Quick Report on Monday Telegraph Restoration in Chama New Mexico

Good Morning-

Yesterday was a very busy day here in Chama New Mexico. We got to
work early on the depot communications equipment. What we found were
some partially installed equipment. Unfortunately they were not
installed in the correct locations. There are only two known
pictures of the operator's position during the D&RGW era:

[www.gregraven.com]

and

[www.gregraven.com]

What we are trying to do is get the equipment back to the original
positions on the operator's desk. We have been doing well so far.

There is no cordless jack box available. Ed Trump made a nice
diagram of the appropriate wiring for the jack box and the rest of
the instruments. That will have to wait. For now we are creating a
simple circuit, with a power supply, two keys and a mainline sounder
(mounted in a swing arm resonator).

One key will be on the operator's desk, the second will be outside
the glass-enclosed area which will allow visitors to send Morse and
hear and see the sounder clicking. The fundamental purpose of the
restoration is to serve as an "interpretive display" part of the
railroad museum. Unfortunately that got off to a bad start with a
poster showing "Morse Code" which is actually the radio code !!!
That will be fixed I assure you.

Here is an album of a few pictures I took Monday. Of course there
are a few gratuitous locomotive shots. At the conclusion of the work
day, I rode up to Cumbres Pass at 10022 feet elevation. The
telegraph pole group had been dispatched there to do emergency work
on the Cumbres snowshed. They were just finishing up when I arrived.

[www.gregraven.com]

More pictures this evening...

73 Greg