Railroad Telegraph Poles & Lines
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minernut333
- Railroadfan...fan
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- Location: Westmont, IL
Railroad Telegraph Poles & Lines
I have seen multiple pictures and have been wondering for years. Along railroad lines there are/used to be telegraph poles carrying like 15-20 wires. My questions are: (1)how do the telegraph lines work regarding the railroad signals that change color to allow a train to proceed, slow or stop, (2) With rail lines going for miles, how is it determined of how many wires on the telegraph pole to how many miles, and (3) where would a building that controls the trains be placed. I'm asking these question because I live in Westmont, Illinois and have been rail fanning the BNSF Racetrack for about 4 years. I have heard from another rail fan the the BNSF Racetrack is controlled in Fort Worth, Texas. Here is an image showing the wires coming from the telegraph poles into the old defunct 150 year old CB&Q Gantry.
Minernut MRC333
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Saturnalia
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Re: Railroad Telegraph Poles & Lines
The lines that carry signal data are called "Codeline". The number on any given pole is determined by the number of circuits required to operate all the logic of any given area. Generally, the more wires, the more complex the territory.
However, as the Codeline radiates away from its central contolled point (wherever the CTC machine was), the fewer wires there are because with each interlocking some wires stop. Railroads would place CTC machines in such a way so as to minimize the overall length of wire - because it was so expensive.
For example, the CTC machine east of Grand Rapids was not located in GR - instead, they place it about 20 miles east at Elmdale. From there it controlled about 10 miles eastward as well as the 20 miles back to GR. This saved costs by eliminating the wires used east of Elmdale from having to run 20 more miles to what would be considered the central location of operations in GR.
Similarly on the west side, the machine and dispatcher were placed in Holland, 20 miles west of Grand Rapids.
As time marched on, it became possible to transmit data with less physical plant, so the dispatchers at places like Elmdale and Holland were centralized, in this case to GR, with lines transmitting data to placed like Holland and Elmdale the. Onto the Codeline.
Today, fiber optics, radio, and increasingly satellite/cellphone-based data services. CSX is going the cellular route, with dishes used to transmit that data from each signaled point back to the dispatching center.
However, as the Codeline radiates away from its central contolled point (wherever the CTC machine was), the fewer wires there are because with each interlocking some wires stop. Railroads would place CTC machines in such a way so as to minimize the overall length of wire - because it was so expensive.
For example, the CTC machine east of Grand Rapids was not located in GR - instead, they place it about 20 miles east at Elmdale. From there it controlled about 10 miles eastward as well as the 20 miles back to GR. This saved costs by eliminating the wires used east of Elmdale from having to run 20 more miles to what would be considered the central location of operations in GR.
Similarly on the west side, the machine and dispatcher were placed in Holland, 20 miles west of Grand Rapids.
As time marched on, it became possible to transmit data with less physical plant, so the dispatchers at places like Elmdale and Holland were centralized, in this case to GR, with lines transmitting data to placed like Holland and Elmdale the. Onto the Codeline.
Today, fiber optics, radio, and increasingly satellite/cellphone-based data services. CSX is going the cellular route, with dishes used to transmit that data from each signaled point back to the dispatching center.
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minernut333
- Railroadfan...fan
- Posts: 35
- Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:08 pm
- Location: Westmont, IL
Re: Railroad Telegraph Poles & Lines
Thank you for the information. I have always been wondering about the "codelines". I have Trainz Simulator 2009: World Builder Edition; building a fictional route and was wondering on how to place the telegraph lines. Your information helps me very much.
Merry Christmas,
Minernut.
Merry Christmas,
Minernut.
Minernut MRC333
Re: Railroad Telegraph Poles & Lines
I don't know if it was the expense of wire, as a lot of code line was steel wire, or the fact that you lose so much of the electric current the longer the run is. Plus you had work agreements that dictated where offices could and couldn't be. PRR had a rule that only operators could use the boards under direction of a dispatcher. So they put them in the towers since they had to have those positions anyway. Once you broke down the paper barriers you could consolidate where the boards had to be. That's really when you saw the CTC boards combined.
In the beginning the lines also carried the electricity necessary to the the system too. You'd see those lines marked in some form. The code line on the C&O had 440v strung along it. Woe to the wire thief that tried stealing those lines. Those lines also carried the communication lines for the line side telephone system, any block lines, etc. they carried more than just the "code line" necessary to run the signal system.
Most railroads had standard locations on their arms. That helped the maintainers know exactly what each position controlled what.
As rural electricity became more prevalent, along with the telephone lines, the railroads didn't have to be tied into their own communication and electric lines. So they could pare down the wires. Thus why you see poles with extra arms, that aren't in use any longer.
In the beginning the lines also carried the electricity necessary to the the system too. You'd see those lines marked in some form. The code line on the C&O had 440v strung along it. Woe to the wire thief that tried stealing those lines. Those lines also carried the communication lines for the line side telephone system, any block lines, etc. they carried more than just the "code line" necessary to run the signal system.
Most railroads had standard locations on their arms. That helped the maintainers know exactly what each position controlled what.
As rural electricity became more prevalent, along with the telephone lines, the railroads didn't have to be tied into their own communication and electric lines. So they could pare down the wires. Thus why you see poles with extra arms, that aren't in use any longer.