LwS S2, E5: Bayview Tower #6, September 18, 1948
This episode of Living with Steam features recordings John M. Prophet III made in the late evening (and early morning) of September 18 (19), 1948 at BV Tower in Blasdell, NY. John made a total of 19 recordings at this interlocking tower and this is one he labeled “#6.”
While the recordings contained on this spool of wire are not spectacular by any means… in fact, the quality of the audio is pretty lousy compared to his other recordings… they’re included here as part of John’s total output simply for the fact that the difficulty he sometimes had using the wire recorder helps one to further appreciate his work. There is no other choice but to hear the good with the bad. Using a wire recorder was by no means a fool-proof and sonically superior format. The recordings on this wire sound like they were made using a tin can connected to the wire recorder with a piece of string rather that a normal microphone. However, the first recording on the spool sounds great; like John’s other work. What happened after the first train went by?
The other issue is the fact that this “BV #6” wire only has 17-minutes worth of material on it yet the spool is marked as being loaded with 1-hour’s worth of wire. This spool may have been John’s first experience with a catastrophic failure of the unit to correctly wind or unwind the wire; the results of which cause the wire on the spool to get snarled into a birds nest of a tangle that’s impossible to put right. Everything before the first train on the 17 minute wire was lost and had to be cut away. Sadly, this is something that happened more times than John would care to admit to.
One thing I should point out is if power was lost to the wire recorder in any way (even if you accidentally turn it off while the unit is in a play or rewind position), the mechanics do not immediately stop and prevent the wire recorder from winding or unwinding a wire. It’s not like hitting “stop” on a tape deck. Rather, the machine will continue to glide along with no tension on the main spool or the take-up reel, resulting in the wire inevitably coming off the spool and laying on top of the unit as it continues to spin until gradually coming to a stop. If you don’t catch it in time… “birds nest.”
This is the “official” page of notes John made about the BV#6 recordings. You can see for the PRR I-1 recording where he says the recording is “no good, passenger whistle & chickens.” This must be something John heard at the time he made the recording as the train passed BV Tower. I can’t hear any chickens in the recording.
The video above was uploaded to YouTube by Don Rohauer showing an “extra” train running from Elkhart to Buffalo as it passes BV Tower on March 12, 1988
Early in this episode, you’ll hear a segment from a recorded conversation I had with John while he was visiting for coffee in 1992. I was showing John several photographs I had recently come across which I was having difficulty identifying. When we came to this photo, John stopped cold as he knew exactly where and what it was; the Pennsylvania Railroad’s freight offices once located between Alabama and Louisiana Streets, and Exchange and Carroll Streets. John went into a long discussion about the building and how the PRR moved all of their offices from Downtown Buffalo (housed in various other buildings) and into this one. When Penn Central came into being, this building, along with other property owned and operated by the Pennsylvania, was closed down and abandoned.
This page from the 1915 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps shows the area where the Pennsylvania Railroad’s freight office was located. At the time the map was made, the PRR presence in Buffalo was still known as the Western New York & Pennsylvania. Note the blocks in yellow at the top of the map. They show a passenger station and restaurant right along Louisiana Street. Click on the map to view a much larger version in a lightbox window.
Back in 1992, many of the concrete bumpers the PRR used in this freight yard were still on the property. Now, only one remains at the corner of Seneca and Louisiana Streets.
These are Google Earth views of what the area looks like today. Only one of the PRR’s concrete bumpers remain.
