Wooden telephone - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

FIXITNOW · 31st Aug 2021, 7:04 am

picked this up yesterday at Huntington radio rally can anyone id it please

Ed_Dinning · 31st Aug 2021, 8:59 am

I've seen an instrument like this used on a railway branch line. It was used on a winch controlled incline down to a dock in NE England so the guy at the bottom could communicate with the winch house at the top.
Powered by wet LeClanche cells and probably installed about WW2

Ed

lesmw0sec · 31st Aug 2021, 9:17 am

What is that silvery disc which looks like a later addition to the front door?

g8jzyian · 31st Aug 2021, 10:19 am

Could it be the original microphone ( 2 connections to it via the hinges)
If so the handset is a later addition.
Ian

Cobaltblue · 31st Aug 2021, 10:33 am

Looks very similar the GEC K series phones an example linked

https://www.britishtelephones.com/gec/40.htm

https://www.britishtelephones.com/gec/gectlist.htm

Cheers

Mike T

Graham G3ZVT · 31st Aug 2021, 10:10 pm

A nice find. You just need a second one, and a butler to answer it.

FIXITNOW · 1st Sep 2021, 7:04 am

cheers folks ,yes original microphone on the door i guess i need to find a more original ear piece instead off the hand set

D.Finney · 1st Sep 2021, 12:21 pm

I seem to recall having the remains of a telephone like this about 40 years ago, had the Sterling Telephone mark on it.

ex 2 Base · 1st Sep 2021, 2:21 pm

When I worked for BR in 1950/60 we had plenty of those types of phones in regular use and dated back to GNR of 1900 time. Yes as Ed says, work via wet LeClanche cells. Almost all signal boxes had a wooden cabinet outside at ground level, which contain a bank of wet LeClanche cells.

Dave Moll · 1st Sep 2021, 9:45 pm

What it should have is known as a "watch receiver" (presumably because of the slight similarity in appearance to a pocket watch). A search for this online only seems to bring up more modern equivalents, but it would have a metal body with a suspension ring and a bakelite cover.

lesmw0sec · 2nd Sep 2021, 9:35 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by ex 2 Base

When I worked for BR in 1950/60 we had plenty of those types of phones in regular use and dated back to GNR of 1900 time. Yes as Ed says, work via wet LeClanche cells. Almost all signal boxes had a wooden cabinet outside at ground level, which contain a bank of wet LeClanche cells.

You take me back to my days as a kid brought up on a railway station - I recall a shelf full of those cells in a cupboard in the booking office! The local telephone exchange had them too. One of the chaps gave me the makings to play with - a big fat carbon + depolariser in a pot and a hefty zinc rod. I set it up in a jug and it never ran flat.

31st Aug 2021, 7:04 am	#1
FIXITNOW Octode Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK. Posts: 1,975	Wooden telephone picked this up yesterday at Huntington radio rally can anyone id it please Attached Thumbnails

31st Aug 2021, 8:59 am	#2
Ed_Dinning Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, UK. Posts: 8,194	Re: Wooden telephone I've seen an instrument like this used on a railway branch line. It was used on a winch controlled incline down to a dock in NE England so the guy at the bottom could communicate with the winch house at the top. Powered by wet LeClanche cells and probably installed about WW2 Ed

31st Aug 2021, 9:17 am	#3
lesmw0sec Octode Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Carmel, Llannerchymedd, Anglesey, UK. Posts: 1,506	Re: Wooden telephone What is that silvery disc which looks like a later addition to the front door?

31st Aug 2021, 10:19 am	#4
g8jzyian Pentode Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK. Posts: 149	Re: Wooden telephone Could it be the original microphone ( 2 connections to it via the hinges) If so the handset is a later addition. Ian

31st Aug 2021, 10:33 am	#5
Cobaltblue Moderator Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Exeter, Devon and Poole, Dorset UK. Posts: 6,863	Re: Wooden telephone Looks very similar the GEC K series phones an example linked https://www.britishtelephones.com/gec/40.htm https://www.britishtelephones.com/gec/gectlist.htm Cheers Mike T __________________ Invisible airwaves crackle with life or at least they used to Mike T BVWS member. www.cossor.co.uk

31st Aug 2021, 10:10 pm	#6
Graham G3ZVT Dekatron Join Date: May 2010 Location: Greater Manchester, UK. Posts: 18,711	Re: Wooden telephone A nice find. You just need a second one, and a butler to answer it. __________________ -- Graham. G3ZVT

1st Sep 2021, 7:04 am	#7
FIXITNOW Octode Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK. Posts: 1,975	Re: Wooden telephone cheers folks ,yes original microphone on the door i guess i need to find a more original ear piece instead off the hand set

1st Sep 2021, 12:21 pm	#8
D.Finney Pentode Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK. Posts: 147	Re: Wooden telephone I seem to recall having the remains of a telephone like this about 40 years ago, had the Sterling Telephone mark on it.

1st Sep 2021, 2:21 pm	#9
ex 2 Base Heptode Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Scarborough, North Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 510	Re: Wooden telephone When I worked for BR in 1950/60 we had plenty of those types of phones in regular use and dated back to GNR of 1900 time. Yes as Ed says, work via wet LeClanche cells. Almost all signal boxes had a wooden cabinet outside at ground level, which contain a bank of wet LeClanche cells.

1st Sep 2021, 9:45 pm	#10
Dave Moll Dekatron Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK Posts: 6,127	Re: Wooden telephone What it should have is known as a "watch receiver" (presumably because of the slight similarity in appearance to a pocket watch). A search for this online only seems to bring up more modern equivalents, but it would have a metal body with a suspension ring and a bakelite cover. __________________ Mending is better than Ending (cf Brave New World by Aldous Huxley)