Caledonian Mercury, Saturday 18 February 1865. This detailed contemporary report describes the installation of Siemens Brothers’ Alphabetical Telegraph, connecting Edinburgh’s district police stations to the main station in the High Street.
Original newspaper report
TELEGRAPHY AT THE POLICE STATIONS.
The Edinburgh district police stations are now connected with the main station in the High Street by means of Messrs Siemens Brothers’ Alphabetical Telegraph. The wire has been fitted up under the superintendence of Councillor Bryson, and the contract was entrusted to the agent of the Messrs Siemens in Edinburgh, Mr W. D. Hart, philosophical instrument maker, North College Street, who has been engaged for the last two months in executing the work. The apparatus is now in working order, and so far as it has yet been tested, it has fully realised the anticipations come to in regard to it. Its value to the police establishment can scarcely be over-estimated, more especially in the case of fires; and the wonder is that some such instrument has not been fitted up by our authorities before this. The principle of the telegraph and the mode in which it is worked are exceedingly simple.
The telegraph is a magneto-electric dial instrument. A large circular case, with horizontal dial and handle for the transmission of messages, contains the steel magnets and mechanism for the generation of the electric current, and is called the transmitter. A smaller case, placed above the large case, with dial and pointer, contains the mechanism for indicating the effect of the electric current transmitted by turning the handle of the transmitter, and is called the indicator. A single line wire only is required for working. Any person who can read and write is able easily to transmit or to receive messages. The transmission is performed by simply lifting slightly the handle of the transmitter, and turning it sharply from left to right to the letter to be telegraphed, resting there for a moment, then turning it to the next letter required, and so on until the word is spelt. The letter-dial of the transmitter is bordered by a metal ring with as many incisions or notches as there are divisions in the letter circle. These incisions serve for the handle to fall into so soon as the manipulator arrives with it over the letter intended for transmission, and offer a momentary and safe rest, and facilitate manipulation. As soon as the handle is being turned the pointers of both indicators, of the transmitting as well as of the receiving station, will follow the motion of the handle, stopping at the same letters at which the handle stops. The letters transmitted are therefore simply indicated and read off at the receiving station by noting the stoppages of the pointer of the indicator.
At the end of each word the sender has to turn the handle to the blank division of the dial, and at the end of the message to give this blank mark twice. At the end of each word the receiver, whose hand is always to rest on the handle, is to turn it once round, starting from and returning to the blank, which is to the sender the sign of “understood.” If, however, the word be not understood, the handle is to be turned by the receiver to the letter R, and thence to blank. The dials of transmitter and indicator are supplied with an outer letter-circle and an inner cipher-circle. In opening telegraphic correspondence the letter-circle is always read off. If the sender wishes to announce to the receiver that henceforth the inner or cipher-circle has to be read instead, he has to give the letter N between two blanks. If he wishes to return to the letter-circle the letter L of the cipher-circle is to be given between two blanks. The communication between distant stations is instantaneous, and a speed of transmitting one hundred letters per minute is easily attained by little practice.
The instrument is made substantial, and well protected against injury in removal. It is portable, and occupies very little space. There are five polarised alarums, one for each district station. Each alarm consists of two brass bells of about 4¼ inches diameter each, and an electro-magnetic arrangement placed between the supports of the bells, by means of which a small hammer is put into an oscillating motion, striking violently against both bells as soon as a call arrives from the distant station produced by the rotation of the handle of the transmitter. This alarum serves effectually to call the attention of the person attending to the instrument, as the little noise which the indicator occasions during the rotation of its pointer may escape attention. Provision is made that by the use of a commutator this alarum is either excluded from or included in the circuit as the operator may require, so that during the ensuing correspondence the ringing of the bell ceases.
Historical context
The report is evidence of the increasingly rapid communication available to Edinburgh policing in the mid-nineteenth century. It describes five district-station alarms, an alphabetical dial for entering and receiving messages, and the importance of communication in responding to fires. This installation postdates the reduction of McLevy’s ordinary duties in 1860; there is no evidence in the clipping that he personally operated the system.
Source: Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh), 18 February 1865, issue 23600, “Telegraphy at the Police Stations”. View the original clipping in the research collection (access may depend on Drive permissions).
