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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 7 (February 1, 1932.)

A Magician and His Selector-telephone

A Magician and His Selector-telephone.

Think of a little room, off Bunny Street, Wellington. A magician, known as a train controller is at a desk, with a pencil poised over a chart, facing the switches of a selector-telephone; it is a very exclusive instrument, which does not lend itself to social chatter or idle gossip. One thin wire ties all the stations of the Wellington-Wanganui line to that “selector,” a very ingenious contrivance. At the touch of the controller it chooses the station required, and restricts the contact to that station so that any information passing over the wire cannot be received by other stations. This is one of the Department's many safeguards against mistakes and confusion. At any time of the day or night the train-controller can speak page 45 to any station, and any station can speak to him. Speech! Short speeches, yes, but plenty of them. The calling is constant; to and fro the voices go across the miles of country.

Anyone who walks into the train-control room at any hour of the day or night will see a man at the table, very
Train-Control Operations on the N.Z.R. Mr. A. C. Thomson, train-control officer, at his desk in Wellington.

Train-Control Operations on the N.Z.R.
Mr. A. C. Thomson, train-control officer, at his desk in Wellington.

alert, very quick, very accurate. There are four six-hour shifts, but it is more than a six-hour day for each of the officers, as the changing of shifts requires each man to arrive ahead of his scheduled time and to stay a while at the end. The shifts are rotated, so that each man has his turns of day and night duty.