Important Notice: To prevent harvesting of the correct e-mail addresses by web crawlers, the character x has been appended to the name in the e-mail addresses on this page. When the e-mail form comes up, you must delete the x before sending.
In  the meantime, if you have an interest in this subject, please Jim Farrior

Item #1 -- We thank Bill Orr K5SYP for posting the following museum description:

Important Notice: To prevent harvesting of the correct e-mail addresses by web crawlers, the character x has been appended to the name in the e-mail addresses on this page. When the e-mail form comes up, you must delete the x before sending.

The telegraph office in the photo below was located for about six years in the Sunbelt Railroad Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has recently been moved to the Railroad Museum of Oklahoma at Enid, Oklahoma, where it will be placed on display. This was a highly successful museum display of a railroad telegraph office, and it's features can be used as a model for those who are planning such a railroad museum exhibit.

The depicted telegraph office used "THE MILL" to generate authentic railroad type American Morse telegraph messages. It takes advantage of the "Auto-Send" and "Repetitive Sending" features, and sends the "LONGFILE.DMO" Operator Dialog file. The morning man would simply turn on the power to the computer and Morse equipment. The "dispatcher" automatically would start sending, and would send continuously until the power was turned off in the evening.

The telegraph office replicates that of the 1920’s to 1940’s era. We didn’t want to ruin the ambiance with a modern computer. We could not hide it, so we set it off to the side and mounted a sign on the monitor that invites the guests to "read what the dispatcher is sending as it is being received".

The total installation was well received by all visitors, especially the old timers and an occasional retired operator from as far away as Boston, Germany and the U.K.

The depicted Morse installation is mounted on a board ten-inches wide by four-feet long and sits on the desk (see photograph). The rationale for the board is that it can be removed and taken to a train show, fair or other gathering without losing its functionality (except for the computer). But that is covered by a tape player seen mounted on the left end of the board under the resonator. If the unit is taken to a show or if the computer fails, a simple flip of a switch will enable the tape player. To the immediate right of the tape player is a utility box containing all electronics (driver for the line relay, converter for the tape player, etc). Next right is the line relay actuated by the driver in the box.

The local sounder in the resonator is operated by the line relay. To right of the relay is a main line sounder that can be operated by the key on the desk for closed-circuit practice or demonstration. On the extreme right is a local sounder that is connected to a KOB set some distance away for visitors to use without interrupting the computer-controlled operation. In front of the local sounder is a homemade jack box that serves to route the signals or set the key up for the desired operation. The entire system excluding the computer is powered by a Radio Shack plug-in power supply chosen to provide the proper voltage at the required total current.

The Museum's Telegraph Office:

Bill Orr is the Wire Chief and is responsible for the design, installation and maintenance of the telegraph office. Bill has kindly offered to provide assistance to any person or organization wishing to create a railroad telegraph office display. He may be reached at Bill Orr.

 
Important Notice: To prevent harvesting of the correct e-mail addresses by web crawlers, the character x has been appended to the name in the e-mail addresses. When the e-mail form comes up, you must delete the x before sending.

Since then, it has rapidly grown and now boasts of having an engine shop where repairs and servicing is performed on their own motive power as well as that of Rail Link. They also have their own restoration shed where rolling stock is refurbished and repaired. The Canadian National Railway station from the nearby city (formerly village) of St. Albert was moved to the museum and it now serves as a reception area, a gift shop, an operational telegraph office and a display area for an extensive collection railway artifacts.

The telegraph office is manned on a volunteer basis by local members of the Edmonton "MO" Chapter of the Morse Telegraph Club Inc., and is equipped with a "Dial-up" system for telegraphic communications via telephone lines and "The Mill" has been installed to generate continuous American Morse Code transmissions authenticating the sounds of a period telegraph office.

The museum has over fifty pieces of rolling stock including a fully operational and well-maintained oil burning ten-wheeler steam engine obtained from the Canadian National Railway still bearing their number 1392 (Pacific type). This engine is used to carry passengers in two or more coaches for a short ride on holiday weekends throughout the summer. On other summer weekends, a diesel unit provides the motive power for the train rides. A working water tank is also in service.

The Alberta Railway Museum continues to grow with plans to fully restore another steam engine and to refurbish more rolling stock and their collection of Maintenance of Way track vehicles.

The steam engine and some of the car equipment have been used in Alberta by the United States motion picture industry when filming movies starring Hollywood celebrities.

For more information, please visit http://railwaymuseum.ab.ca>http://railwaymuseum.ab.ca>

or E-Mail dixon

Important Notice: To prevent harvesting of the correct e-mail addresses by web crawlers, the character x has been appended to the name in the e-mail addresses. When the e-mail form comes up, you must delete the x before sending.

With the kind assistance of Bill Orr of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who provided his technical assistance and also a telegraph sounder and relay, Tom Tillson has installed a railroad telegraph display in the restored the Hyde Park Train Station. Visitors can see the telegraph sounder and hear the nostalgic sound as typical railroad telegraph messages are transmitted in American Morse Code.  The sounder is driven by a computer that using a computer program by Jim Farrior named "The Mill".  The text of the message being sent is displayed in real time on the computer screen, which is located nearby.

www.hydeparkstation.com>http://www.hydeparkstation.com>