the elusive WE 358

[Babybearjs]

well, heres a good question: what ever happend to all those WE 358's that used to be in service?? I just got a really nice 410C and after cleaning it up and testing it... it struck me, where is the counterpart wall phone for this baby?? after looking up the 558, i assumed that the 2 line phone for the 300 series wall phone must be a 358. search.... nothing... 352,54, 56, 57, 59.... but no 58! Hmmm well, based on what i know about my 354... the cover does have the optional punchout for the line key.... but I've yet to see a 358 on ebay, or anywhere else for that matter. no docs in the library... no references by ma bell in any of the BSP's I have.... so did this phone really exist... or did the 500 series get released and the 2 line wall phone get introduced... if anyone has one, I want to see a photo... I know there is extra screw threadings in a 354 for some extra parts, but for what I never found out!  fill me in on what I'm missing....  or am I???

[jsowers]

Did you see this on Paul's site? He has photos of a special 354C that's a 2-line 354. It's stamped a lot on the back and it looks like a very late adaptation by the years of the stamps.

http://www.paul-f.com/we354CS.html

He also says there evidently never was a 358.

[paul-f]

search.... nothing... 352,54, 56, 57, 59.... but no 58!

What's a 359 and where is it documented?

[Babybearjs]

well, I'll be.... now why don't these show up on ebay? I'd like to get one, or the componets to modify the one I have.... I already a the 44A block, so I'm almost there... does anyone know since this is marked as a "special" if this was mass marketed by ma bell? is there any BSP's on this model? and as for the 359.... its the same as a 357... sorry about that... since the 300 series had a 309, I thought there would be a wall version of the same phone. but, since the 307 and the 309 are identicle, then I guess the wall version would be too, if there was such a thing.... boy! Id really like to see some documentation on this phone... anyone know more about it then paul?? this is really neat!

[Kenny C]

Paul,
Did they ever make a 355 with the ringer cut off switch?

[Telephone Den]

Babybearjs,

There never was a 358 or even a 458 for that matter.  Recall that in the 300 style family single button sets were coded as a 4xx code.  But to my knowledge there never was anything equivalent to a 402, 410, 411, 412 sets.  You could probably duplicate the function with the appropriate 6017 key and a std 354.

Also there is a slight difference between the 307 and a 309 or 357 and 359.  They are LBT-CBS (Local battery Talking - Common Battery Signaling) And could be used with a separate magneto on a mag line.  Anyway the 309 / 359 both have a cold cathode tube which is used for 4 party selective and 8 party semi selective ringing on party lines which is where these sets would have found quite a bot of use.

Telephone Den

[GG]

Jonathan re. photo on Paul F's site:

The terminal strip below the induction coil is the same type that came with AE 87 three-line sets.  (Presumably WE made these terminal blocks for themselves and AE got them from Leich or Suttle or whoever.)  That suggests this was some kind of custom wallphone built in telco shops or perhaps by a telco employee for his/her own use. 

The terminal block is mounted directly above the condenser, so either a) it's mounted to a metal pad with self-stick backing (similar to that which was often used for mounting 4-terminal 42-A blocks on sheetrock), stuck to the metal bracket that holds the condenser in place, or b) it's possible that two properly tapped screw holes were driven into the metal strap that holds the condenser in place.  I can't imagine WE mass-producing 2-line wall sets using either of those methods: they would have created a larger terminal strip to the right of the ringer or something. 

Either way, an interesting and rare example, possibly one of a kind or one of very few that were built that way. 

[Babybearjs]

thanks for reminding me about the 426 tube. I forgot about that option. I just got done refurbishing another 410 and got thinking, the phone that is shown on pauls website must have been done by someone else other then WE.... the terminal strip for the line switch slides onto the capacitor bracket.... now if WE wanted to make a "358" they probibly would have used the same parts as the 410. the parts where already in production, so makeing a 2 line wall phone would have been easy. the photo shown on the website must have been custom and thus explaining the 44A block. I now  have 3 410's and on of the units has a badly damaged shell. If I can get my hands on another 354, I can try a conversion and see if I'm successful. stay tuned!  john

[paul-f]

There are few things I'd characterize as "one-of-a-kind."  WE would always modify sets as needed to meet specific customer needs - for a price.  This includes circuit modifications as well as non-standard colors that might be implemented by painting or molding custom colored plastics.

If a need was likely to occur a bunch of times, a standard modification was created.  New models were only created if the demand was deemed sufficient to justify the administrative workload and inventory costs.

Note the 554 modified for party line use -- http://www.paul-f.com/we500typ.htm#554 and the marking on the back.

One area I'm currently studying is amplified sets.  Note the 558 modified with an amplifier --  http://www.paul-f.com/we500typ.htm#558

I also have a 565-type keyset with a similar modification.

The modifications noted usually were not in BSPs, but the references on the backs of the phones related to memos or drawing numbers that documented the changes.

Changes that were generally useful were documented so the wheel wouldn't have to be reinvented each time the request came up.

To the best of my knowledge, most were not marketed externally.

I haven't seen a wall set with a knob marked for ringer cutoff, but any wall set with a twist key or plunger could be easily wired for that function.

[Babybearjs]

thanks paul! it interesting about the documentation. Ma bell hade some phone with "options" but never offered them... just like computer motherboards, the options are there, but you still have to order the "extra" parts.  why they never offered the 410 in a regular wall version is beyond me... I guess people just liked have 1 phone line...