utility pole question

[NW Mailing List]

On Fri, May 5, 2023 at 8:23 PM Jim wrote:

> This was done so that the Section Foreman (or others) needing to talk to
> the Train Dispatcher could identify the pair of wires which carried his
> voice circuit, and could clip their portable telephone onto the pair.
>
> So my question is, who got to climb the pole to clip the portable phone to
> the line?   Or am I missing an important detail?
>

>From the beginning of telephone dispatching, portable phone sets were
available. Western Union was one of the manufacturers. This ad from their
1914 newsletter gives a decent view of the setup. It was basically several
sections of a light pole that could be easily stored on an engine, caboose,
car, someplace convenient. When needed, the sections were connected
together so the metal contact on the end could reach the phone wires. Once
dropped onto the bare wires, contact was made and the wire from the pole
was connected to the portable phone box. From there, the system operated
like any other lineside or station phone. Search "railroad portable
dispatcher phone" on Google and you will find quite a discussion of
portable phones, "fish poles," and how valuable such an apparatus was to
running a railroad.

Bruce in Blacksburg (who saw part of such an apparatus in the Bedford
station years ago before it became a restaurant)
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