Re: Railroad phone patch board
If it wasn't a Western Union board, it could have been a RR phone line patch board. All stations and towers had one, similar to the one in the photo. If there was a problem with the dispatchers' line (noise, etc), the dispatcher could have an operator cut the phone first one direction and then the other to determine in which direction from that office the problem existed. By using other offices to do the same, one could narrow down between which actual offices the problem existed. This was especially useful on the Saginaw and Ludington Subs where there was a secondary, less-used, message line in addition to the dispatchers' wire. It was used mainly for inter-office communication, or if "GO" office in Saginaw had messages to be copied by operators. In this case, by inserting the plugs/cords into the appropriate jacks, you could by-pass the noise. For example, if it was determined the noise was between Romulus and Carleton, you would have Romulus cut dispacther south and insert cords to patch dispr north into message south. At Carleton, you'd have them cut dispr north and insert cords to patch dispr south into message north. You then had a clear line all the way through. There were times when the noise was so great it rendered the line unsafe to use for communicating, so the patch was necessary -- or use the "Bell" phone if all else failed. However, train crews would have difficulty reaching you if the dispatchers' line was out. I know this sounds archaic today, but that's the way it was back then!
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