By Railfan & Railroad Staff

MINEOLA, N.Y. — The Long Island Rail Road closed one of the final staffed interlocking towers on the railroad at Mineola, N.Y. over the weekend. Nassau Tower will be torn down to make way for a third track in the coming months. 

Nassau Tower is where the Oyster Bay Branch splits from the railroad’s main line. The structure was built in 1923. Control of the surrounding railroad has now been transferred to Jamaica Control Center. Preservationists had hoped to have the tower saved but those efforts never got off the ground. The eastbound station has Mineola has also been torn down to make way for the new track. Railroad officials have said that the third track will enable the railroad to provide better service to its customers. 

The LIRR still has a number of staffed towers, including Divide, Babylon, Valley and Lead. Earlier this year, Queens Tower was closed but it was recently reopened in order to allow train operators to remain socially distant from each other due to the pandemic.