How does one top touring the ruins of a World War II prisoner of war interrogation camp on the excitement scale? Asking for a friend. And by that, I mean, this was the question drifting through the back of my mind in January as I prepared to launch the lineup for year two of The Sentinel’s Inside Look series. After all, the 2023 tour had set the bar pretty high.
In addition to the ruins of Camp Michaux, stops included multiple mansions, a fish hatchery, the state treasury vault and the Cumberland County Landfill (which is actually quite fascinating, if you’ve never been). As it turned out, I only had to wait until February to discover this year’s top contender: Frog, Switch & Manufacturing Co. in Carlisle.
Frog, Switch is one of those places I’ve driven by hundreds of times without a thought as to what went on there. I’m guessing I’m not alone. I knew the business forged railroad equipment and I knew it had ceased operations in June 2023, but I’d never taken time to ponder what its weathered wooden fence encased.
The grounds contain a number of the buildings, but it was the foundry that earned the location my “Favorite Inside Look of the Year” award. That’s where much of the manufacturing occurred. The space is immense.
Vast beams and machinery loom from the shadows, illuminated by rays of dramatic light that pierces rooftop windows. Think the angry warehouse dance scene from “Footloose.” A thick layer of fine dust carpets the floor and pretty much eve.
