[GreenKeys] Western Union film

[Robert Nickels]

On 6/19/2020 9:54 PM, Russ Miller wrote:
>
>
> In addition, WU would lease capacity from AT&T when the need was 
> there. AT&T would also lease capacity from WU from time to time.
>
>
> WU has a limited local distribution network, in major cities, all 
> copper which was augmented by leased circuits from the local Bell 
> Company under a nationwide contrac
>
Thanks Russ and Jim.   My question was about their network in a broad 
sense, whether it was wireline or microwave, but the answer clearly is 
that Western Union indeed did build and maintain it's own infrastructure.

I found a good paper that describes the history of the WU microwave 
relay system, including their negotiations with the Forest Service, here:

https://historycooperative.org/journal/towers-for-telegrams-the-western-union-telegraph-company-and-the-emergence-of-microwave-telecommunications-infrastructure/ 


A research engineer for WU also wrote an article "Radio Beam Telegraphy" 
that includes photos of equipment and more details of the first 
multiplexing systems, which was published in the Oct. 1946 issue of 
Railway Signalling magazine, that can be viewed on Google Books:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/L4_mAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA666&dq=western+union+network+wireline 


The first article above also contains many interesting looking links for 
anyone interested.    Your comment about "copper" is pertinent because 
the 1946 article notes that in recent years all the iron wire in its 
network had been replaced with copper!

73,   Bob W9RAN