Swan Song for 16th Street Tower

Swan Song for 16th Street Tower

By David Silver/photos as noted The clattering of steel wheels against raised rails, the metallic shoonk of heavy mechanical levers being thrown, and the low hum and click of electrical relays and resistors — these are all sounds that can be heard at a diamond interlocking. More specifically, these are the sounds that were heard at Metra’s busy 16th Street Tower in Chicago, which controlled the interlocking switches and the immediate signals aro…