Ever wonder when the telegraph systems stopped being used?

Question

Often I try to imagine what it felt like to be that last OP sending the last message on the circuit before it was shut down. What do you suppose those last messages were beyond routine traffic and train orders? This happened in the 1970s I think.

Answer 1

Sounds like they just stopped. I found this in Wikipedia:

End of telegrams

As of July 2006, The Western Union website showed this notice:

"Effective January 27, 2006, Western Union will discontinue all Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you for your loyal patronage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a customer service representative. "[1]

This ended the era of telegrams which began in 1851 with the founding of the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company, and which spanned 155 years of continuous service. Western Union reported that telegrams sent had fallen to a total of 20,000 a year, due to competition from other communication services such as email. Employees had been informed of the decision in mid-January.

I chose to only research telegraphs in the U.S.

Answer 2

Believe it or not, the era of the telegram, an icon of communication dating back 150 years, came to a quiet end just this year. Western Union delivered its final telegram on Friday, January 27, 2006.

In truth, the telegram long ago succumbed to long distance telephones, faxes, e-mail and instant messaging.

Telegrams were most popular in the 1920s and '30s, when they were cheaper than a long-distance call. But the telephone and e-mail eventually led to the extinction of the telegram.

Answer 3

Excellent.

Train order operators survived well into the 80's, actually, in open train order offices.  It wasn't until the wholesale slaughter of clerical positions, operators among them, was possible due to technological advance that the telegraphers breathed their last.

As you know, the last order transmitted wasn't done in Morse code, and hadn't been for long before.  But yours is a point to ponder.  There must have been some kind of exchange between the last of the dinosaurs that were Train Order Operators and the dispatchers who issued that last clearance.

Train Order Territory was a difficult to understand, confusing method of operation, whether you were in dark territory or ABS.  It is a lost art.  If by some fearful exigency we were forced to return to the system, no one would be able to dispatch a flea across a dog's butt.  

Only those who made those last communications will ever know.  As a practical matter, I wasn't sorry to see the train order fade into history, for the reasons above, as a recipient of said orders. They were a pain for all involved.

So, let this be a formal farewell to the flimsy.  Interesting question,  Thanks for asking.