Difference between revisions of "Telegraph codes"

History

In the mid-nineteenth century, single and double needle telegraph machines were introduced on railways. The primary purpose was to relay information on train workings for safety purposes, but they were also used to pass messages between the staff. Code words were used to replace complicated or regularly used phrases in these messages, for reasons of brevity and clarity.

By 1922 most railways has adopted common standard code words, however the GWRGreat Western Railway continued to use an extended list of codes within its own network until 1943 when all railways were brought into a common system.

GWRGreat Western Railway Telegraph Codes

The 1939 GWRGreat Western Railway Telegraph Code Book included the following introduction: To facilitate the transmission of Telegraph Messages, a code of Phrases in common use in telegrams sent on the Company’s business has been prepared, each phrase being represented by a distinctive word, and that word only to be sent instead of the complete phrase which it represents.^[1]

Codes were used for all sorts of administrative matters, for example LIMA meant "can you spare a horse for a few days". However it is the codes used to describe types of carriage and wagon that are still used on the SVRSevern Valley Railway today. Some carriage and Brown Vehicle types and most wagon types were assigned telegraph codes, although engineers’ vehicles were usually not. Wagon codes often had a suffix letter added to distinguish variants within a particular type, eg LORIOT A, LORIOT B etc. Frequently the code would be painted on the wagon, although this was not done on the most common types such as OPEN and MINK.^[1]

The following examples of rolling stock on the SVRSevern Valley Railway were assigned GWRGreat Western Railway telegraph codes:

War Department telegraph codes

BRBritish Rail or British Railways Era Telegraph Codes

Use of 'telegraph codes' to describe wagon types continued into the BRBritish Rail or British Railways era. Many BRBritish Rail or British Railways era Civil Engineering wagons were allocated ‘Fish’ codes. A more formal classification system was later adopted using TOPS codes, with both codes appearing on some wagons.

Examples of codes from this era are:

See also

• Carriage and Wagon numbering
• Carriages
• Goods Wagons
• TOPS codes

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Atkins, Beard & Tourret (2013) p. 9.

Links

• Wikipedia: Great Western Railway telegraphic codes