News:

"The phone is a remarkably complex, simple device,
and very rarely ever needs repairs, once you fix them." - Dan/Panther

Main Menu

Two-Tone Colored WECo 500 Telephones

Started by Jester, February 28, 2010, 11:48:47 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Jester

#165
I thought a few of you would enjoy some additional pics on this topic.  These have been "in situe" the last few years here, so I spent the last week putting some tlc into them.  These are all full color sets that, at the very least, I swapped a black dial for colored one.  My reasoning was simple-- I had the parts on hand to do it and these will look great in the display case next to the complete full color sets I have in there. All the removed parts will be cleaned, adjusted and stored for eventual replacement on their respective chassis, should I decide to let them go.
Stephen

Pourme

~

Jester

I have some parts on the bench that I have been considering to do the same thing. After all they can be put back to the original configuration if I want to at a future date...Those look nice

Benny
Benny

Panasonic 308/616 Magicjack service

jsowers

Nice re-creations, Jester. The one on the left is a yellow one, isn't it? I can't quite tell, but yellow would have dark gray cords and a black dial in 1954 like you have, so I wanted everyone to know what color it is. The only real two-tone in your grouping is the green one. The other two, yellow and dark blue, are still considered full color sets since they have color handsets, and that's amazing considering the yellow one had three colors going on. Be sure to tell your holiday guests all that and watch them glaze over.  ::)  I'm sure you know already, sometimes the details we love are not interesting to non-collectors.

My aunt was talking about my uncle Don this past Christmas and the suit of clothes including an overcoat he got when he first started working for Southern Bell in late 1954. Imagine--he was there for the first color phones and then retired right at divestiture. I wish I had talked to him more about his work. He died in 1994. His overcoat exactly fits his tall grandson, who took it home with him as a memory of "papa Don."
Jonathan

Jim Stettler

For those interested. Here is some links to two-tone info posted to  the forum in the past.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is an old thread with some BSP scans of colored and 2-tone telephone info.


http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1886.msg25064#msg25064

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is another thread that includes early and 2-tone sets.
Gray cords Straight vs coiled

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=1863.90



Jim S.
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

Jester

#169
Let me rephrase, Jonathan.  I'm sure, because of the dates on these three phones, that all of them were assembled with color matching dials.  I included the yellow and blue sets in that post because I didn't remember where to find the thread on black dial color sets.  Also, I thought they look great together.  On the blue phone, it actually came to me with a white 9CA dial.  As fortune would have it, the rest of it had dates of 12/55 and 1/56, and one of the spare #7 dials I bought in a lot is a marked 7C 57 with dial plate, dated 11/55.
Stephen

WEBellSystemChristian

Great phones, Jester!

My jaw nearly dropped to the floor when I saw the Yellow black dial set, but then noticed that you said you built it. I have the only one that I know of, but it came to me from another forum member without the dial or cords--the only parts that make it special. The plastics are dated 1953 (or 1954, I'll have to check), so it was undoubtedly a black dial set originally.

I don't recall ever seeing a black dial-specific topic, so this one will do for pictures of those.
Christian Petterson

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right" -Henry Ford

AL_as_needed

First time I have seen/read this topic, and Im glad I did. I always knew about the early two-tone sets and to be honest didnt pay them much mind. Seeing better pictures of them and after reading up on the subject, they are rather nice sets. Granter they are out of my budget for collecting  ::), may need to make a faux set to round out my ranks.
TWinbrook7

andre_janew

Many two-tone sets were created by individuals rather than Western Electric.  This is a red and black manual set I created:

andre_janew

Here is a sea foam green and black manual set:

andre_janew

Here is a sea foam green and red manual set:

andre_janew

Here is a beige and black modular manual set:

andre_janew

Here is a beige and black modular set:

andre_janew

Here is a black and beige modular set