Maintaining Secrecy at the N&W

[NW Mailing List]

Telegrams could be read by anyone if they happened to be laying around, including station agents.  Most businesses used encryption to limit reading of expansion plans, financials, and reductions.  (There was no email ;)

The Enigma was sold commercially with 2 less rotors than military grade once it was introduced.

Hunter Atkinson 
Sent from my iPhone

> On Jul 13, 2025, at 12:29 AM, nw-mailing-list-request at nwhs.org wrote:
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>   1. Re: Maintaining Secrecy at the N&W (NW Mailing List)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2025 00:57:40 +0000 (UTC)
> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> Subject: Re: Maintaining Secrecy at the N&W
> Message-ID: <mailman.4801.1752369166.722595.nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> 
> I would love to be privy to some of these secret messages.? What could be so sensitive that the officials would need to code their messages???
> I noticed that the key is "123".? Isn't thart like using 1234 as your password?? Ha, ha.
> Jerry Kay, Jarratt, Virginia, location of the VGN/ACL interchange track.
> 
> 
>    On Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 07:57:08 PM EDT, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:   
> 
> While looking through my assorted scans of documents from the L.E. Johnson correspondence files, I found this letter that Johnson as president of the N&W was cc'd on. It covers encoding telegrams sent between several superintendents and the general manager, A.C. Needles.
> Subject: Re to cipher telegraph codes
> 
> Roanoke, Va.,April 1st, 1904/k
> 
> Mr. S.P. Johnson, Superintendent
> Mr. M.J. Caples, ? ? ? ? ? ?"
> Mr. W.S. Becker, ? ? ? ? ? ?"
> Mr. E. ?. DuBarry, ? ? ? ? ? " ? ?Terminals,
> 
> Gentlemen:
> 
> Referring to my circular letter March 25th with regard to cipher telegraph code and your reply. We desire to be again in position to use Slaters Code, copy of which you have, but will change the key number to 123.
> 
> In deciphering messages received, subtract 123 from the numbers opposite the cipher words contained in telegram, and in transmitting messages add 123 to numbers opposite the words, the meaning of which it is necessary to conceal, using the words obtained by this means.
> 
> Please keep this key absolutely secret and post yourself as to use of the code so that we may send cipher messages without further notice should it become necessary.
> 
> Yours truly,
> 
> A.C. Needles,
> General Superintendent
> 
> 
> The memo references Slaters Code, which was a publication from 1888.?Slater's Telegraphic Codeto ensure secrecy in the transmission of telegrams
> by Robert Slater
> 
> Publication date 1888
> Publisher London, W.R. Gray
> The book, with a full explanation of how to use the coding, is found at?https://archive.org/details/telegraphiccodet00slatuoft/mode/2up
> Bruce in Blacksburg
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