In old time rail photos, and even on some lucky lines today, railroads were famous for having telegraph poles along their ROW.
Can anyone tell me exactly what they were used for? Anotherwords, was it used for station-station communications only?
Could train crews use them if they were stranded somewhere in the woods?
When was the system put out of use?
I remember riding the Newtown Branch in its final years, and one time we stopped about a 1/4 mile before the Bethayers diamonds so the engineer (or motorman since they were transit div. personell then) to signal the Bethayers dispatcher that we were ready to cross. He used a telephone in a box attached to a telegraph pole.
Most of these poles are gone today, some remain on the Newtown Line, but most Lines in the SEPTA system don't have them anymore. If you follow the mainline North of Lansdale they come back into view. Most even still have all their wires intact.
I'm interested in this because my great-grandfather was a telegraph operator in Sellersville, so I'd like to know what dates the systems were in place, and what succeded them.
Thanks in advance for any info.
Can anyone tell me exactly what they were used for? Anotherwords, was it used for station-station communications only?
Could train crews use them if they were stranded somewhere in the woods?
When was the system put out of use?
I remember riding the Newtown Branch in its final years, and one time we stopped about a 1/4 mile before the Bethayers diamonds so the engineer (or motorman since they were transit div. personell then) to signal the Bethayers dispatcher that we were ready to cross. He used a telephone in a box attached to a telegraph pole.
Most of these poles are gone today, some remain on the Newtown Line, but most Lines in the SEPTA system don't have them anymore. If you follow the mainline North of Lansdale they come back into view. Most even still have all their wires intact.
I'm interested in this because my great-grandfather was a telegraph operator in Sellersville, so I'd like to know what dates the systems were in place, and what succeded them.
Thanks in advance for any info.