Madison Railroad Tilting Target Farewell - CMPA & CSX last operations of railroad signal history.

A ‘farewell’ to the historic “Tilting Target” signal at North
Vernon, Indiana.

This was one of the very last hand operated
tilting blade signals in the United States
and the very last in operation on the entire CSX system.



On April 26, 2022 a special CSX storage car train
symboled E-991 was ran from Cincinnati for the Madison Railroad which made it
possible to see the “Tilting Target” in operation
for the last time.

The “Tilting Target” was replaced on May 2, 2022.

This is a story of not just the end of the signal,
but of the rebirth of both the Madison Railroad and
the CSX Indiana Subdivision.

The Madison Railroad has become a significant player in the rail car storage business, something that former CEO Cathy Hale was able to get started in 1996 with the closure of the Jefferson Proving Grounds near Madison. With 14 miles of track through out that campus, the Madison Railroad has a solid income stream to insure future rail service to the city of Madison.

Future chapters in this story will cover the new signals! Be sure to check out the CSX Indiana Subdivision video on this channel for more coverage of both this "Tilting Target" but also the unique B&O CPL signal system.