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Vintage Telephony and Telecomms Vintage Telephones, Telephony and Telecomms Equipment

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Old 6th Dec 2017, 8:41 am   #1
Phil G4SPZ
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Default Vintage PBX info sought

I hope it's in order to post this appeal for advice here!

The Black Country Living Museum, where I work as a volunteer, is planning to re-create a 1950s Gas Board showroom and office building, which originally had a PBX phone system. None of it remains. I'm not a telephone enthusiast, but the Curators have asked me to assist, so I thought of all the telephone experts on here!

Can anyone recommend any telephony museums, on-line resources, books etc that might assist the Curators and show types of vintage PBX systems?

Many thanks,

Phil
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Old 6th Dec 2017, 9:36 am   #2
bobsterkent
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Default Re: Vintage PBX info sought

I would think if it was a small one then a small manual switchboard would be all that was required something like this:http://electroprops.co.uk/89/Phones-...ard-P1607.html
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Old 6th Dec 2017, 9:38 am   #3
g8jzyian
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Default Re: Vintage PBX info sought

hi,
My first port of call would be Amberly museum
they have a fine selection of working manual PBXs
http://www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/
Regards

Ian
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Old 6th Dec 2017, 9:59 am   #4
Phil G4SPZ
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Default Re: Vintage PBX info sought

Hi Bob, Ian,

Thanks for that picture, Bob, very helpful. I know of Amberley and have been there, their telephone collection is indeed very good. There's also a big telephone museum in Milton Keynes apparently. Closer to home, the Avoncroft Museum of Buildings near Bromsgrove is said to have some telephone exhibits.

Many thanks again.
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Old 6th Dec 2017, 2:03 pm   #5
dagskarlsen
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Default Re: Vintage PBX info sought

I would suggest to take a look at this page:
http://www.glenmoriston.org.uk/Glenm...ne%20Exchange/
Ian here is an expert on exchages, may be the best on old exchanges in Europe!

dsk
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Old 6th Dec 2017, 2:32 pm   #6
Phil G4SPZ
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Default Re: Vintage PBX info sought

Thanks for that!
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Old 6th Dec 2017, 8:35 pm   #7
Pellseinydd
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Default Re: Vintage PBX info sought

Quote:
Originally Posted by dagskarlsen View Post
I would suggest to take a look at this page:
http://www.glenmoriston.org.uk/Glenm...ne%20Exchange/
Ian here is an expert on exchages, may be the best on old exchanges in Europe!

dsk
Whoops - fame!! Actually the switchboard above is a former public exchange.

I would suggest that a small town Gas showroom would in the 1950's have had a small table top cordless switchboard - a CB935 configured for one exchange line and up to three extensions or a slightly larger 2 +4 or 3+9 switchboard as shown in Bob Freshwater's website in http://www.britishtelephones.com/swcb935.htm Shouldn't be too hard to find one. A couple of 1+3's went on eBay recently

The larger 10+50 would have been for a much larger location. For instance Brymbo Steel Works employing around 1200 with a three story office block only had a 10+50 switchboard in the 1970/80's. Bear in mind that in those days every extension had to be rented so phones weren't as numerous as they are today in offices.
Hope that helps

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Old 6th Dec 2017, 10:14 pm   #8
Phil G4SPZ
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Default Re: Vintage PBX info sought

Wow, thanks Ian! That's a really good link. The Curator apparently knows a 96-year-old gentleman who worked at the office in the 1930s and 1940s, but she was looking for some images to help jog his memory. Your link provides exactly what we were looking for.

I can remember seeing some very old PBXs still in use in small hospitals in the early 1970s, but they were of course larger exchanges with more extensions.

Incidentally, I was interested to read on your site how Police Stations were often allocated the number 222 in small rural branch exchanges. For many years 222 was (and probably still is) used as the internal 'crash call' number in hospitals for a cardiac arrest, fire or other dire emergency, and the operator drops all other calls to answer. The adoption of 222 probably dates back to the old Police Station numbers. Fascinating bit of history!

Many thanks for the PM too. I'll reply later. Kind regards and 73,

Phil
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Last edited by Phil G4SPZ; 6th Dec 2017 at 10:16 pm. Reason: Update
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