For now, though, the tower continues to sit next to the CSX tracks as it has for decades. It has been years since an operator threw switches and lined signals from the tower. For those brave enough to climb the stairs to look, the levers used to do that are still in place. But their rods have long since been cut. One way or another, it seems that this would be the last winter for Nova tower. If the Lodi group doesn’t rescue it this year and move it, then the building may well collapse on its own or CSX will tear it down. But who knows? Nova tower has been defying naysayers for a long time.

One of the few towers left standing on today’s CSX New Castle Subdivision, Nova Tower is long abandoned and apparently has been forgotten by the railroad. In an era when railroads can’t demolish old towers, stations and other non-essential buildings fast enough, the fact that Nova Tower still stands is quite remarkable. That Nova Tower still stands is quite astounding even if the railroad has apparently forgotten it. The wooden structure has suffered years of not always benign neglect. Railfans keep predicting that this will be the year that Nova Tower falls down or falls to the wreecking ball, but somehow it manages to perserve.