Trackside Phones

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

A general Google of "railroad telephone" led to this webpage, which is titled "Telephone Equipment in Railway Applications" on the "Telephone Tribute" website:

 http://www.telephonetribute.com/railroad_phone_equip.htm

Most of this article is about the fixed installations and is pretty technical - beyond my easy comprehension.  However, scroll down to the bottom and there is:

1.)  A photo of a restored station agent's installation at the Santa Rosa station of the NWP (Northwestern Pacific ?), though mislabeled as the "dispatcher's desk"; and,

2.)  Better yet, at the very bottom of the page is an illustration of what appears to be a conductor standing on the running board of a steam locomotive with flood waters halfway up its drivers, talking on the field phone with the portable phone box hung off one of the classification lights on the locomotive's smokebox, and with the phone's wires draped from the box to the phone's pole hanging from an adjacent lineside pole, where it appears to be connected to the wire circuit.  It appears to be from a reproduction of the front cover of the April 1913 Western-Electric News (magazine), Vol. II, No. 2.  Check it out !

 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

I ran a "Google Advanced Image Search" for "railroad telephone", got 209 "hits" in return, clicked on this one first - titled "Telephones on the Narrow Gauge" - and immediately got some pretty useful information:

http://www.faradic.net/~gsraven/telegraph_tales/drgw/instruments/telephone.html

Click on the blue "hotlinks" within it, too, for more info, esp. this one for "The 1314-A Portable Railroad Telephone Set":

http://www.faradic.net/~gsraven/telegraph_tales/drgw/instruments/1341a_fone_cat_sheet.JPG

Look around a little more, and enjoy !

- Paul North.

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

As for usage, my suggestion would be that this phone would be carried in the caboose, and could be taken to a lineside pole and connected to the train wire (dispatcher's phone line), either by scaling the pole or by having a wire pair available at ground level, perhaps in a phone box.  That would help reduce vandalism and theft of the telephone instruments. 

The conductor could also contact the dispatcher from virtually anywhere on the line.  Not as convenient as radio, but a large step up from having to use Morse code (which was also done).

My understanding is that the conductor would have had a longish pole with a loop or contacts at the far end - and of course leads down to the bottom - with which he could reach up and tie into the Dispatcher's line.  Someplace I've seen a black-and-white photo of that . . . like in an old AAR or company PR publication  . . . but I can't quite recall exactly where, though.

- Paul North.

[jeffhergert]

I don't have a line side telephone box, but I do have an operator's desk phone.  The candlestick kind on the scissor extension with a headset.  I have it hooked up to my phone line.  I can't dial out on it, but I can answer on it.

Out around Omaha there are still a couple of metal boxes stenciled "UP Phone."  The phones have been removed and the boxes are empty.  There are also a few of those yard talk back/speakers around, also out of service.

Jeff      

[tree68]

since i found this topic..i went to the closet and pulled it out to see if i could find a year made or anything like that on it..all i was able to find was a lable that says Monophone  made by Automatic Electric and on the inside top cover is a small circit diagram of how the wireing is inside the unit....now im curiouse to when this was made... anyone have any ideas 

csx engineer 

I'm guessing here, for the most part, but...

Googles for Monophone and Automatic Electric show products in the 30's-50's range.   I couldn't find anything that resembled what you describe.  Is there a model number on the schematic anywhere?

As for usage, my suggestion would be that this phone would be carried in the caboose, and could be taken to a lineside pole and connected to the train wire (dispatcher's phone line), either by scaling the pole or by having a wire pair available at ground level, perhaps in a phone box.  That would help reduce vandalism and theft of the telephone instruments. 

The conductor could also contact the dispatcher from virtually anywhere on the line.  Not as convenient as radio, but a large step up from having to use Morse code (which was also done).

[Modelcar]

....Over in my home area in Pennsylvania on the S&C of ex B&O, one could see those concrete phone {shelters, booths}, along that railroad.....I know of one person that has one on his home property....They were similar to octagon shaped and perhaps 6 or 7' in height.  Don't know how anyone would have moved them off RR ROW to get them home....Surely, they had pretty good weight.

[Modelcar]

.....Larry, over in Johnstown, Pa. not too many years ago there were still fire boxes on poles at various locations.  I did stop and take a pic of one of them, but I'm sure it's not in digital....It's a good clear photo too.

I would wager there are still some of them at various locations on poles.  Of course none of them were in use anymore.  I'm surprised there were any still there the way some people will take anything regardless to whom it belongs.

[csxengineer98]

since i found this topic..i went to the closet and pulled it out to see if i could find a year made or anything like that on it..all i was able to find was a lable that says Monophone  made by Automatic Electric and on the inside top cover is a small circit diagram of how the wireing is inside the unit....now im curiouse to when this was made... anyone have any ideas 

csx engineer 

[csxengineer98]

i got a what someone told me was an old caboose phone.. basicly its a small metal box that has a shoulder strap on so it can be carried.. it has a phone type hand peice and 2 places where you can hook up 2 wires with tighten down screws to hold them in place as well as a place to put in 4 D sized batteries...it has Eire railroad in yellow paint stenscled on the sides... dont know nor did i ever do the resurch to find out if it was to be used at phone boxs type locations or was an early attempt of a hand held 2 way radio....

csx engineer 

[CShaveRR]

Are you going to put a phone in it?

My dad had a large antique phone, with a crank on one side and the receiver and hook on the opposite, with a mouthpiece bell on teh front--wood finish.  In the antique store he owned, he hinged the front of the phone and gutted it--inside he installed a working touch-tone wall phone.  Two surprises--one when the thing rang, and another when you opened it up to answer the real phone (Dad's day job was for the phone company).

[tree68]

I've got a fire box (rings 1 4), but not a railroad phone box...

[UPRR engineer]

We still have one in use where i work, so there not totally gone yet.

 Ya aught to get yourself a yard squawk box also, then ya would have alot of questions to answer.

[SFbrkmn]

Last wknd I traveled to southwest  KS to a estate sale of a retired SF worker who had several rr items for sale. A fool & his money, I came back home w/a trackside dispatcher phone box. Up until about 20 yrs ago, this was the primary method of train to dispatcher communication until the upgraded microwave radio systems were installed. In the 1980's as a train watcher, I remember seeing phone boxes  all along the trks. This now has all faded.. I remember when the Mopac local would come in town, they stopped at the SF crossing, the brkmn would get off and walk almost one block to the phone to call the SF dispatcher to ask for a signal. Of course all this chatter now talkes place on the radio (or reverting back to phone via cell calls). My plans are to repaint the box  silver, stencil it "phone", mount it to a post and set it in my back yard. I just had concrete poured for a patio and I'm hoping to get this done in a few wks as I'm going to have a cookout. No doubt a phone box in my back yd will strike up interesting conversation from non rr people. Question: do any of you out there have a phone box in your personall collection? Its a item you just hear about in rr talk.