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Wikipedia / Great Western Railway telegraphic codes

Great Western Railway telegraphic codes were a commercial telegraph code used to shorten the telegraphic messages sent between the stations and offices of the railway.

The codes listed below are taken from the 1939 edition of the Telegraph Message Code book unless stated otherwise.

History

The Great Western Railway (GWR) pioneered telegraph communication over the from Paddington to on 9 April 1839 using the Cooke and Wheatstone telegraph equipment. Although this early system fell into disuse after a few years, from 1850 a new contract with the Electric Telegraph Company saw double-needle telegraphs working at most stations on the line; these were replaced by single-needle machines from 1860. Although used primarily as a safety device to regulate the passage of trains, it was also used to pass messages between the staff. In order to do this quickly and accurately, a number of code words were used to replace complicated or regularly used phrases. The codes were changed from time to time to reflect current needs.

By 1922 most railways in the country had agreed on standard code words, although the GWR had an extended list of codes that could only be used within its own network. In 1943 all railways were brought into a single system of codes and the GWR special codes were discontinued.

Wagons

Note: many of these codes could have an extra letter to identify variations, such as Mink A (a ventilated van), or Mink G (a ordinary van). Most of these codes were painted onto the wagons for easy identification.

  • Aero airscrew wagon (from 1941)

  • Ale cattle wagon converted for beer barrels (from 1940)

  • Asmo covered motor car truck

  • Beaver flat truck

  • Beetle – prize cattle wagon.

  • Bloater – large fish van

  • Bocar covered truck for car bodies

  • Cone gunpowder van

  • Conflat flat wagon for containers

  • Coral glass wagon

  • Cordon gas reservoir truck

  • Covcar covered carriage truck

  • Crocodile well trolley

  • Damo covered motor car truck

  • Fruit fruit van

  • Gadfly aeroplane truck

  • Gane engineers rail truck

  • Grano covered grain hopper

  • Hydra – passenger rated well truck

  • Loriot machine truck

  • Macaw timber truck

  • Mayfly transformer truck

  • Mex – ordinary cattle wagon

  • Mica meat van

  • Mink covered goods van

  • Milta milk tank

  • Mite twin timber trucks

  • Mogo covered motor car wagon

  • Morel propeller truck

  • Open open wagon

  • Parto covered van with movable partitions

  • Pollen girder or boiler truck

  • Rectank trolley for machinery.

  • Roder flat truck for road vehicles (to 1935)

  • Rotruck road-rail truck for milk tanks

  • Serpent carriage truck

  • Tadpole – open fish wagon

  • Tevan converted Mica for special traffic

  • Toad goods brake van, which became the standard designs nickname

  • Totem armour plate and girder wagon

  • Tourn eight-wheeled open (to 1934)

Carriages

Note: many of these codes could have an extra letter to identify variations, such as Scorpion C (a carriage truck), or Scorpion D (a carriage truck).

  • Beetle special cattle truck

  • Bloater covered fish truck

  • Catox cattle box

  • Chafer invalid carriage

  • Chintz family carriage

  • Chub third saloon

  • Cricket composite carriage

  • Emmett brake third carriage

  • First first class carriage

  • Gnat slip coach

  • Goliath bogie open scenery truck

  • Hydra well truck for road vehicles

  • Melon brake third carriage

  • Mex cattle wagon

  • Monster theatrical scenery truck

  • Paco horse box

  • Python covered carriage truck

  • Scorpion carriage truck

  • Siphon milk van

  • Snake passenger brake van

  • Termite third class carriage

Road motor vehicles and trailers

  • Brockhouse 15 ton Brockhouse trailer

  • Dido four-wheeled trailer

  • Dixton 10 ton cartage motor vehicle

  • Dyak two-wheeled trailer

  • Forton 4 or 5 ton cartage motor vehicle

  • Jason tipping trailer

  • Lydus pipe trailer

  • Mentor six-wheeled trailer

  • Nico cattle trailer

  • Numa container trailer

  • Sixate 6 or 8 ton cartage motor vehicle

  • Toner 1 or 1½ ton cartage motor vehicle

  • Tooton 2 ton cartage motor vehicle

  • Vibo timber trailer

Standard phrases

The 1939 Telegraph Message Code book contains in excess of 900 code words (around half of which were standard codes also used by other railways) yet very few were the familiar codes seen painted on the side of goods wagons. By using these codes long and complex sentences could be sent using just a few words. Some examples of the codes representing phrases include:

  • Adex Advertised day excursion.

  • Boyne There is no water at the following station. Instruct drivers.

  • Chicory Cannot trace delivery. Wire full description, marks, and contents, and say who complains.

  • Cynic Can only offer ordinary service. Wire what decided.

  • Earwig Following urgently wanted.

  • Lough Shunting horse ill. Send relief.

  • Osage Send men here for undermentioned engine to leave at ...

  • Palm Report fully by next train with reference to delay.

  • Smoke Owing to fog in London Division restriction train service to operate in accordance with current fog-working notice.

  • Stork We have no trace of your invoice; send copy next train.

  • Zola Can you send engine and men to undermentioned station? If so, state time leaving.

See also

References