[Pellseinydd]

Just stumbled across this thread.

To correct the record - the last few were; Muck, changed over in Late 1993. Canna, Soay and Foula followed in July/August 1994.

The very last A/B box was on the island of Papa Stour, one of the Shetland Islands in on the 25th August 1994. The last phone call using the A/B box was made a Mr Ted Gray (aged 57) to his daughter on the Mainland of Shetland (They could only dial local calls). The A/B box 'disappeared' so the Payphone Manager told me at the time but I have the notices from the frames in the Kiosk. On the back of one of them is written 'Papa Stour 1' - the original number before Papa Stour got its own exchange.

I've also got the A/B box from Foula - acquired when I recovered the Foula exchange for preservation in mid July 1995 - the last electro-mechanical exchange in service in the BT network. Foula had its own STD code until 1995 - 0393 3 and although the numbers were shown as four digits in the directory, the islanders only dialled two digits to reach each other and calls were untimed. You can hear an excerpt from a BBC Radio 4 programme 'The Secret Life of Telephone numbers' on 01595 780222 about the Foula kiosk and numbers.

I've also got the A/B box from Canna, also acquired when I recovered Canna exchange in 1997 a couple of years after it had been replaced. Canna never appeared as an exchange as it was part of the Mallaig 'Linked Numbering Scheme, so had a Mallaig number.

Incidentally although the replacement STD payphones were known as 'Pay on Answer' payphone there several types of A/B box; some were 'Pre-payment' and those on certain manual exchanges were known as 'Post payment', easily recognised as they looked like an A/B box but no button A or B.

There is one A/B box still on the public network in a 1920's K1 type concrete kiosk at the Tramway Museum at Crich where it has been in service since the 1960's but it is technically a 'preserved' one looked after by the Museum.

Ian J