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The Alberta Railway Museum -
- Gallery
We've recreated the gallery from the previous Alberta Railway Museum site on Flickr. You can view the site by clicking here or visting:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/albertarailwaymuseum/
- History of the Telegraph
THE BEGINNING OF TELEGRAPHY
The most exciting electrical invention at the beginning of the 19th century was the battery. It produced a constant electric current, opening the way for many other discoveries and inventions; it also provided power for the telegraph and telephone industries. In 1800, Alessandro Volta announced his invention of a battery. The "voltaic pile" operated by placing pieces of cloth soaked in salt water between alternating zinc and copper discs. Contact between the two metals produced an electric current. Many refinements were introduced by the 1870s that lengthened battery life and addressed problems like "polarization".
The relationship between magnetism and electric current had been discovered by Hans Christian Ørsted, one of the leading scientists of the nineteenth century, who played a crucial role in understanding electromagnetism. In 1820 he discovered that a compass needle deflects from magnetic north when an electric current is switched on or off in a nearby wire. This showed that electricity and magnetism were related phenomena, a finding that laid the foundation for the theory of electromagnetism and for the research that later created such technologies as radio, television and fiber optics. The unit of magnetic field strength was named the Oersted in his honor.
Joseph Henry invented the electromagnet and was responsible for major discoveries in electromagnetism, most significantly the means of constructing electromagnets that were powerful enough to transform electrical energy into useful mechanical work at a distance. Much of Morse's telegraph invention rested upon Henry's discovery of the principles underlying the operation of such electromagnets. The first known suggestion for an electrical telegraph appeared in Scots Magazine in 1753, thirty eight years before Morse’s birth. The author of this article remained anonymous however, signing the composition with only the letters CM.
Although some forms of electrical communication existed for commercial purposes in Europe before Morse’s invention, these systems were complex and slow. It was not until Samuel Morse’s invention of the telegraph that electrical communication was efficient and rapid.
THE MORSE TELEGRAPH
Patented in 1843, Morse’s telegraph became the standard method of electrical communication in Europe and the United States, due to its simplicity and ability to work on poor quality wires. Morse’s system of telegraphy, using the Morse Code, was used widely between the late 1800's and the mid 1920's, but some variations are still used today in radiotelegraphy. Manual landline telegraphy gave way to faster and more efficient methods of communication in the 1960's , but Morse’s telegraph was still used on railways in Canada until the 1970' s and in Mexico until at least 1990.
Introduction to Canada
In December 1846, the Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara and St. Catherines Electromagnetic Telegraph Company established Canada’s first telegraph communication system. In 1846, the first Canadian telegram was sent between Toronto and Hamilton. The company’s innovative telegraph system had a revolutionary impact by speeding communications within the colony and bringing Canadians into closer contact with the world.
One of the largest telegraph systems in Canada was the Canadian National Telegraph (CNT) system, which was a division of Canadian National Railways. On January 1, 1922, CNT took over Grand Trunk Pacific Telegraphs and the Great North Western Telegraph Company.
CNT did not originally go into western Canada at all. It was the Canadian Pacific Railway that established telegraph service to places beyond Fort Garry (Winnipeg, Manitoba). The telegraph was Canada’s primary method of long distance communication until the invention of the telephone. Even after the telephone, the railways used the telegraph to transmit train orders and other railway communications. The last official telegraph transmitted in Canada was sent by Canadian Pacific Operator Rene Chevalier on May 30, 1972. Chevalier sent the message from Batiscan, Quebec to Roland Poliquin in Montreal. The message was sent first in French, then in English. It read “This is the last telegram via Morse Code in Canada. What hath God wrought?”
Introduction to Edmonton Area
Telegraph service was introduced to Fort Edmonton after the arrival of the North West Mounted Police. Plans were soon drafted to improve communications with Manitoba and Ottawa by constructing a telegraph line to this new out post of law and order. The telegraph line took five years to complete, in part because of the opposition from the Cree of the Western Plains.
The telegraph line finally reached the settlement of Fort Edmonton in the year 1879. As the construction of the railway proceeded northward the telegraph line was extended from Edmonton to Athabasca Landing in 1904 and to Westlock in April of 1913. It then continued on through to the Peace River block.
The last operational telegraph equipment in Canada was withdrawn from service in 1973 ending the era of the telegraph communication system which served Canadians and the world for approximately 127 years.
Telegraph Equipment Key: used to make and break the “series” circuit. Keys were usually equipped with a switch to close the circuit when the station was idle or when receiving messages. In most cases these keys were the property of the operators, and being set up to the owner’s preference, the key would be taken away from the operating position at the end of the shift. Morse’s key was primarily brass with some iron parts. The operator could get an electrical shock since there was no insulation between any metal parts. Jesse Bunnell received a patent on the 15th of February 1881 for his steel lever key. In 1888, Bunnell introduced his double speed (sideswiper) key to help telegraphers avoid a "glass arm" (today called carpal tunnel syndrome). Bunnell improved Morse’s key in 1878. The improvements included an insulated knob f or operation and making the key semi-portable.
The bug, an instrument which uses a side to side rather than up and down motion, reducing operator fatigue, became a popular alternative to the Bunnell key after it was introduced in 1904 by Horace G. Martin. Early models were basic on-off switches; later designs incorporated a mechanism to automatically produce a series of dots when the paddle or handle was moved to the right.
Sounder: sounds out the received dots and dashes sent from other stations, as well as the message being sent from the local station. The sounder replaced the receiving register which used paper. Operators could determine the message by listening to the dit-dah patterns.
Relay: purpose is to extend the length of the telegraph line by repeating the signals.
THE COLLECTION
The Alberta Railway Museum contends that it has the largest collection of telegraph equipment in Canada. The collection summary is as follows:
• 17 Bugs - some homemade
• 31 keys – various types, sidewinder, Japanese, legless
• 39 Relays – mainline 150 ohm and standard
• 30 sounders
• 3 Polar relays used in wire chief’s offices
• Practice sets - several types
• Teaching devices for Morse code
• Wet Cell Batteries for producing Direct Current
• Several Rectifiers
• Antique European K.O.B (Key on board)
• Miscellaneous Train Dispatcher system equipment
Thanks to Peter Rosychuk, Ab Krauter, Bill Harmon, Gerry Schiele, Bill Burgess, Jim Munsey, John Rushton, Paul Malowany, Fred Pylypow, Bob Richard, Ken Neckay, George Kenny and many other members of the Morse Telegraph Club for their dedicated support for this project and the operation of the Telegrapher’s Desk at the Museum. The desk was set up by the late Bill Owens in 1994.
- CPR 5000
CPR 5000
The museum has acquired CP 5000 as a donation from CanRail, a not-for-profit railway preservation society which could no longer care for the engine.
History
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