Telegraph Callsl

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

There are a lot of offices on the Norfolk Division in the 1906 list. If  
you wish to contact me off list, I can work that up.

Ken Miller
On May 5, 2006, at 11:52 AM, nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org wrote:


>

> Abe,

>

> Do you have the telegraph calls for the Norfolk Division?  I know two:  

>  The

> passenger station at Crewe was RG; the operator at the division  

> headquarters

> was K.

>

> Bill Mason

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org

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> nw-mailing-list-request at nwhs.org

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> Subject: NW-Mailing-List Digest, Vol 4, Issue 5

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> Today's Topics:

>

>    1. Re: Open House (nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org)

>    2. Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- Q for Ken Miller

>       (nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org)

>    3. Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- Q for Ken Miller

>       (nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org)

>    4. RE: Scioto Div. station info needed- Q for Ken Miller

>       (nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org)

>    5. Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- TELEGRAPH CALLS

>       (nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org)

>    6. Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- TELEGRAPH CALLS

>       (nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org)

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

> Message: 1

> Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 08:39:27 -0400

> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Subject: Re: Open House

> To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Message-ID: <00f301c66f77$c9fc3be0$6001a8c0 at BobsRetirement>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

>

> Was there a telegraph id for this station.

>

> Bob Beckelhimer

> Milford, OH.

>   ----- Original Message -----

>   From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

>   To: N&W mailing-list

>   Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 8:53 PM

>   Subject: Open House

>

>

>

>   The Mt. Orab Women's Club is having an Open House for the Mt. Oreb  

> Station

> in Mt. Orab, Ohio on Sunday May 21st from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.

>   This is a rare opportunity to see inside this well preserved station  

> on

> the Cincinnati District.  The will be refreshments, door prizes and  

> plenty

> of entertainment.  The Women's Cliub has spent a great deal of time,  

> money

> and effert to help keep this all to often overlooked and disposed of  

> part of

> history preserved for future generations to enjoy.  You wont be  

> disapointed.

> Come out and show your support!

>

>

>   Jeff Wood

>   twlv18japie at earthlink.net

>   EarthLink Revolves Around You.

>

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

> -----

> --

>

>

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>

> Message: 2

> Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 08:56:06 EDT

> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Subject: Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- Q for Ken Miller

> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Message-ID: <259.a8114b9.318b53e6 at aol.com>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>

> In a few instances, a station's call reflected a previous  name.   

> Montvale

> on the Norfolk Division had originally been named BUford's.  The  call

> for Montvale remained "BU".   As far as "VD' for Alnwick,   there had

> been a tower at the east end of Bluefield yard -  "RD"  supposedly  for

> Radford  Division.  With the consolidation of the Norfolk,  Shenandoah,

> and Radford divisions into one - the Virginia Division,  some  thought

> was given to renaming that interlocking  "VD".

>

> The "call" wasn't for a station, but to raise the dispatcher, some

> roads used "DS" and some used "DI".  The Chief Dispatcher

> was "CQ".

>                                                      Harry Bundy

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>

> Message: 3

> Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 13:04:57 GMT

> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Subject: Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- Q for Ken Miller

> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Message-ID: <20060504.060530.8420.872565 at webmail39.nyc.untd.com>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>

> Ken,

>        Thanks for the reply. I know some calls were from as example  

> named

> from a nearby creek or road name on some occasions. Make note that L is

> rarely used as it is a long dah and T has a shorter dah at least with  

> the

> prefix letter and was very confusing. The letter K was used in place  

> of the

> L in most cases, and Q in place of  P as another.

>

> Terry

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> ------------------------------

>

> Message: 4

> Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 10:41:50 -0400

> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Subject: RE: Scioto Div. station info needed- Q for Ken Miller

> To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Message-ID:

> 	<294183F2D667B247BA14C1EDDA0E8E1D6A8C00 at EXCHANGEVS.senco.com>

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>

> Hopetown was just above Chillicothe maybe a 1/2 mile w/b of the N&W/C&O

> Northern overpass.  Hopetown was a stop used in the summertime for

> revival meetings.  Was there a temporary operator there for passenger

> trains stops during the revival season?  Can't say.

>

> In this area, the revival 'camps' had stops on the Scioto Valley

> Traction line nearby.  The Hocking Valley/C&O had a similar stop, but

> with a permanent station, over by Lancaster Ohio.

>

> Gary Rolih

> Cincinnati

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org

> [mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of

> nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 11:12 PM

> To: NW Mailing List

> Subject: Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- Q for Ken Miller

>

> Terry

>

> There is no listing at all for Hopetown in the any of my lists, on up

> through the 1950s

>

> Telegraphic calls were occasionally repeated on different divisions,

> such as W was used for Wytheville on the Bristol Line, and

> Willardsville on the Durham District and Hanging Rock, Ohio on the

> Scioto Division. Even stranger on the Scioto Division, WI was used at

> the same time for both Idlewild on the Cincinnati District, and

> Wilsondale on the 12 Pole line.

>

> RS was used for Richlands on the Clinch Valley District.

>

> I don't believe that the name of the location had a specific plan of a

> telegraphic call, since stations came and went with time, some of the

> earliest stations had single letter calls, such as Lynchburg as X, Q

> for Abingdon, etc.

>

> Others like FM for Falls Mills makes sense, but BX for Christiansburg

> and any large number of others does not. Wouldn't WS be the expected

> call for Winston Salem, NC? Apparently not, as north on the Shenandoah

> Division was WS, used at Nace. Probably the most unusual would be

> calling the agent at Alnwick with the call VD?

>

> It would be nice to know some of the thoughts about calls, and how they

> were assigned, I am sure there is some form of logic. Perhaps some were

> made up simply because they would be easier to send and not easily

> confused to other operators, I really do not know.

>

> Hope this helps

>

> Ken Miller

> On May 3, 2006, at 6:05 PM, nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org wrote:

>

>>  Question for Ken Miller on a few more station calls,

>>

>>

>> Was there a call for Hopetown Oh. on the Columbus Dist.?

>>

>>  Also what other calls were used for D and RS in the Scioto Div.? I

>> know

>> Rarden was D then changed to RA, and RS was Idelwild then changed to

> WI

>> and assuming when the N&W taken over the CP&V they were changed to

>> prevent conflict on the Scioto Valley line station calls of the same.

>> Perhaps D was for Dean Wv.? RS for Rowe Siding on the Wolf Creek

> branch

>> in Wv.?

>>

>>  The other calls I seen were obvious of change like RN for Wichester

> as

>> Columbus Union depot was RN.

>>

>> Thanks,

>>

>> Terry Mefford

>> ________________________________________

>> NW-Mailing-List at nwhs.org

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>

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>

> ------------------------------

>

> Message: 5

> Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 16:19:29 +0000

> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Subject: Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- TELEGRAPH CALLS

> To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Message-ID:

> 	

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> E9D9F

> @comcast.net>

> 	

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>

> Some of the mystery/confusion about Telegraph Calls can be removed if  

> one

> remembers what they were used for.

>

> The Telegraph Call (a.k.a the "Office Call") was the caller's way of  

> raising

> the attention of the telegrapher in the office being called.  Telegraph

> Calls had to be short, so as to be snappy and catch attention as the

> clicking telegraph sounder competed with the din of other noises in the

> depot.  Thus, instead of the Despatcher (note the old spelling of that  

> word

> ! ) having to hammer out in dots and dashes the whole word  

> E-L-L-I-S-T-O-N,

> all he had to do was send "BS."  If the telegrapher at "BS" Elliston  

> didn't

> answer immediately, he sent "BS   BS   BS," until BS answered.

>

> Actually, the protocol was just a bit more complex.  Rather than  

> writing out

> the informal rule for calling and answering, I'll give an example.  In  

> this

> example, the Train Despatcher at "R" Office Roanoke wants to raise the

> telegraph operator at "AG" Shawsville.  Here would be the sequence.

>

> "AG  R      AG AG  AG  R"

>

> When Shawsville answers, he sends:

>

> "I AG"

>

> And then the Train Dispatcher goes ahead with his business, for  

> instance

> telling AG to get ready to copy train orders, "19 E CY 3"

>

> The foregoing tells why telegraph offices had office calls.

>

> Now, let's move to the question of duplicated  Office Calls.

>

> Every office had to have a unique call.  There could not be two  

> offices with

> the same Telegraph Call.  To have duplicate calls would be like  

> everyone on

> the wire being named Bill.

>

> Calls were generally changed only when train dispatching districts were

> merged.  If two dispatching territories were combined (as has happened

> frequently over the years, for a number of reasons, one of which was

> improved communications,) and each of the former districts had an  

> office

> called "BX," one of them had to be changed to preserve uniqueness.

>

> Telegraph Calls are fascinating.  I've been collecting lists of them  

> for

> more than thirty years.  And there were a lot of Telegraph Calls that  

> never

> made it into any timetable (e.g. "MW" for Machine Works, Roanoke  

> Shops, and

> "R" the Radford Division Train Despatcher in Roanoke.)

>

> -- abram burnett

>         (sending from "SW" Telegraph Office in the basement...)

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> ------------------------------

>

> Message: 6

> Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 15:41:13 -0400

> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Subject: Re: Scioto Div. station info needed- TELEGRAPH CALLS

> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Cc: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Message-ID: <20060504.154113.2692.1.n8wel at juno.com>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

>

> Abe,

>                 One question is what would the dispatcher call be for

> Portsmouth (Scioto div.) I presume P? I know even to the last day  

> before

> the move to Ft. Wayne under NS they had 3 desks for the 3 districts  

> which

> never changed over the years and was rare if any.

>

> NYC/ CCC&STL used DI , PRR used the division operator call to relay  

> info

> to the DI.

>

>  Also was train orders sent in full body word text rather than

> abbreviated.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Terry Mefford

>

> On Thu, 04 May 2006 16:19:29 +0000 nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:

> Some of the mystery/confusion about Telegraph Calls can be removed if  

> one

> remembers what they were used for.

>

> The Telegraph Call (a.k.a the "Office Call") was the caller's way of

> raising the attention of the telegrapher in the office being called.

> Telegraph Calls had to be short, so as to be snappy and catch attention

> as the clicking telegraph sounder competed with the din of other noises

> in the depot.  Thus, instead of the Despatcher (note the old spelling  

> of

> that word ! ) having to hammer out in dots and dashes the whole word

> E-L-L-I-S-T-O-N, all he had to do was send "BS."  If the telegrapher at

> "BS" Elliston didn't answer immediately, he sent "BS   BS   BS," until  

> BS

> answered.

>

> Actually, the protocol was just a bit more complex.  Rather than  

> writing

> out the informal rule for calling and answering, I'll give an example.

> In this example, the Train Despatcher at "R" Office Roanoke wants to

> raise the telegraph operator at "AG" Shawsville.  Here would be the

> sequence.

>

> "AG  R      AG AG  AG  R"

>

> When Shawsville answers, he sends:

>

> "I AG"

>

> And then the Train Dispatcher goes ahead with his business, for  

> instance

> telling AG to get ready to copy train orders, "19 E CY 3"

>

> The foregoing tells why telegraph offices had office calls.

>

> Now, let's move to the question of duplicated  Office Calls.

>

> Every office had to have a unique call.  There could not be two offices

> with the same Telegraph Call.  To have duplicate calls would be like

> everyone on the wire being named Bill.

>

> Calls were generally changed only when train dispatching districts were

> merged.  If two dispatching territories were combined (as has happened

> frequently over the years, for a number of reasons, one of which was

> improved communications,) and each of the former districts had an  

> office

> called "BX," one of them had to be changed to preserve uniqueness.

>

> Telegraph Calls are fascinating.  I've been collecting lists of them  

> for

> more than thirty years.  And there were a lot of Telegraph Calls that

> never made it into any timetable (e.g. "MW" for Machine Works, Roanoke

> Shops, and "R" the Radford Division Train Despatcher in Roanoke.)

>

> -- abram burnett

>         (sending from "SW" Telegraph Office in the basement...)

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