Santa Clara Interlocking Control Tower
Santa Clara, Santa Clara County, California
Marker Inscription
The Santa Clara Interlocking Control Tower Built in 1926 and used around the clock until July 17, 1993 the Santa Clara Interlocking Control Tower is one of two Harriman Standard No.4 towers in California. The General Railway Signal Co. Model 2 Unit Lever Type Interlocking Machine on the upper floor operated the many switches and signals that controlled railway traffic from the Peninsula Line 'From San Francisco' and the Mulford Line 'From Oakland' The out buildings, the tool shed and the speeder shed, were used to store track inspectors car and tools. After 65 years of continuous service, control of the line was transferred to the computer at the San Jose Depot. It was the end of an era. For the benefit of our community and our heritage, the SBHRS, City of Santa Clara and Mt. Charlie Chapter 1850 of E. Clampus Vitus hereby dedicates this plaque. Right wrongs nobody This plaque was to be dedicated in 1999, but after many delays, the monument was built and dedicated on May 25, 2013.
Erected by E Clampus Vitus, Mountain Charlie Chapter No. 1850
The Story
Built in 1926, this control tower governed one of California's key rail junctions around the clock until 1993, one of only two Harriman Standard No. 4 towers in the state. Its upstairs interlocking machine coordinated switches and signals where lines from San Francisco and Oakland converged. When the line's control passed to a computer at the San Jose Depot in 1993, sixty-five years of hands-on operation came to a close.
Why it matters
The tower marks the transition from human-operated interlocking to computerized dispatching, a turning point in the story of American rail technology.
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Themes & tags
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