Interlocking Walkthrough: PORT

This week's Interlocking Walkthrough returns once again to the present-day interlockings with out look at PORT interlocking.  PORT interlocking is not where you might expect it if you looked solely at its name.  No, it's not in Port Washington, but instead it is located just east of Freeport station.  Port Washington does not have an interlocking of any sort controlling its switches into and out of the station and the yard.  We'll talk more about Port Wasington and stations like it a couple months down the road, but today we focus on PORT.  Below is a diagram of the interlocking, and here's a bird's eye view of the location.

The original PORT tower.
(Photo credit: Trains Are Fun.com/Dave Keller Archive)

PORT first went into service in 1926 as "FY" tower.  It was renamed to PORT in April 1937.  The very first PORT interlocking went out of service on May 5, 1959 when the temporary tracks were constructed for the Babylon Grade Crossing Elimination Project.

The second PORT tower was constructed a coulple thousand feet to the west of the previous one.  That tower went into service on October 11, 1960 roughly a year and a half after the first one closed (oh the times when projects this size could be done  so quickly!).

The "new" PORT tower.
(Photo credit: Trains Are Fun.com/Dave Keller Archive)

On May 16, 1983, PORT tower closed and control over the interlocking was remoted to VALLEY (with BABYLON later getting redundant control).   To my knowledge, the tower still stands (I don't pass through PORT all that often and satellite imagery doesn't give a clear answer).

Those switches that VALLEY has control over begin just east of Freeport station, roughly 23 miles from Long Island City on the Montauk Branch (not the Babylon Branch, which doesn't exist).  After a fist initial crossover from Montauk 2 (the eastbound track) to Montauk 1 (the westbound track) the two-tracked Freeport Layup Yard splits off track 1 to the north.

The view of PORT interlocking from an eastbound train
in the station (Photo credit: Jersey Mike)

The two tracks can hold two twelve car trainsets (but the sidings are considerably longer--use the green station platform for scale).  Trains that begin or end their runs at Freeport during the rush hours will go onto or off these layup tracks to get out of the way.

Right after the Freeport Layup Yard tracks split off there is another crossover from Montauk 1 back to Montauk 2.  The two Montauk Branch tracks then run just south of the Freeport Layup Yard tracks for maybe 20 carlengths.

View of PORT interlocking from just east of Freeport station.  The layup tracks are visible to the left-hand
side of the photo (Photo credit: Jersey Mike)

At the eastern end of the Freeport Layup Yard, the northernmost of the two tracks merges into the other one.  Now here, unlike most other yards or sidings, that other yard track doesn't simply just merge back into Montauk 1.  Instead there is a crossover from the southernmost layup track back to Montau 1 for trains looking to head back east.  That layup track then continues east for a carlength or two more (still parallel to both Montauk Branch tracks) before ending in a bumper block.

Photo of the far eastern end of PORT interlocking.  You can see here
where the layup track extends a carlength before ending in a
bumper block.   (Photo credit: Jersey Mike)

This little pocket was likely designed to store a protect engine (a small little diesel engine that is parked in strategic locations and can be used to jump into action in the event a train breaks down).  These days it is rare to see a protect engine hanging out at PORT, but there is a space for it if it becomes necessary.

One more oddity that shows up here at the eastern end of PORT is the fact that there isn't one last crossover after  the layup track merges in.  Therefore, trains cannot easily get from the layup tracks to the eastbound Montuak Branch track.  So a train that wants to go east from Freeport Layup Yard (i.e. an equipment run to Babylon Yard) would either have to back into the station and then proceed east, or wrong-rail on the westbound track all the way to WANTAGH interlocking.

But as the eastern end of PORT interlocking ends so does our walkthrough of it.  I mentioned all the fun stuff about towers and present-day control in the first couple paragraphs of this post.  The next interlocking up alphabetically next week will be that of POST interlocking (a fairly important interlocking on the Port Jefferson Branch).