Interlocking Walkthrough: PD

Up next is a more local interlocking to me, PD Interlocking. On the scenic but delay-central Montauk Branch, PD interlocking is definitely the biggest delay-creator of them all. PD Interlocking consists of a siding, similar to what is seen all over the Montauk Branch, so it's responsible for various train meets, but in addition, it's also responsible for shuttling the little "Patchogue Scoot" trains around in the mini-yard as they wait on the siding to enter service. PD Interlocking is the first passing siding on the Montauk Branch heading eastbound, as the line becomes two tracks slightly east of Sayville.

Here's a little diagram of PD interlocking I found on Trains Are Fun:

Switches

I'm hoping that diagram made the interlocking pretty clear, but, I'll still explain it anyway. Patchogue consists of only one six-car side platform, and I think you can figure out which side it's on. That's a common theme on the Montauk Branch, as similar setups can be seen at Bellport, Southampton, Hampton Bays, and Westhampton. This is a major inconvenience scheduling-wise, as you can't schedule two trains to load simultaneously like what can be seen at many of the Port Jefferson Branch stations. The platform is after Ocean Avenue and is not shown on the diagram, but after the platform the line splits right back into 1 track just before West Avenue crossing.

Nonetheless, PD interlocking consists only of one large siding that begins just west of Clare Rose Blvd, and between the railroad crossing and the station platform, the North Track splits off and runs north of the station track. Also shown on the diagram is the rather unused fence track, that used to be used much more but now sits pretty much unused. PD got it's name from an old trolley line, as part of the Suffolk Traction Company that went out to Patchogue Dock (see how it got it's name?). It was orginally constructed to protect the railroad from the trolley line as it headed northbound towards Holtsville.

Towers

There used to be a PD tower, which has control of PD, Y, MS, and SK interlockings, but in the 70s, the switches were automated, and then later in March 2006 the tower was removed from service, and control of those interlockings were handed over to BABYLON interlocking. Then in the August of that year it was teared down.

Signals

The interlocking had position-light signals but when it was renovated in 2006 it gained the modern tri-light color signals.

Trivia

I decided to include a bit of trivia, since there are two interesting things about PD Interlocking. A rather common occurence on TrainTime, specifically with a particular train, titled #8 (the 11:41a from Jamaica to Montauk) commonly has Patchogue spelled out as PD on the TrainTime app. This is an odd mistake and I don't know why it's so common on that particular train.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed PD interlocking, and I wish you a happy Fourth of July tomorrow!