The Mendon Foundation would like to recognize and thank Dave Reilly as one of our wonderful volunteers. Dave has a unique family legacy associated with Rochester Junction on the Lehigh Valley Trail. Dave’s grandfather, James D. Reilly, was the Interlocking Tower Operator at Rochester Junction in the early 1900’s.
Dave pays respect to his grandfather and Rochester Junction by maintaining the area around the historical locations of the Interlocking Tower and Pump House. The two buildings are no longer present, however wooden knee boards were erected years ago as Eagle Scout project to depict their outlines.
The Interlocking Tower was built in 1898 on the south side of the LVRR mainline tracks. It was the main control center for all train movement in the Rochester Junction yard. The Tower controlled the switches through connecting rods to all switches in the area by levers in the Tower. It was replaced with CTC (Centralized Traffic Control). It was torn down on September 6, 1950.
The main function of the Pumphouse and water tank was to provide water to power steam engines hauling trains through the Junction. The Pumphouse was built to house the pumping mechanism that drove the pump. The water was then pumped into the water tank next to the Pumphouse. From there it was transferred to the steam engines by gravity via a standpipe near the tracks.
