Back on November 28th of 2020 I made a blog post of a day spent in Tower 55 back in 2006 showing passing trains and some of the remaining interior. Here is a link to that post. Click on the title, and when you are done you may use the back button on your browser to come back here.
Now we jump ahead to April 25th of this year when a meeting was held at the tower to discuss its future as Union Pacific desires to demolish the remaining structure. I had been asked around the first of the year by Union Pacific to consult on the history and to make sure the proper historic groups were invited to a meeting at the tower that was held on April 25th. this photo taken at the gathering includes representatives from Union Pacific, The City of Fort Worth, Historic Fort Worth, and the National Railway Historical Society.
We made our way to the third floor which was converted to office space in the 1990’s after its operations were moved at first to Davidson Yard in the 1990’s and currently to Omaha. Everyone made introductions and small talk while I stood by one of the open windows where before long I captured this eastbound intermodal train.
The loud and monotonous banging of the wheels over the diamonds below made it clear why this spot did not work out as office space for various UP departments, and the meeting began once the train had passed by.
The purpose of this meeting was primarily to share information between the groups and no actual decisions were made as to when and if the tower would actually be torn down in the near future. When we were done and on the way back to ground level, I paused on the second floor to snap this photo of the stored model board that was used after the original pistol grip machine was replaced with more modern equipment. This item has definitely been marked for preservation.
When I rounded the corner on the way down the stairs to ground level, I was shocked by the sudden appearance of this northbound train. My camera was still set to a low shutter speed from taking the model board photo, but the blurred results may add some interest to the photo in your opinion.
Once the invited guests had left, with UP’s permission I launched the drone for a few aerial views of the area.
Whatever the outcome, I am glad to be a part of the process.
