Mystery Item No 4

-.-. --- -. --. .-. .- - ..- .-.. .- - .. --- -. ...   - ---   - .... --- ... .   .-- .... ---   --. ..- . ... ... . -..   - .... .   .. - . --   -.-. --- .-. .-. . -.-. - .-.. -.

Or in English congratulations to those who guessed the item correctly! It is in fact a railway morse code tapper.

The museum's transmitter

Our example of a railway Morse code transmitter is from Lapford Railway Station in Devon. The station opened by the North Devon Railway on the 1^st August 1854.[1] Lapford features on the Tarka Line running between Exeter and Barnstaple. However, the history of the Tarka Line is complex, it was first opened in 1851 by the Exeter and Crediton Railway and was then extended in 1854 by North Devon Railways.[2] Later the line was taken over by the London & South Western company and then eventually became part of the Southern Railway, ‘which ran the famous 'Atlantic Coast Express' services to the north coast of Devon and Cornwall’.[3]

A view of Lapford Station on the Exeter to Barnstable line in 1913.[4]

Our transmitter has a brass rocker tapper key, Bakelite finger pad and a wooden base. It measures 15cm long, 7cm wide and 6.5cm high.

The Museum's transmitter

Morse code was invented in the 1830s by Samuel Morse. The code we know today has only been through a few changes since its development.[5] One of its major changes was from numbers to letters. Originally morse code was transmitted in numbers and the receiver would then use a dictionary to translate the numbers into words, a long and tedious task.[6]

Morse code patent. [5]

The first public message was transmitted on 24^th May 1844 and was “What God hath wrought” (.-- .... .- -   --. --- -..   .... .- - ....   .-- .-. --- ..- --. .... -).[7] Ten years after the first telegraph line opened in 1844, over 23,000 miles of line crossed the country, having a profound effect on the American West.

---

[1] Encyclopedia Titanica, 'First Use of Morse Code', 2011. [Online] Available from: www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/first-use-morse-code.html. (Accessed 24/04/2012).

[2] Wikipedia, 'Lapford Station', 2012. [Online] Available from: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lapfordstation.jpg. (Accessed 24/04/2012).

[3] The Art of Manliness, 'Become a Morse Code Expert', 2010. [Online] Available from: www.artofmanliness.com. (Accessed 24/04/2012). 

[4] The Art of Manliness, 'Become a Morse Code Expert', 2010. [Online] Available from: www.artofmanliness.com. (Accessed 24/04/2012). 

[5] Nicholas, John (1992). The North Devon Line. Sparkford: Oxford Publishing Company.

[6] Great Scenic Railways of Devon and Cornwall, 'Tarka Line', 2012. [Online] Available from: www.carfreedaysout.com/tarka.html. (Accessed 24/04/2012).

[7] Great Scenic Railways of Devon and Cornwall, 'Tarka Line', 2012. [Online] Available from: www.carfreedaysout.com/tarka.html. (Accessed 24/04/2012).