The Wires Sang With Electric

Keeping The Song Loud And The Trains Safe

Samuel Morse--yes, that Morse--patented the telegraph in 1837. The need for for railroads to have such communication arose from the increasing popularity of trains as it was becoming ever more necessary to communicate any sort of change in the schedule. Being able to communicate effectively would allow for safer and more efficient operations. In 1843, Congress provided the necessary funds to build a telegraph line that would stretch the 40 miles from Washington, DC, to Baltimore. It was completed the next year. However, it wasn’t until 1851 that the telegraph was first used for trains.

Many railroads operated on a single track, so effective communication was key to preventing devastating crashes. With the telegraph, telegraph operators (also known simply as telegraphers) could communicate with train dispatchers when a train had arrived or departed a station as well as where it was headed. This meant that others would be forewarned about potential problems. Telegraphs were kept simple and followed a specific pattern to reduce the possibility of confusion.

Now, one thing yet to be mentioned regarding telegraph lines is insulators. Have you ever seen a telephone pole with horizontal board(s) towards the top that have what appear to be upside-down glass jars lined up on them? If you have not seen these things in person, feel free to check out the photos. Those would actually be telegraph poles and the “glass jars” would, in fact, be glass insulators. These insulators allow the messages to be sent and received. The reason for this is the insulators hold the telegraph wire clear of objects that would ground the wire or disrupt the electricity.

There were many companies who produced glass insulators. To find out which one made any particular insulator, simply look toward the bottom. The name of the company who produced it usually would be seen curving around. There were also different types of insulators produced, though these are not so easily identifiable unless, perhaps, you’re already familiar with them.

The Train sHOp Models (Left to Right- Hemingray No. 2 Provo Type (CD 282) used c.1893-1910s, Hemingray 25 (CD 175) used c.1920s-1930s, Hemingray 303 Glass Insulators used c.1893-1910s) look just like originals on poles following along the main line. These are great 3D Models!

Putting together the model telegraph poles is easy. I just sit back, relax, and watch my husband do the magic! Though I am perfectly capable of completing such projects, I like watching my husband as he is set to a task. Not to mention, it wouldn’t have been so quickly done as I’m not so adept at using a knife such as the one used to shave the wooden dowels and cut them down to size. After being shaved and cut, the dowels were glued to wooden bases typically reserved for toy soldiers. Once standing on their own, the horizontal boards were added. Then, they were all spray painted black for a base coat. The miniature insulators were added using tweezers. It then took a small paintbrush (not quite small enough to be a detail brush) to paint the poles the appropriate color. It's amazing how well they turned out. We were not even thinking about modeling these until we found The Train sHOp's great model insulators. We purchased them on eBay and we love them!

Model Color Paint Used:

1. English Uniform

2. Saddle Brown

3. Light Grey

4. Light Flesh

Other Equipment Used:

1. Black String (for stabilizing wire, but it can also be used for telegraph wire)

2. Sprue Snipper

3. Krazy Glue

4. Tweezers or Hemostat

5. Paint Brush

6. Dowels and Skewers