A westbound oil train climbs the east slope of the Alleghenies, passing up the silent sentinel of the mountain, MG tower. The interlocking and tower were installed by the PRR in 1944 to assist with wartime traffic and ultimately ended up replacing the older IA interlocking at Allegripus Curve about 2 miles west.
While Conrail shuttered the tower for the last time in June 1996 (it had largely been in as-needed operation for several years by then), the interlocking has remained largely unchanged since the mainline was reduced to 3 tracks. The next major change has begun, though--the classic 1940s PRR signal bridges are soon to be razor blades, as evidenced by the new ground masts and cantilever present at the site, and when PTC goes live, the rumor is the interlocking will be renamed to 'CP Little.'
The EMD SD (special duty) series are a strong and reliable kind of locomotive which still serve America's rails today. They have proved themselves reliable by clocking in several million miles of freight service over several decades.
