utility pole question

[NW Mailing List]

Bill and Bruce

Thanks for the replies.   Clearly the poles make sense.  Just did not think it through before asking.   I think the word "clipping" led me to imagine "spring loaded attachment" rather than just "physical contact by hanging".   So I was trying to solve a problem that did not exist.   KISS.  

Jim Stapleton

On May 6, 2023, at 11:16, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:


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)


<Western_Electric_News_ad.pdf
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