Telegraph Office.

[tutpc]

Have just acquired a number of telegraph poles and would like to run them from  a telegraph office at the train depot. Have a couple of buildings that I could adapt for this purpose. I am sure that someone has done this in the past. Any photos or sites on the internet where I could get some ideas from would be appreciated. 

[dwbeckett]

A lot telegraph office's are co-located in stations.

Dave

[tutpc]

Thanks Dave I was thinking of an earlier era around late 1800's early 1900 to fit in with my railroad. Probably standing on their own in early days.

Alan

[vsmith]

It depends on what the telegraph is used for. As railroads moved west the telegraph went with them. If the telegraph was owned and operated by and for the RR the operator wound be inside the station as Dave points out. Telegraphs were a necessity to make schedules work so the RRs used them constantly, the station master was expected to know Morse and maintain the equipment. Local communications using the telegraph were allowed but were given a much lower priority to company traffic.

Later when private companies like Western Union set up secondary cables on the telegraph poles these lines would indeed be run into a private seperate building. Once companies like this arrived in towns the RRs generally gave up the private communications allowing the private companies to handle all the business and personal traffic while the RRs continued to use thier system for company traffic.

This was typical as far back as the 1860s

[ttrigg]

Some key dates on the telegraph:

 

1844 US telegraph system was 40 miles of wire from Washington to Baltimore.

 

1846-47 lines extended to Philadelphia and New York.

 

1848-50 RR telegraph consisted of “local lines”. Two telegraph keys in the RR station one to the town to the east and one to the town to the west along the rails. Any “long distant communications had to be repeated at each town.

 

1851 Western Union began “long distance” communications renting pole space from the RR for their wires. WU had “relay offices” every 150-180 miles of wire. As equipment improved each year this distance grew.

 

1852 “Earthing” introduced. Telegraphs needed only one wire. Existing two wires were dedicated one eastbound the other westbound (North/South)

 

1853-54 National web of telegraph fairly well complete with 4 wires on poles following the rails. A pair for the RR to the next town in each direction to control rail traffic and a pair for WU long distance communications (300-400 miles between relay offices). WU began connecting towns without RR’s to their network.

 

1877 Bell Telephone began running wires along the RR right of way on its own poles just off the RoW.

 

1881 Postal Telegraph System (US Post Office) began a network that did not follow the rails connecting the country through local towns, usually operated by the local postmaster. 1943 PTS sold off to WU.

 

RR telegraph office was normally in a “bay window” facing the rails, also sold tickets. One in three WU offices were in the station on the street side. Others were “add-ons” to existing nearby structures like General Store or Sheriffs office. Generally the only time WU office was in a stand-alone structure was for their relay office. In “cow-towns” (where ranchers delivered their herds to the RR) the WU office was a main part of the cattle pens office, allowing sellers and buyers direct communications.

 

Tutpc – I hope this info gives you an idea of what and how to run your wires. Almost anything goes and can be correct. If you decide to co-locate you WU office in the depot remember to run your wires across the roof to the first pole. The RR wires would go up a short pole atop the roof to the first pole.

[tutpc]

Thanks Tom for a comprehensive reply to my query. I liked the line "almost anything goes and can be correct" this sort of fits in for me. It gives me more leeway of what I can do. We had a completely different system here in the UK  no Pony Express for us!!

Thanks for the help. Alan