WE 251 Ringer does not work

[G-Man]

I wanted to add some pictures of the inside as requested and let you all tell me what you make of the markings. I think this is indeed an AB1. Looks like it is also marked 8 10 51 2.

An AB1 mounting code indicates it was originally manufactured as a WECo 251 instrument. They were supplied without a ringer as it was intended for the Bell or Independent company to supply their own; typically a harmonic (frequency) ringer for use on a party-line for selective ringing.

Initially harmonic ringers were  manufactured by Western Electric. As the remaining Bell exchanges phased out frequency ringing and cutover to cold-cathode tube ringing, the remaining Bell harmonic ringing exchanges sourced ringers manufactured by Kellogg and Stromberg-Carlson. In later years for the few hanger-ons, Bell System company supply catalogs list ITT frequency ringers for use in WECo 500-type sets.

Below is a jpeg showing Kellogg ringers intended for WECo and S-C sets.

[loblolly986]

Welcome, Matthew. Gee, 36 is "young" around here? I'm in my twenties and have been into old telephones off and on since I was a kid... (Just getting back into it in recent weeks after another "off" period.)

I just wanted to add this to the discussion: hold on to the old ringer and other parts you replace. Bog-standard Bell System-issued 302 sets are pretty common, and it's only a matter of time before you run across one. More specialized models for long-gone purposes and circuit variations, such as party-line models or the sold-to-independents 251 model you have, may be less- or unusable as-is on the standard circuits that remain today, but they are interesting relics in their own way and often less common. The frequency ringer may not have been made or originally supplied with the phone by W.E., but it's still "original" to the phone inasmuch as it was installed by the issuing tel. co. long ago as part of when the phone was in actual service. Even the old cords were date-coded by W.E. and are also part of its history. (With me, if a phone still works well enough despite cord damage, I'd tend to leave them and at most patch them up with electrical tape or something; though on the other hand, for use as a "daily driver", the old cloth-covered cords are more susceptible to further wear overall and might be better preserved by swapping in a replacement...)

Zachary.

[phoneyouth]

...More specialized models for long-gone purposes and circuit variations, such as party-line models or the sold-to-independents 251 model you have, may be less- or unusable as-is on the standard circuits that remain today, but they are interesting relics in their own way...

Zachary, thank you for the information. It is my plan to use this phone at home in my office on my desk. To pick up when people call my smartphone.