Semaphore & Telegraph

Semaphore and Telegraph. Samuel Finley Breese Morse, an American, developed the telegraph system, which consisted of one wire. A further development called the Highton Signal System, introduced in 1837, employed the Morse code, transmitted from a device know as a commutator. The commutator had two keys, which made the current flow in opposite directions in the line, corresponding to a dot and dash. The station agent usually was well versed in Morse Code and sat at a desk to take and relay messages for the railroads and also for private parties. Along the route of the 1880 Train there are remnants of telegraph poles and telegraph lines that were used to communicate between Hill City and Keystone., Railway signals are a means of communication beyond the range of the voice. They may stimulate the eye as optical signals, or the ear as acoustic signals. They may be given and received by men on the ground or on the train. A red light is normally used for a stop signal, while a clear light is used for general signals., Optical signals must be noticed to be received. Motion or blinking can aid their recognition. The semaphore pictured above, located at the station in Hill City, was installed by Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, an early subsidiary of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad., Today at the 1880 Train we rely on hand signals. Even in the days of train order signal usage, hand signals form the conductor or other train crew members (brakeman or trainmen) were relied on for movement of the train or engine. The train order signal merely gave an indication to an approaching train that there were train orders for the train and these were to be obeyed by the members of the crew on the train., Captions , Upper Left: , American Morse Code , 1. A dash is equal to three dots. , 2. The space between parts of the same letter is equal to one dot. , 3. The space between two letters is equal to three dots. , 4. The space between two words is equal to five dots., Upper Right: When the arm on the semaphore is horizontal to the mast it means the train needs to stop and the light will be red. This particular semaphore is a train order semaphore signal often referred to as an "order board." The signal was mechanically connected to the bay window of the depot.