On many railroads, there were telephone boxes placed at key points where train crews had to stop in and check with the Dispatcher to see what they were to do next. For instance, on the Southern’s Eastern Division in 1975, “Crews leaving Little Creek must telephone the dispatcher at Coleman Place, Madison 2-6966, and advise approx. arriving time at Camden Heights, using the telephone at the departure end of Little Creek Yard for this purpose.”
So, how would this phone system be replicated on a model railroad. At this time most railroads used radios for communications, but some phones were still in use. How do you hook up the phones? Get do you have to have special equipment that routes it or what?
If anyone can point me in the right direction, it would be greatly appreciated.
Ever seen pictures of the old pole mounted police-call boxes? They would look something like that.
19th century call box.
20th century call box.
On one of the previous incarnations of David Barrow’s Cat Mountain and Santa Fe Rwy (he was revised it numerous times), the model scene had a telephone booth at each siding. There was also a real full-size telephone handset located on the front fascia of the layout. If a train was routed into a siding by dispatcher control of turnouts, and stopped by red signal, again at the control of dispatcher, the train operator could pick up the telephone and call for instructors or orders. “You put me in the hole???” Picking up the telephone automatically rang a bell at the dispatchers office (which was located on the floor BELOW the layout) I think a light came on to tell dispatcher were the call was coming from, what phone location. Sort of like modern caller ID. I don’t believe the train operator picking up the phone had to dial any number for the dispatcher. It was a dedicated “hot line”.
And how did the dispatcher call a train? By routing it into a siding and holding it with a red signal…
I do not know exactly what equipment Barrow used, but that is generally how it worked.
Well, what does the 2-6966 stand for? Any ideas?
Boy, you kids![:-^] Madison 2-6966 is the phone # to call!! In the ancient days, when I was a kid, no one called 1-201-123-4567! Phone numbers had “exchanges”. I grew up in Closter, and the phone was Closter 5-1234 - you dialed 255, using the first 2 letters of Closter. Madison 2 would be 622 - MA 2! There were no “area codes”, if your call was more than 25 or so miles away, you dialed the operator and said “I want to call Atlantic 2-2222 in Atlantic City”[:P] The “good old days” were a little simpler, except fror finding the letters on the phone dial!![8D]