RGS Telephones

The Rio Grande Southern used "telegraphones" to do the same thing as the booth on the D&RGW. They were nothing more than surplus Army field phones. They would attach to a cord which was on a long pole. At the top of the pole were a pair of boards attached in the wye shape and at the end of the boards were metal hooks. The wires were attached to these hooks. The trainman would snag one of the telegraph lines with one hook, then pull the line over to the other line and snag the other line with the second hook, then pull down on the pole to make good contact with the steel telegraph wires while the conductor spun the crank and talked to the dispatcher.
The advantages of this system was total portability - used to carry them in the caboose or in the back of a goose - and you could hook up anywhere you could get to the telegraph lines. You didn't have to wait until you got to a booth or hike to one in the case of an accident. Second advantage was they were cheap to maintain, always a consideration when the RGS was involved! You didn't have to paint them or repair them.