Telegraph Tales

 

The Day the Power Failed by Stuart Davis

From the now defunct Telegraph Lore site.
Available on the Wayback Machine here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200218063219/http://www.telegraphlore.com/telegraph_tales/power_fail.html

The Day The Power Failed {From the December, 1978 issue of The Telegrapher, published by the late Dr. E. Stuart Davis at his National Telegraph Office in Union, N.J. Thanks to Bill Dunbar for providing this for use in Telegraph Lore.] 

A similar office in 1945

 It was 10 o'clock on a typical 1924 Thursday morning rush hour in the Postal Telegraph office at 84 State Street, Boston, Mass. The model 13s of the Morkrum mux sets to New York, Philadelphia and Chicago were pounding away, while the iron horse xtrs were gobbling up the slips almost as fast as the punchers could prepare them.

In the Morse department some 70 operators were moving the heavy file. The duplexes to Ford Motor, Montreal and Portland were "doubled." At the overflow that hit the traffic early in the morning, the clang and bang of the Lamson slingshot (conveyor) could scarcely be detected in the overall din.

Suddenly...the lights went out! The motors on the mux ground to a halt and the only sound in this big room was faint clicks from Morse relays on the Test Board. People glanced at each other in utter amazement, laughed and then relaxed while the Wire Chiefs were pounding away on the Bell wires to New York and Albany. "We lost our power!"

Meanwhile, Yours Truly was on his way to the power room in the basement. What a sight! A huge 1,800 ampere fuse had blown, taking with it a section of the marble switchboard and setting the connecting wires on fire. The basement was filled with the acrid fumes of burning insulation and it was obvious that power could not be restored for a long time.

Back on the fourth floor, Plant and T&R; men were arranging 200-ohm local sounders so that they could be used as main line instruments. KOB sets were brought and plugged into table jacks and one by one, lines that could be powered from distant terminals were coming back into service. As quickly as a circuit was made good, an operator was hard at work moving the delayed file.

Twelve single-Morse circuits were set up to New York, two to Chicago, and one each to Detroit and Buffalo. Anybody and everybody who could telegraph was pressed into service - including the Superintendent and Assistant Sup't. A hurry call was put out for the extra force - and to the retirees. By noon, more than a hundred operators were on duty.

At several desks, typewriters had been removed and pens and ink wells brought out. Now, the 80 year-old bonus men of a bygone era were turning out beautiful copy at 25-30 words per minute, such as only the artists of the turn of the century learned to do. By 1 p.m. all delays had been eliminated and traffic was flowing smoothly.

Uppermost in the mind of the Chief Operator was the question, "What shall I do about the night file?" On Thursdays, the average was about 7,000 messages plus an unpredictable amount of overflow press that was copied in the main office instead of the newspapers on Washington Street. The chief was concerned for the welfare of the elderly operators who'd responded to the emergency call and had been on duty since midmorning. Should they be kept on overtime, it was decided to pack several thousand "Reds" (Night Letters) into a leather bag which was then taken to South Station and placed in charge of an Express Messenger. New York was given the train number and made arrangements for it to be met at Grand Central Station. A similar course of action was followed for the traffic that moved via Chicago - except that a DCM was given a Pullman ticket aboard the "Wolverine," due in CH at 9 a.m.

As suddenly as it had been lost, power was restored, soon after 4 p.m. A great cheer went up! Now the mux operators who had been demoted to the only tasks they could perform around an all-Morse office - that of "check clerks" - were back in business, and they made those old Perforators sound like machine guns!

With normality restored there was a gathering of top brass in the T&R; department. Each person had their own version of the day to relate. One Wire Chief who wrote in a very tiny hand was asked, "How many words can you put on a blank?" He didn't know, but replied, "I can copy a ten-word message in the space of a postage stamp." Some bragged of how many words they could stay behind the sender, and so it went.

Finally Wire Chief spoke up: "I'm not the fastest operator around here, but I can copy a message in French with one hand and one in English with the other at the same time."

The Chief Operator went out in the traffic department and returned with a message from the Montreal Duplex in French, and one in English. The Wire Chief was provided with pencils and pads. The two messages were sent at usual hand key speeds. He made perfect copy of both! Amid cheers and slaps on the back, the Superintendent sent out for hamburgers and near-beer (Prohibition, you know) and the rest of us got back to work.

As the Old Timers told us young squirts, "We handled the business about as fast as the machines, and we were a lot more reliable."

"After Action Report" Supertrain 2023

 The first Supertrain since the "Pandemic Hiatus" was held on April 15 and 16th and was a great success with over 11500 people attending across the two days!

The Calgary "CG" chapter of the Morse Telegraph club created a four station telegraph network that spanned almost 200'. The line connected our display to telegraph installations for three museums that had displays at the show. This network was the first ever live telegraphy display at Supertrain.

The four stations on the line were, from West to East:
HP  Heritage Park  from Calgary AB
WA  Alberta Central Railway Museum from Wetaskiwin AB
CG  Calgary Chapter MTC
BY  Revelstoke Railway Museum from Revelstoke BC
 
Each station on the line consisted of a relay, key, and local sounder with battery.  The line was a 16 Ga copper two conductor cable with the stations spliced into one conductor with the other being the ground return. Power for the line was supplied by a mains connected variable power supply connected to the display in our MTC booth

Your editor
at the MTC Calgary Booth

The total resistance of the circuit was close to 550 Ohms with an additional 500 Ohms added to bring the current down to 46 mA with a voltage from the power supply of 40 V. This worked very well and all the relays were snappy once adjusted on the actual line. However when Bill Wilson of the Alberta Central Museum added his bug the relays could not keep up and he couldn't send. Bumping the voltage up just past 50 V and adjusting the relays a bit allowed the bug to send at full speed and be received at all the stations.

We did some manual sending back and forth from the stations, but the show was very noisy and, at our current skill level, it was too difficult to follow. To keep things moving I had a laptop running MorseKOB, connected to the MTC display with one of Chip Morgan's interfaces, spooling out the first chapter of The Hobbit from our KOBserver. The laptop was connected to the Internet via tethering through my cellphone. This had the advantage of permitting us to demo sending at any of the stations because the KOBserver will back off when the key is opened. One issue was that with the overloaded cell network at the show sometimes the KOBserver would take a bit longer to realize the key was open. Running the KOBserver locally on the laptop alleviated that issue.

I walked around to several other groups with my KOB connected to our KOBserver via another cellphone tether and discussed our proposed Alberta MTC Museum link and had a lot of interest. Once our "proof of concept" is running we will be able to get many more museums and groups connected up in Alberta and Western Canada and potentially as far away as Southern Ontario!

The steady click/clacking of the telegraph sounders attracted a lot of interest from the attendees providing us an excellent opportunity to describe how landline telegraphy works, its history, and use in Railway Operations. The other museums said the same thing, that the sound of the active displays attracted people to their booths.

It also attracted many "old timers" who regaled us with tales of their days as station operators.

All in all a very successful 2023 Supertrain!

Looking forward to more opportunities to demonstrate our skills and show how Landline Telegraphy works at future events.

Calgary "CG" Chapter MTC Members.

L to R
Larry Isenor, Ken Ashmead, Kevin Jepson

L to R
Marilyn Maguire, Joanne Johnson
Maureen McVeigh, Heather Davis

 

The Calgary Chapter Display

The crowds were big!

Lego Trains were a popular spot.

 

First Canadian Collectors Club presentation March 13 2023

 At the monthly meeting of the first Canadian Collectors Club on March 13, 2023, the Calgary “CG” Chapter of the Morse Telegraph Club gave a presentation titled “MORSE TELEGRAPHY AND WHAT IT MEANS TO CANADIAN COLLECTORS”.

Member Kevin Jepson took centre stage and delivered an entertaining and informative talk on Morse. He was followed by Mary Kuipers-Morris, wife of member Selwyn Morris, who gave an equally informative talk about her Morse-related hobby; researching, collecting and displaying glass and porcelain insulators.

The talks concluded with Kevin revealing our want/wish list of telegraph items, figuring that a group of collecting bloodhounds would be much better equipped to find some of the things we are looking for. It was followed by a lively question and answer session.

Kevin Jepson
I took my telegraph office display and set it up with a bunch of telegraph equipment, a couple of CPR train order hoops, and some CPR paperwork. The display was working as a local circuit and was connected via my laptop to our local KOBserver so it would be actively receiving wire traffic during my presentation on the history of the telegraph. A brief version of my presentation follows.

“From the time that the recently bereaved painter Samuel Finley Breese Morse invented the telegraph, and its iconic Morse code in the 1840s, until it was finally replaced in the late 1960s, the telegraph was history's greatest single advancement in communications. Often labelled as the "Victorian Internet", this very simple and elegant electromagnetic system completely changed the world of business, news, politics, and general communications over long distances. For the first time information and messages could be sent hundreds of miles in seconds instead of weeks or months. The first demonstration line, which ran from Washington to Baltimore, carried its first message on May 24 1844. Sent by Morse himself, it was simply "What hath God wrought", or more accurately, "WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT" since all Morse code messages are uppercase, there being no code for shift. By the time of the American Civil War 20 years later there were more than 30,000 miles of telegraph lines including one, completed in 1861, that crossed the continent to California. Nothing in the history of the world has had such a major impact on communications, including the advent of the Internet in our own time.

"Railroads used the telegraph as a way to control the train traffic on their tracks. Single tracks with trains going both ways are tricky to control. The near instantaneous communication between dispatcher and telegraph operators all along the line was critical to the safe operation of the railroads. In Canada the telegraph was always associated with the railroad. The first telegraph into Western Canada was built in the 1870s, years before the railroad, and followed the original proposed route from Winnipeg to Leduc. When the CPR was finally completed in 1885 it was given a monopoly on the telegraph system that largely paralleled its tracks, spanning the vast reaches of Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

"It is fitting therefore that the last known telegraph message in Canada was sent on the CPR telegraph system in 1973 by a CPR telegraph operator in Nanaimo BC. His message was simply "THIS IS THE LAST TELEGRAPH MESSAGE ON THE CPR SYSTEM”, and then he shut it down.”

Mary Kuipers-Morris
“Insulators emerged in the 1840’s with the invention of the telegraph. The first insulators were used by Samuel Morse on the line from Baltimore to Washington. The early insulators were made of glass and were thread-less. The need for glass insulators increased with invention of the telephone in 1876. They were used as a medium to attach wires to poles but they also prevented current loss during transmission and prevented lightning strikes. Both glass and porcelain were used but glass was less expensive. The height of glass making was from 1875 to 1930 with major glass manufacturing plants in California and Colorado. Most manufacturers also made glass dishes, jars, bottles, etc. The most common insulators were made by Armstrong, Brookfield, Dominion, Hemingray and Pyrex.

"Insulators are described or categorized according to their CD (Consolidated Design) numbers. The numbering system is used by collectors to identify design, style and use. The definitive reference guide is North American Glass Insulators by Donald R. Briel. The book breaks down insulators by design, colour variations, base drip points (sharp, round, smooth), anomalies (incorrect spelling, manufacturing date), etc. Many manufacturers used the same design mold so the CD number remains the same.

"Colours varied with manufacturers using whatever raw materials they had on hand or were readily available. Colour has no significance in the function of the insulators but is highly significant to collectors. While the most common colour is aqua or variations of aqua, clear, green, blue, purple and amber were also used. Collectors are drawn to anything unusual such as colour shading, air bubbles, streaks, special embossing, etc.

"Prices vary widely with the common or readily available insulators costing $2 to $20 with less common ones selling around $100. Price increases with rarity or unusual markings or colours. Per Briel, the most expensive, sought after insulator is a CD 735 Chester N.Y. Green worth $10,000 to $15,000.”

Alberta-MTC-Wire Project

Hello fellow Alberta Landline Telegraphers!

 
This is the first post concerning a new "pie in the sky" project proposal for the Alberta-MTC group, and the Calgary "CG" chapter of the main MTC.

The "pie in the sky" element will become clear pretty quickly I suspect :-)

Here is the 30,000' view:

The project is to create a working landline telegraph system that includes ALL (if possible) railroad museum displays in Alberta and potentially Western Canada.

The days when railroads had right of ways and telegraph lines alongside those right of ways to most places in Alberta are long gone. However we are no longer constrained by the existence of physical wires! The widespread adoption of the cellphone network coverage in Alberta and Internet access , even if only dial-up, means that it is possible to have telegraph connectivity pretty much anywhere!

Freed from the need for physical wires, the MorseKOB program and its associated server allow computers running MorseKOB to communicate across any Internet connection. Devices under development allow connection of tiny inexpensive computers to physical telegraph equipment and local circuits, thus putting that equipment into virtual circuits that mimic physical long distance wires.

Imagine walking into any railroad station display in Alberta and hearing their telegraph instruments click clacking away, and not just producing random clicks but actual traffic from other telegraph stations across Alberta and beyond.

It is likely that most museums that include railway station displays have old telegraph equipment as part of that display. My proposal is to hook it all up and get it working again.

This is a potentially big project and not something that can be done simply or, alas, that cheaply.

Subsequent posts to this thread will cover the various phases of the project and the target objectives of each phase.

In thinking about how to proceed, given our small numbers of telegraph "enthusiasts", and of course our very real budget constraints, I have sought to make the objectives of each phase worth while in themselves. So that even if the project never gets past the first couple of phases something useful will have come out of the work. I am also hoping that by keeping the objectives modest that they can be accomplished without stressing us out or putting a burden on our already constrained time and pocketbooks.

As we improve our telegraphy skills this project is also an opportunity to spread landline telegraphy to a larger group of people and perhaps inspire more people to learn! (If only so they can explain what is happening in their displays).

Keep an eye out for further posts and discussions about the #AlbertaMTCwire project on the Alberta-MTC email group Recent posts are highlighted in the box on the left of this page.

The name and hashtag for the project is "#AlbertaMTCwire".

Subsequent posts here on this page will be labelled with "AlbertaMTCwire" and will be available on the Alberta MTC Wire tab above.

This is an exciting project and there will be lots of opportunities to help out so stay tuned!

Thoughts and comments welcome as always.

73
Ciao
KJ 

Editor
and AlbertaMTCwire Wire-Chief

From the Chief Dispatcher!

 

MTC Calgary at Supertrain

 

The Calgary Chapter of the Morse Telegraph Club will be hosting a booth at Supertrain 2023 on April 15 and 16 at the Genesis Centre, 7555 Falconridge Blvd NE in Calgary, Alberta. The show is open to the public from 9 AM to 5 PM both days. The Calgary Chapter will be the focal point of a four station live telegraph circuit, a first for Supertrain. Other points on the line include two Alberta-based museums and a museum from BC. We will use the circuit to demonstrate the art and science of Morse code, the invention that “changed the world”, and how it became central to time table and train order operation on Canada’s railways for more than 100 years. We will also talk about how Morse code supported public communication through the use of telegrams. We will have on display some of the hardware and paperwork that was once common to virtually every train station in Canada and we’ll have a hands-on telegraph display for those who want to try their hand at “slinging lightning”.

 

For those unfamiliar with Supertrain, it is Canada’s largest annual model railroad show, attracting rail fans of all ages and stages since 1995.

You can get the latest on this event from their website here:
Supertrain 2023

 

 

MTC Calgary and First Canadian Collectors Club

 

The Calgary Chapter of the Morse Telegraph Club will be giving a presentation at the March 13 meeting of the First Canadian Collectors Club. The presentation is titled MORSE TELEGRAPHY AND WHAT IT MEANS TO CANADIAN COLLECTORS. The presentation will begin with a brief history of Morse telegraphy and its use in Canada before delving into how the increasing scarcity of once common hardware and paperwork makes collecting it fun, and profitable! It will include a demonstration of the craft and will conclude with a brief question and answer session.

More information on the First Canadian Collectors Club is available from their website here:
First Canadian Collectors Club

 

Mark your calendars and come and join the fun!
73

Ken Ashmead

President

Calgary Chapter of the Morse Telegraph Club

"CG"

The Train and the Telegraph

 This is a fascinating book with an interesting take on the relations between Telegraph companies and Railroads.
Definitely worth a read.

 

The Train and The Telegraph
by Benjamin Sidney Michael Schwantes, 2019

From the Amazon listing:

A challenge to the long-held notion of close ties between the railroad and telegraph industries of the nineteenth century.

To many people in the nineteenth century, the railroad and the telegraph were powerful, transformative forces, ones that seemed to work closely together to shape the economy, society, and politics of the United States. However, the perception—both popular and scholarly—of the intrinsic connections between these two institutions has largely obscured a far more complex and contested relationship, one that created profound divisions between entrepreneurial telegraph promoters and warier railroad managers.

In The Train and the Telegraph, Benjamin Sidney Michael Schwantes argues that uncertainty, mutual suspicion, and cautious experimentation more aptly describe how railroad officials and telegraph entrepreneurs hesitantly established a business and technical relationship. The two industries, Schwantes reveals, were drawn together gradually through external factors such as war, state and federal safety regulations, and financial necessity, rather than because of any perception that the two industries were naturally related or beneficial to each other.

Complicating the existing scholarship by demonstrating that the railroad and telegraph in the United States were uneasy partners at best—and more often outright antagonists—throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, The Train and the Telegraph will appeal to scholars of communication, transportation, and American business history and political economy, as well as to enthusiasts of the nineteenth-century American railroad industry.

 

Boomer Blood

 Another poem from "Sage and High Iron" by CharlesD. Dulin, 1951

From The Westbound Stage website.

The Southern Pacific Co. depot at Carrizozo, New Mexico, c1950, by Peter Hurd.

 

BOOMER BLOOD
from "Sage And High Iron," by Charles D. Dulin
Copyright 2021, by The Westbound Stage

For explanations, hover over any GREEN text.

I'm one who feels the roll of wheels,
The side-door Pullman's bounce and sway,
I've got wild brains and a boomer's veins
And I fret for scenes of the early day.
I like this set but I can't forget,
'Cause the old times hang in my memory
And the tales grow tall when the grab irons call
And a big hog screams at the 'bo in me.

On the line today in my lonely bay
I sit and play with a host of schemes.
As I trace the trails of the gleaming rails
That race in the scope of my vagrant dreams.
I would go back but this drab line shack
Is not so tough on the thin gray hair,
But the clock looks down with a half-cocked frown
As I lean 'way back in my wired-up chair.

Old time rolls on and they say he's gone.
That booming gent from the far decades;
They say at most he's a graveyard ghost
That hangs around when the daylight fades.
When a freight roars by 'neath a cloudless sky
Then my heart beats high and my blood runs free,
And there ain't no walls when the boom-trail calls
And the big hog screams at the 'bo in me.
                                                (Charles D. Dulin)

Happy New Year!

 Wishing you all a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2023!