Telegraph Register

Description (Brief):

This telegraph register was used by the Delaware & Hudson Company’s Transportation Department on their railroad. Telegraph registers are electrically-activated printers that receive Morse code messages. The message travels as a series of electrical pulses through a wire. The pulses energize the register’s electromagnets which move a lever-arm holding a pen or stylus. A clockwork mechanism pulls a strip of paper across the pen or stylus, recording the message. Short pulses draw or emboss a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash. The sequence of dots and dashes represent letters and numbers.

Date Made: ca 1860

Maker: Knox & Shain

Location: Currently not on view

Web Subject: Communication, telegraph

Subject:

See more items in: Work and Industry: Electricity, Telegraph Registers, Communications

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: from the Delaware & Hudson Company

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: EM.230194Accession Number: 43184Catalog Number: 230194

Object Name: telegraph register

Physical Description: brass (overall material)copper (overall material)wood (overall material)Measurements: overall: 7 in x 4 7/8 in x 12 1/4 in; 17.78 cm x 12.3825 cm x 31.115 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-4ea7-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_739913

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