Ray Johnson Camrose's last operator reminisces

This video is the reminiscences of Ray Johnson who retired as the last Station Agent at Camrose Alberta in 1987.

Courtesy of the Canadian Northern Society.

Enjoy

Supertrain 2024

The Calgary (CG) chapter of the Morse Telegraph Club had a display at this years Supertrain which was held at the Genesis Center in NE Calgary on April 20-21. Over 10,000 attendees came to this event, the largest model train show in Canada.

Our display was the hub of a four station physical telegraph network extending across more than 200'. The four stations were at the booths of Heritage Park (HP), Central Alberta Railway Museum (WA), Revelstoke Railway Museum (BY), and the Calgary MTC (CG). All are stations that will be on the MTC line. 

 

Our display also included a fantastic quilt showing the American Morse Code created by the talented Janice Povey. 

Last year we mostly sent canned text across the wire to keep the stations active.  This year we had telegraphers sending text from each station almost continuously. It was too noisy at the event to copy the text, but it was interesting to send back and forth in real time.

 As part of the MTC Line project proof of concept, I had a portable display that was battery powered and using the current incarnation of the software and hardware setup of a typical station on the line. This, along with the MTC display, was connected to the server across the Internet and therefore actually connected to the Alberta MTC Line. The portable station was used to send traffic across the line to the MTC display and then on to the Supertrain physical telegraph line. The slight delay between sending and receiving between the two stations made for an interesting effect at the booth.

The live map of the MTC Line displayed on our KOB Server website during the event.

 Despite having all the traffic going across the link, provided by tethering through my Android phone, it hardly showed on my data usage. It used a mere 268 MB of data. 

Telegraph traffic is very data friendly.

Several people from groups expressing an interest in joining up their museums to the MTC Line were at Supertrain. It was a pleasure meeting you all in person!

It was a very successful event and a great opportunity to show that Morse Code still alive and kicking.

73
Ciao
KJ

Some pictures from the event.

 MTC Calgary Chapter members
L to R
Unkonwn(Sorry), Ken Ashmead (Dispatcher), Kevin Jepson (Wire Chief), Larry Isenor (Telegrapher) Janice Povey (Telegrapher and Quilt Maker Extraordinaire), Maureen McVeigh (Telegrapher)

 

Calgary Chapter MTC Treasurer and Telegrapher Marilyn Maguire  bravely manning the Heritage Park station keeping up a continuous stream of messages!

 

 

Bill Atkinson from the Alberta Central Railway Museum keeps a watchful eye on the traffic through the WA station.

Memory

From the Syracuse Post-Standard, Sun., Sept. 23, 1945 

Just a fleeting memory of an old-time Syracusan who also was prominent

along the Hojack 40 years ago:

Louis Windholtz owned and operated a canning factory at Parish for many

years. He was a kindly man, with a keen sense of humor as the subjoined

trifle will show.

I was a "student: at the Parish station, learning (I hoped) to be a

telegrapher. I was alone in the office one day, Agent Shaver having gone to

the village for a short time.

Mr. Windholtz came in and inquired about something, the details of which

I do not recall. Blown up with pride at being in charge of the office for

even so brief a period, I gave him the kind of answer which was known, in

those times, as 'fresh."

Louis eyed me for a long moment; his eyes twinkled and he said:

"Ach so! Venn ve sveep der floor, ve run der railroadt, 'nicht wahr."

 

The Days of Old, the days of Gold,

When skies were blue and fair;

Ah, knew not I that these would die,

Or, if I knew, would care.

But Memory is a living thing,

Or gay, or sad it be -

And, so I say to you today,

"Thank God for Memory!"

Eternal Tie

 Another poem from "Sage and High Iron" by Charle's H. Dulin.

Found in the Poetry section of The Westbound Stage site.

Enjoy!

The Village Depot at Martinsburg, Missouri, c1900

 

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

We cannot reach the moon or stars
Or dabble in the Milky Way;
We cannot grasp the brilliant Mars,
Nor change a single night to day.
These things are far beyond the groove
We humans occupy, but then,
Right here on earth we can't remove
The railroad from the railroad men.

It's in the blood, there must it stay,
Becoming stronger hour by hour . . .
The yards, the trains, the rights of way,
The signals, wires and motive power.
If Heaven has no rails and ties,
And earthly memory serves us then,
We'll be a bunch of lonely guys,
We railroad men . . . we railroad men.
                                                (Charles D. Dulin)

Hooping a Diesel Locomotive

This is a great shot!
Sent in by our Calgary Chapter President Ken Ashmead.
Enjoy
KJ

I was doing some research and came across this great shot of a train order hooping taken by ace photographer Bill Hooper. It has a few of my favourite things … an agent with hoop in hand, a head-end brakeman with hoop in hand, a classic CPR station (Lake Windermere BC), a long freight train and a diesel in the CPR’s classic maroon and grey paint scheme. 

And look at the agent’s daughter!

Ken

Adjusting Sounders

This article came from ArtiFax Books in 2001.
Found at the Internet Archive.

Enjoy

Using vintage telegraph instruments:
Applying power to old sounders.

Tom French W1IMQ "the McElroy collector" Always interested in acquiring T.R. McElroy instruments, catalogs and paper. Contact me if you have any for sale or trade.August 2001

Collecting old landline telegraph keys, sounders and relays is an interesting hobby. These historic communication instruments were "state of the art" back in the 1800s, and were still in use right up through the 1950s and later. They bring visions of the American West and railroads. They make interesting display pieces.

More interesting is to hook them up to a battery and try them out. Re-create the sound of the Western Union office and the old railroad depot. On this page I will try to help you check out and power up your sounders. References to back issues of The Vail Correspondent (TVC) are given for those who want to research this field in more detail.

 

The typical sounder is simply two electromagnets (coils of wire on an iron core) set up to attract a steel
bar. This bar is attached to a non-magnetic (brass or aluminum) lever. When the magnets are activated the lever is pulled down, producing a "click" when the lever is stopped by an adjustable screw. When the circuit is broken, a spring returns the lever to its original position, causing a "clack" as the lever hits another stop screw.These sounds, and the time interval between them, are used to send a message in Morse Code. (Reference: TVC8.)

A sounder should be adjusted so that a small gap (the thickness of a sheet of paper is enough) is left between the bar and the magnets when the sounder is energized. Then adjust the upper lever stop screw so there is about 1/16 inch of lever travel. Finally, adjust the spring so that the lever moves easily. (The last two adjustments can be refined later to produce the most pleasing sound.)

Before you can get a sounder to work there must be electrical continuity in the wiring, from one wire terminal to the other. A quick test with a 3 to 6 volt battery may do -- but just touch the battery wires to the terminals quickly, since this may be too much voltage for some sounders. On the other hand, it may not be enough voltage for other sounders; if the lever does not pull in, press it down and see if it's held by the magnets. If so, the circuit is complete.

Or you can test the wiring with an ohmmeter. This will also tell you (if the wiring is good) the resistance of the sounder, which you will need to know. If the battery or meter test is not successful, it may be simply that the corrosion on the wires and terminals will not permit the proper result. In that case, clean the surfaces. Broken wires are common, and will have to be repaired.

Now determine the sounder resistance. This is usually stamped on the top or side of the instrument. If not, use your ohmmeter. Sounders are current-operated instruments. Generally the following applies (these are not critical; a 25% variation would not be harmful to the instrument):
... 4-ohm instruments are intended for 250 milliampere lines, and require 1 volt;
... 20 ohm instruments require 175 ma (3.5 volts); and
... 150 ohm main line instruments require 40 ma (6 volts).

 

In the old days, gravity batteries ("crowfoot battery") might be used. One gravity cell puts out about 1.08 volts. A 4-ohm sounder in my collection has a Western Union label on it that says "This sounder is designed for use with one cell only of gravity battery." (Batteries are discussed in TVC17). For home use, common dry cells are sufficient. You might, for example, use one or two D cells (1.5 to 3 volts) for a 4-ohm sounder. Putting a milliammeter in the circuit will be helpful. Of course, a vintage Western Union meter is best!

You may find your sounder to be "sluggish" even though you have applied the proper voltage; this is more often the case with high-resistance (main line) instruments -- 100 to 150 ohms. You may be tempted to increase the voltage to get a good sound out of it. But this is the wrong approach. The sluggishness of operation is due to the inductance of the magnet coils and the relatively long time constant of the circuit. The time constant is proportional to the inductance, and inversely proportional to the resistance of the circuit: T=L/R.

To get "snappy" sounder operation, you should decrease the time constant. Looking at the formula, this is done by increasing the resistance of the circuit (adding a series resistor, or so-called "ballast"). Now, in order to get the required current again, you may increase the voltage (see TVC10). Use non-inductive resistors, of course.

I hope this information will help you get more enjoyment out of your collecting. More information on Morse instruments appears in the "Landline" column of TVC. (Note, TVC is no longer published, although back issues are available. See the TVC page on this web site.) Landline telegraph instruments, circuits and practices are also included in the "Railroad Telegrapher's Handbook" and in Prescott's "History, Theory and Practice of the Electric Telegraph".

In the Office

 A tale from Just Around the Corner By Betrande Snell
Syracuse Post-Standard, May 9, 1946

I went over to Oswego one night in August, 1901. I was on my way to Newfane, Niagara County, where I was going to work as telegrapher on the Hojack. As you know, the west end of the Hojack runs from Oswego to Suspension Bridge, following pretty closely the shore of Lake Ontario all the way.

Here at Oswego, was the dispatcher's office, the division offices being situated in Watertown. A new superintendent had just come to Watertown. He was from down New York City way and not widely known in these parts at the time. He barged into the Oswego dispatcher's office one evening for the first time. He walked over to Roy Nutting, the message operator, and asked:

"Anything there for me, young man?"

Roy looked up from his sounder and seeing a perfect stranger before him, promptly remarked:

"I can't say - would they have your picture on 'em?"

Mr. Hustis, being a man with a sense of humor, recovered almost immediately from the shock, introduced himself and was accorded proper service. Yes, Roy was always that way, he had a snappy pick up, and he could let you down easily, or otherwise, as his mood might dictate - a prince of a good fellow!

Railroad telegraph operator A.L. Krenke at work in the Santa Fe Depot

 

From the Chief Dispatcher

Supertrain 2024

The Calgary chapter of the MTC will once again be attending Supertrain, Calgary’s annual model railway show.

The show will go on Saturday April 20 and Sunday April 21 and is open to the public from 9 AM to 5 PM MT.

The Calgary chapter will have a booth featuring the art and science that is Morse and we will be talking about the Alberta Line Project. MTC Calgary is spearheading the project with plans to bring live Morse traffic to every museum in the province of Alberta that has telegraph equipment sitting silently collecting dust. At Supertrain we will again have numerous “stations” connected to a local Morse circuit as a proof of concept for the project.

So, if you’re in the Calgary area in April we encourage you to come to Supertrain. It’s Canada’s largest model railway show attracting exhibitors and guests from Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest.

For more information on Supertrain, please visit:

 https://www.supertrain.ca/. 

For more information on the MTC in Alberta, and the line project, please visit the Alberta MTC Line tab on this page.

A report on last year's Supertrain telegraph setup is here.

——

Thank you

73

Ken Ashmead, President

Morse Telegraph Club, Calgary “CG" Chapter