com, who are posting all that information?

Hot Water posted:

Why not ask those folks over on TrainOrders.com, who are posting all that information?

I'll see what I can find out. 

It will be sad if they are. I know the rumor has been going round about it for a few years now.

Well from reading train orders this afternoon, here are 5 peoples replies today.

alcoc-430 = "I just checked the Berea Webcam on Railstream and it's still standing. There is a backhoe next to it, but it's parked and I don't see any ee's in the area of it."

RichK = "I am parked in Berea right now. As of 1:44 p.m. the tower is still standing and there is no indication that any work will begin on it today" Richard Kaminsky North Royalton, OH THE RAILFAN GALLERY

Alstrainshop = "I seen posts on facebook about it. I asked around, and it sounds like they need to get permission before they can start demolition".

richs = "I'm a bit perplexed as to why it's going to get razed. It's not in disrepair, and I thought the C&S people used it at times". RichS

SALGUY = "They have to maintain it and pay takes on it... It is the best more for them to simply tear it down".

That's all the replies so far on Train Orders website. When more replies come, I'll post them.

Ah.....the modern day railroad....laying waste to all we hold dear...as for me...NOTHING MODERN !

The RR pays taxes on it and anything like that is an "attractive nuisance" which someone will torch eventually.  They burned the closed one at South Fork some years ago.   CSX tore down Sand Patch quick. I was there soon after and you could hardly tell where it had been.  Some RRs will save an engine or two but not many buildings.  I haven't been to Berea since they redid that area.

One thing I thought of was 2 thoughts. First would be, how different it would look without the tower there. Would it look bad or better? I say this because of today's people might want to see a better view. But on the other hand, it would be very sad. I'm just confused why they never turned it into a train watching view or a museum. But either way, soon will probably know. As for train orders, nothing yet has been added since Salguy's reply.

Tom, 

Sad but true,,,,,,you need to realize that the railroad is a BUSINESS, and sure as heck isn't going to create "railfan viewing platforms" nor "museums". As posted above, the railroad can take a tax write-off by donating a locomotive or other piece of "historic" rolling stock. Buildings, however are taxable, and the sooner they can be demolished the better, in the eyes of the railroad realistate tax department. 

Hot Water posted:

Tom, 

Sad but true,,,,,,you need to realize that the railroad is a BUSINESS, and sure as heck isn't going to create "railfan viewing platforms" nor "museums". As posted above, the railroad can take a tax write-off by donating a locomotive or other piece of "historic" rolling stock. Buildings, however are taxable, and the sooner they can be demolished the better, in the eyes of the railroad realistate tax department. 

You are defientely right. I'm only 24 years old, but I learned a lot from my parents and today is surely not the way it was back in the 60's & 70s. As to train orders, 2 more replies were added. Here they are below.

WLE2679 = "Has anyone come forward regarding preservation attempts? Can it even be moved being brick?"

RichK = "Buildings like these mean next to nothing to the talking suits that run the railroads. Just consider how many of these towers have been demolished in the last couple of years. Like many other railfans I would like to see it remain standing, but I fear the die is cast and it won't be long befor BE Tower is a memory. Get your pictures now". Richard Kaminsky North Royalton, OH THE RAILFAN GALLERY

That's all the replies so far on Train Orders website. When more replies come, I'll post them.

My last employer before retirement was in Berea across from the tower. We would have an all day sales meeting in a windowless room which drove me crazy. At lunch and break times I would go outside, stand on a big pile of dirt and watch the trains go by. Once I got up extra early and parked beside the tower  to video trains as the sun came up.  Will miss the tower but such is life.

jim pastorius posted:

My last employer before retirement was in Berea across from the tower. We would have an all day sales meeting in a windowless room which drove me crazy. At lunch and break times I would go outside, stand on a big pile of dirt and watch the trains go by. Once I got up extra early and parked beside the tower  to video trains as the sun came up.  Will miss the tower but such is life.

Jim, by chance do you have the video or photos? Also here's another recent reply on Train Orders,

Lakota-rail = "There is an on-line petition at Change.org asking NS to consider preserving the tower. In the world of railfanning Berea has to rank up there as a true landmark, but moving it...where? A location trackside would be hard to find and its doubtful the railroad will allow it to remain anywhere on their property in and around Berea. Moving it, another issue...is it possible and who will fund it?

Rumors about the tower coming down have been circulating since the day it closed, and she still stands. The day will come, undoubtedly, but until the bricks fall its just a rumor.

Living near Berea I have visited there for several years clocking many hours of great railfanning, video documenting every important happening, and enjoying the company of many people both past and present. It will be a sad day for certain when the old friend is no longer keeping an eye on us while we were keeping eye on her. We can only hope something can be done, but....its not going to be easy".

I am thinking of the railroad stations I photographed, and that then disappeared, and, worst, the ones I didn't, that are gone, and the odd places I found them, sometimes, and wonder if they are still there.  This is a problem of towns and cities, that might not exist if it wasn't originally for the railroad.  These structures are part of their history, and some could care less.

I will look to see what I might still have.

A wood tower could be moved.  But is this tower brick?

A brick building can be moved.  Just takes more money.

Rusty

Dominic Mazoch posted:

A wood tower could be moved.  But is this tower brick?

Yes, it's brick.

Dominic Mazoch posted:

A wood tower could be moved.  But is this tower brick?

Move to were, and paid for by whom?   Yes, it is brick, but that is the least of the problem.

Berea Tower Pictures

You can not save every one.  That said, one could take the equipment like diagrams, levers and desks, build a like room in a museum.  Yes, it is not a whole tower.  But better than nothing.  Money and railroads permitting!

Well there's been nothing added to train orders about Berea Tower. So with that, I do have a few pictures I took from 2008 to 2015 of Berea Tower. Here's they are below. One picture does have my Dad in it, so that picture, if Berea Tower is gone soon, will be very important and emotional once the tower is gone.

Below is from October 2008 of the NS OCS / Office Car Special.

Below from Saturday January 7th, 2012.

5 pictures below from Friday May 11th, 2012 which the below picture is of my Dad.

Below from Wednesday August 15th, 2012.

Below 3 from Friday October 19th, 2012.

Last and recent picture from Saturday October 3rd, 2015

Thanks for the pictures-haven't been there since '99  !!    They were planning the redo of the track and my employer was going to lose their shop.  Looks like it would be tough to move. the ground is level but I doubt if NS would be too thrilled with it going over their tracks. Looks like  woods behind it. Is the station restaurant still there ??  I see the  building -pretty.

The restaurant  reopened as the Berea union tavern about 2 years ago.it closed when work on the  rt237 aka front street overpass was started. The original owner feared business would drop so fast with the closing of 237.         there is really nowhere to move the tower ,even if a group had the money to do it. The wooded area behind the tower has a nursing home. The front street overpass effectively cuts off any location east or south. The vacant land behind the medina supply block plant has a neosd  giant interceptor sewer under it that was constructed in the 1990s....jim

It's an ugly brick building with absolutely zero character or historical significance.

The area will be better off when it's gone.

I wasn't familiar with this tower, and had never seen it before the above pics were posted. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all, not to be mean, but I agree with Rich, the building was built to serve a purpose, and was a classic example of Function before form.

 A perfect example of function before form in my hometown, of Portland, OR is our Marquam Bridge, it has got be the UGLIEST bridge ever built, it serves a purpose, carrying Interstate 5 over the Willamette River, but they must have tried VERY HARD to make it UGLY, that it wasn't an accident. Portland has some Beautiful bridges, the ST. Johns is a Classic, the Fremont is more modern, but Graceful, then there is our Ugly Duckling that will never become a Swan, the Marquam. Somebody beat that thing with an Ugly stick, and nobody tried to stop them.

Doug

challenger3980 posted:

I wasn't familiar with this tower, and had never seen it before the above pics were posted. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all, not to be mean, but I agree with Rich, the building was built to serve a purpose, and was a classic example of Function before form.

 A perfect example of form before function in my hometown, of Portland, OR is our Marquam Bridge, it has got be the UGLIEST bridge ever built, it serves a purpose, carrying Interstate 5 over the Willamette River, but they must have tried VERY HARD to make it UGLY, that it wasn't an accident. Portland has some Beautiful bridges, the ST. Johns is a Classic, the Fremont is more modern, but Graceful, then there is our Ugly Duckling that will never become a Swan, the Marquam. Somebody beat that thing with an Ugly stick, and nobody tried to stop them.

Doug

And the Marquam has some very sharp curves on it almost at 90 degrees, and slow speeds for Interstate main lanes.

The Stell bridge is VERY interesting in PDX.  Regular Railroading, MAX LRT, and Car Traffic on two independent draw spans.  (Now, does Portland Streetcar use it?)

Back to towers:  The outside of the said tower does not have a "Railroad" look to it.

Thought this thread was about the Berea tower ??  Start a Portland thread.  Thanks

OGR Webmaster posted:

It's an ugly brick building with absolutely zero character or historical significance.

The area will be better off when it's gone.

I'd never seen the tower either until the above pictures were posted, and man, this is exactly the first thought that came into my head!

This tower while not currently in the best of shape represents a typical type of nyc tower used on the Chicago line in my experience from Berea to Buffalo.  QD tower at Collinwood is basically the same as was DJ  dock jct in Erie PA and Bayview tower in Buffalo. Just a rectangular structure with a awning around it. Now that my blood pressure has returned to normal from my previous post/rant...once they get a notion down it will surely come...

This is Tom's dad here. It might be ugly to some, and you know who you are when you say that, but, I've been taking my son there for over 22 years. And I've been going past that tower since the 70's. It's not the question of uglyness, it's the fact the part of the history is going away. So think what you want. I will miss the tower. TOM SR.

The tower looks like it needs a new roof. 

It may have sentimental value to some, and that's fine, of course. But it is so utilitarian and non-descript that I wonder if folks might have the same kind of attachment to the silver utility cabinets nearby, or the telephone poles.

To me, with those small, very few windows, it doesn't even look like a railroad building, let alone a signal or interlocking tower. If it only had some "railroad" character... 

I imagine if you have spent many hours inside dealing with the trains, people and problems it becomes more than an old brick building to you.  Different perspective.

I'll ask the same question here, that I asked over on TrainOrders.com:

How old is that brick tower? To me, it looks like 1950s construction. Now considering how long that there has been a need for an interlocking plant at that location (since the 1920s?), what did the original interlocking tower look like? Maybe classic wood construction, as in the photo above?

jim pastorius posted:

I imagine if you have spent many hours inside dealing with the trains, people and problems it becomes more than an old brick building to you.  Different perspective.

So are we to preserve this eyesore just for the couple dozen people who worked in it over the years? And most of them are no longer with us.

Rich-you are way too sentimental. I didn't say to save it just some would look at it differently.

most recently we can thank ns for beautifing this tower,,when it was a conrail tower it still had some charm i remember going up to watch the operator do his thing while my yard engine was in the hole waiting on traffic. at that time the old big 4 ran behind or south of th e tower with the chicago line to the north. all of nyc name trains pulled by steam ran past this very structure. yeah the old girl is a bit beat up but show some respect before it turns to dust. 

Not sure if I would go so far as calling it an eyesore, but I would think there are better buildings, rolling stock, or engines that deserve your preservation dollars more.

The NYC (now NS) Interlocking Tower in Berea was built in 1929.  Up until about 8 months ago the building was still in use by NS housing the electronics in the basement for all the switches and signals for the interlock.  NS has now updated all the signals and as far as is known the basement of the Tower is no longer used.  Based on some very reliable sources there is no released information inside NS to tear the tower down.  A few regular Berea trainwatchers have said they observed equipment being moved into the tower over the past couple weeks and think they observed some equipment being installed on the roof.  This rumor started because there was and is a crane parked next to the building that was/is being used west of the building for work on the track.  Of course source are just sources and it is possible they may not have all the information.  But it is reasonably certain all this "stuff" about tearing down the Tower is someone's uninformed speculation.  We shall see.

Architecturally it doesn't really have any redeeming features. And now it's just a redundant unused building with no purpose? I can't see that preservation would be worth the effort and money needed.