Location: MCRR - Detroit Division - Wire Room

The Michigan Central's wire room was located at the Michigan Central station in Detroit. The primary purpose of the wire room was to monitor, test, identify problems and to implement work-arounds for wires that needed repair along the lines north, west and south of Detroit.

Image info: Top, view on the cover of The Railroad Telegrapher, showing the testing of a line which was troublesome. 2nd to 5th images, views of the Detroit wire office. [5th view, Mike Puroli] 

Notes

If an individual wire was cut along the railroad right-of-way, or in case a "ground" was interfering with line quality, the wire room would contact a tower and ask the tower man to use phone jacks in their local panel to reroute and circuit to a different, temporary wire.

When a break in a wire caused a problem, the wire room had electric meters which measured resistance in the line to determine with some precision the exact location of the break or interference. Line repair crews were then dispatched.

In addition to permanent line office staff, operators and agents were used to supplement workers here.

By 1980, most of the wire control of the railroads had been moved to radio, microphone and the public telephone system.

Time Line