Railroaders' Nostalgia > Telegrapher/Operators Captain's Chairs w/ Insulators on Legs??

I wonder if this "shocking" topic has been reviewed on TO's previously, but I'm curious what other might think and know.

As a railfan of past railroading, including depots and the telegraph operators environment, I'm curious if others have seen a telegraphers chair equipped with worn pole line insulators as I've shown here.

From some telegraph hobbyist', I've learned the insulators were supposedly to protected (to isolate) the operator from electrical surges (lightning) while using the telegraph key. Wouldn't a wooden chair without
the insulators isolate as well?

This old captain's chair was resurrected from an old Rock Island depot in the early 1960's. The insulators were well worn with flats indicating many years of sliding as shown here. This chair has had a rough lifespan.
I never noticed till now, but I thought all the twisted wire was for bracing due to lack of brace spindles. Now as I view all the twisted wires, even with attachments to the insulators, this may provide further
discussion and maybe carry the definition of an"electric chair"!!!

What do you think?!!

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I have seen photos of depot office captain's chairs with insulators on the front legs only to achieve a comfortable position.

Good point! I can imagine some long legged "bean poles" that might require more comfort.

I love the twisted and turnbuckled wires that are holding this chair together. Looks like Catenary under there!

I'm also an insulator collector, and have a couple of pieces in the collection where the dome has a flat spot worn in it consistent with being on a chair leg. There's two schools of thought within the collector community about this. The obvious one is that some long telegraph circuits did actually run at pretty significant voltage (a couple hundred volts) compared with ground, and the insulators helped with any shock should the operator's finger slip and touch the key. The other is just that they made decent casters, and the round slick glass made a good sliding surface.

My guess is that both explanations have a bit of truth to them.

The hazards of operations during lightning were well known and lightning arresters were applied to the lines. The insulators wouldn't do much to prevent electric shock with the operator's feet on the floor in leather soled shoes.

My theory is the addition of the insulators was a way to raise the chair slightly, in the era before adjustable office chairs. Maybe it was a way to put themselves in a more comfortable position for using the key and avoiding a repetitive stress injury. Repetitive stress injuries were known to afflict telegraphers.

The insulators could also have been applied to make the chair slide more easily.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/09/18 10:56 by radar.

The chairs like this that I've seen had the insulators installed as an expedient to avoid casters breaking off.  Plus, no squeaking!

On the famous Pacific Electric. I have seen the slatted wooden platforms at telephone boxes raised by insulators. I am sure to provide insulation from the high voltage phone ringing level and weather protection.

James R.(Jim) Baker
Whittier, CA

Years back I saw a film about forest fire lookout towers. The tower had a stool equipped with insulators, intended for use when making a telephone call.
...Lorenzo