Did the N&W Ever Have a "Cipher Code" ?

[NW Mailing List]

Telegraph "Cipher Codes" were rather common on railroads back in the day when business moved over Telegraph wires. They all began with the sentence, "The purpose of this code is brevity, not secrecy." 

Cipher Codes employed brief words to replace commonly-used phrases, e.g. MUD = "Regarding your message of ---," ASH = "How many engines do you have on hand?," MAUD = "Please reserve lower berth for ---," HARBOR = "Has bill of lading been surrendered?" 

These documents were generally issued by the General Superintendent of Transportation and, on some roads, carried a "CT" number. (The one I am looking at is an 1897 PRR Cipher Code, and caries the form number CT-900.) Several of the biggest railroads even employed a "Telegraph Censor," whose job it was to inspect telegrams, make sure they were not unnecessarily wordy, "if their purpose could have been served by forwarding in company mail" instead of tying up the telegraph lines, and whether the senders were utilizing the Cipher Code words for brevity. (Talk about a cream-puff job !) 

Has anyone ever seen an N&W Cipher Code book? 

-- abram burnett 

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