Because of its busy location UN was left open many years after other towers were taken out of service and replaced with remote electronic equipment.
Mr. Piccirillo tells of "the number 8 lever being the most difficult to pull because it threw two crossovers at the same time". "It had to be kept well oiled".
"The most dangerous lever in the tower was number 17. If not properly aligned it would send an Eastbound train for the P&W head-on to the P&LE" Said Mr. Piccirillo.
As late as the early 90's UN still had a manual crank under the operators desk to signal the next station that a train had passed.
UN Tower served the railroads of the B&O, Chessie System, and CSX Transportation around the clock for over 100 years until November of 1995 when CSX upgraded the signaling system along the P&LE route.
Physical operation of the interlocking was cut over to the electronics in the shiny metal box across the tracks from UN Tower and control was taken over remotely by a dispatcher in Jacksonville Florida. As with many other towers UN was to be bulldozed to the ground and hauled away along with all of its history.
At about this same time the Beaver Valley Junction Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society was looking for a chapter project. The BVJ was just six years in existence, its membership was around 55 members at the time, and helped retore locomotives and railcars owned by others but had no property to call their own.
At the February 1996 monthly meeting a motion was made to approach CSX to see if the BVJ could obtain UN Tower for historical preservation.
In March of 1996 CSX agreed to sell UN to the BVJ for $1000 but the building had to be moved within 60 days of purchase. Chapter members raised the funds and agreed to CSX's conditions. Upon the first day of work at the tower to secure the building and board up the windows CSX required that a flagman be present because of the members being so close to the tracks. The BVJ was later billed for the CSX employees time. Adding up the cost of having the flagman present every time a chapter member worked at the tower (including weekend overtime hours) would financially make the whole project impracticable.
The BVJ approached CSX about donating the flagman's time but was turned down.
After months of letters and phone calls the BVJ was given no other choice but to pull out of the sale in August of 1996. A big disappointment for the BVJ membership.
Out of the blue two years later in March of 1998 CSX contacted the chapter offering UN Tower for sale at a reduced price of $500 and with no flagging costs because of a reconstruction project of New Castle Yard a flagman would be present to protect CSX's own track workers near the interlocking. The BVJ jumped at this offer and work to remove UN started as soon a CSX received the check. Land to re-erect the tower on was found near short lines ISS Rail and New Castle Industrial Railroad in Mahoningtown, PA three miles west of UN's original location but still near the same former B&O mainline.
The best option for moving the tower was buy rail due to UN's location perched on a hill side with limited access. Three months of preparation work went into securing the tower and figuring out how to cut the tower in half for transport.
The levers and model board had already been removed shortly after UN's closing, buy a now defunct historical society, but there was enough heavy 1950's electrical equipment to be removed to keep the BVJ members busy. The equipment was retained to be reinstalled for display purposes.