[Pellseinydd]

Originally Posted by Tim

Indeed it does! Exchanges still have an"1141" code, which is used for admin purposes, planning etc. They consist of a 3 letter code unique to each exchange, repeater station or transmitter site.
Someone told me once that most of the ones beginning with a "Y" are transmitter sites, as the "Y" is supposed to represent an aerial.

Some off the top of my head................

KMD Bath Kingsmead
ZEM Combe Down
BLX Bradford on Avon
FEJ Frome
SHU Shepton Mallet

Good memory - they all check out.

Larger exchanges in my book have two letter codes such as CS - Chester, BE - Belfast etc. Others in same location had a / plus letter. i.e. CS was the original National Telephone Co 1906 manual exchange that house 'Chester' until it went 'auto' in 1950 - but the lower floor housed the eight position test desk and the group floor house transmission equipment. Hence it kept its code. The new auto over the road became CS/A, a small roadside repeater station on the outskirts of Chester was CS/B and the 'new' larger repeater station built not long after Chester went auto became CS/D. Never haver found where CS/C was?

In my list the 'Y' codes which were/are transmitter sites are all four letter codes beginning with a 'Y'. There are plenty of exchange and repeater station codes which begin with a 'Y' -
YAV Yetholm
YBL Ynysybwl
YCP Chapelton
YDD Heddon-on-the-Wall
YE Yealmpton
YM Yarmouth
YNS Yarnfield
YCTS Stone (Staffs) Central Training School
Last two will bring back memories for many ex-GPO/PO and BT engineers!

Others were Electricity related locations such as YMSM was Melksham 275Kv Sub Station. And YMTH was the HWQ of the British Electricity Authority at Milton Hall in East Anglia. YCWT was Butlins Holiday Camp at Chwilog in North Wales. A number of theatres had codes such as YCAP the Didsbury Theatre in Manchester !

Then there were other non-radio sites with a four letter 'Y' code such as Regents Park Zoo, London was YRPZ, YTNG was Tingley Gas Works of the North Eastern Gas Board .

Defence installations were in the 'Q' series - I looked after QCS (CS was the code for Chester) but they don't get listed . There however were ordinary exchanges/repeater stations with codes which started with a 'Q' such as QHR BeamishUAX near Durham.

Those four letter codes starting with TX are all Telex auto exchanges such as TXBE is Belfast Telex exchange and TXCS is Chester Telex exchange.

I've just come across another Post Office document that goes by the name of 'A3948 - Short Exchange Names' - a hundred page A5 booklet that appears to be for operators use as it lists all the Auto-Manual Centres (the switchboard reached when you dialled the operator) with their three digit numerical code. Also listed are the letter codes for each telephone area. The exchanges are all abbreviated to a maximum of eight letters - so Rhosllarchrugog ends up as RHSLNRGG or Castletown, Isle of Man becomes CSTLTN,M whilst Castletown, Caithness becomes CSRLTN,C . If the name was less than 8 characters or less, it remained the same.