Telegraph codes

Telegraph codes were used to shorten the telegraphic messages sent between the stations and offices of the railway. They were commonly painted on the side of Goods Wagons.

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.

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.

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

Code	Rolling stock type	Examples	Notes
CLAY	China clay wagon	94059	Diagram O (Open wagons)
CONE	Gunpowder van	58725	Diagram Z (Gunpowder vans)
CONFLAT	Flat wagon for containers	39860	Diagram H (Flat wagons)
FRUIT	Fruit van	2303, 2424, 2815, 3429, 3467 , 92080, 92090, 134290	Diagram Y (Fruit vans)
GANE	Wagons	60841, 996730 (BRBritish Rail or British Railways)	Diagram J (Rail and timber bolster wagons)
LORIOT	Wagons	41990, 42138, 42272, 42343	Diagram G (Flat and well wagons for carrying road vehicles, covered vehicle trucks etc)
MACAW	Bolster rail and timber wagon	107291	Diagram J (Rail and timber bolster wagons)
MICA	Meat van	105873	Diagram X (Meat vans)
MINK	Covered goods wagon	93016, 93045, 95353, 101961, 103592, 104621, 112889	Diagram V (Covered goods and grain wagons)
MOGO	Covered goods van for one motor car	65801	Diagram G (Flat and well wagons for carrying road vehicles, covered vehicle trucks etc)
OPEN	Open wagon	13154, 14428, 25190, 41277, 97398, 98480, 99965, 102691, 108085	Diagram O (Open wagons)
SIPHON	Milk Van	1257 2926	Coach Diagram O
SNAKE	Passenger Brake	261 1145	Coach Diagram K
TOAD	20 Ton brake van	17410, 68501,	Diagram AA (Brake vans)
VANFIT	Covered goods van	65620	Diagram V (Covered goods and grain wagons)

War Department telegraph codes

• RECTANK
• PILLBOX
• WARWELL

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:

• DOGFISH
• FLAT
• MACKEREL
• MERMAID
• PARR
• PRAWN
• RUDD
• SEACOW
• SHARK
• TUNNY
• WELTROL

See also

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

References

Links

• Wikipedia: Great Western Railway telegraphic codes