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My Local Exchange, and what's yours?

Started by WesternElectricBen, November 16, 2013, 10:31:53 PM

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twocvbloke

I don't have any pictures myself, but Bob Freshwater's site (where your pic above seems to have come from) does, the pictures are drawings though depicting the Brighton, Figured and Lettered dials:

http://www.britishtelephones.com/dial1.htm
(scroll down a bit to the B, F and L images)

david@london

.....thanks.

this would seem to be the diagram for the above photo.

i had not seen these before.

twocvbloke

Yep, that's one of them, finding one like that now though might be a bit tough, but I'm sure they're out there... :)

Sargeguy

#63
I managed to locate a card with exchange that was used in my house prior to me moving in 20 years ago.  My grandmother, an old AT&T employee, used to give her number as "GAspee-1 4521".  I saw an E-1/D-1/684 on eBay with a card with that exchange (poplar1 also pointed it out to me, thanks).  I contacted the seller about local pick up and he told me the phone was also available on Craigslist, so I arranged to buy it for $99.  The seller grew up in my neighborhood, which is called Gaspee, in Warwick and he thought the phone came from there.  I explained to him that our exchange back then began with either 46 or 78, and that GAspee stood for 42 and was actually used in Providence.  At this point he gave me an odd look and jumped in his car with the money and drove off to Saunderstown.
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

twocvbloke

My odd mind can't help but wonder if us brits still owned the US, would that place have been named Petrolwee...  :P

Sargeguy

You Brits are the ones who came up with the name, Americans would never name a ship that!
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

twocvbloke

Quote from: Sargeguy on March 14, 2014, 05:39:50 PM
You Brits are the ones who came up with the name, Americans would never name a ship that!

Actually the name was French, we just bought the boat from their canadian colonies and took the accent off the e, changing it from Gaspée to HMS Gaspee... ;D

At least that's what wikipedia claims, that might not be 100% true, given that history is always written by the people who win... ;D

twocvbloke

Whilst trying to figure out why our ADSL is on a go-slow, I was looking for where the local telephone exchange was located, then a big duh moment hit me, the present exchange (a very drab, beige, 1960s design) is right behind what I believe to be the original 1926 Stanley telephone exchange, the general design, shape and layout of the building lends itself to being potentially a former home of lots of click & bang goodies, shame all that's there now is a wallpaper warehouse... :-\

And ironically, I've been right next to it and never even realised... ???

markosjal

Quote from: Phonesrfun on November 17, 2013, 12:17:09 AM
While many three digit prefixes that formerly had names still exist, many, many prefixes have come into existence long after exchange names were done away with.  For instance, where I grew up, my original phone number was LIncoln-1971.  In the mid 1950's a number 2 was added to the front, and LIncoln turned into ALpine 4.  Our number therefore was ALpine 4-1971 for many years.  The 7 digit equivalent is 254-1971.  The Alpine office still exists today.  In the same city, the newer 761 exchange came into existence after exchange names were no longer used, and so it was nameless.  I am sure a name could have been assigned to the 7 and 6 digits.  However, my current cell phone number has its 3 digit "prefix" of 200.  It would be impossible to assign a name to that.

As to your original exchange name fo WA for your city, you might try going to the Exchange Name project and look it up.  You can Google its address, or do a search on this forum, it has been discussed here in the past.  Best of luck in your research.

Ya talkin bout my home town. Thanks for the history on the Portland ALpine exchange

PRospect7 3139 was mine and is mine on C*Net now

Mark
Phat Phantom's phreaking phone phettish

dc4code


andre_janew

Here in Lawrence, Kansas, USA, the oldest exchange is VIking3, but they are retiring all the VIking exchanges from 0 through 3 that are currently not in use.  I found this out when I got a new land line and tried to get my grandmother's old phone number.  My new phone number has an 838 exchange.

AT2796

Out here in AT&T west, every exchange (and remote terminal) has it's own "legal" AT&T name consisting of four letters to identify the location! 2 letters for the state followed be 2 numbers to identify if they are switched or remote. Example would be my local office (probably proprietary, so the following example will not be accurate) Baywood Park, CA would be BAYWCA01. That would be the engineering and or financial identification

We also use 2 letter designations to identify switched exchanges (not remotes). So the actual 2 letter designation for Baywood Park is BQ, San Luis Obispo is OB...etc

We are pretty rural out here, only 1 switched exchange per city/town as opposed to bigger cities like San Francisco. I think we have 9 separate exchanges in SF, can't quite remember it's been a long time since I worked there.

I wish I knew what my original 2 letter prefix was so I could make repro dial cards. I have a hunch that our CO may be new enough to have been switched from the beginning. Before we were probably trunked from San Luis Obispo. Just my guess, maybe someday I'll try to really research the history.
Andy

jsowers

Quote from: AT2796 on February 14, 2019, 11:00:11 PM
We also use 2 letter designations to identify switched exchanges (not remotes). So the actual 2 letter designation for Baywood Park is BQ, San Luis Obispo is OB...etc

We are pretty rural out here, only 1 switched exchange per city/town as opposed to bigger cities like San Francisco. I think we have 9 separate exchanges in SF, can't quite remember it's been a long time since I worked there.

I wish I knew what my original 2 letter prefix was so I could make repro dial cards. I have a hunch that our CO may be new enough to have been switched from the beginning. Before we were probably trunked from San Luis Obispo. Just my guess, maybe someday I'll try to really research the history.
San Luis Obispo is LYric and LIberty, but it doesn't list Baywood Park on the Exchange Name Project. You can see what turns up. And be patient--it's not very fast. You can change the city and then wait a few seconds and it will bring it up. Don't use the state part unless absolutely necessary. People have used all kinds of different abbreviations for that and it only brings up the ones with that particular abbreviation. Here's the link...

http://www.ourwebhome.com/TENP/TENproject.html

Click Search our database and you're there.
Jonathan

AT2796

Very cool, thanks!
I looked up my town by its other name (Los Osos/Baywood Park, I don't know why) and Los Osos comes up as JAckson! So the new dial cards will be
JAckson 8-8600!
Andy

dc4code

Cool!

I know all of Oviedo, Sanford, Winter Springs, Lake Mary/Longwood and surrounding towns use the FAirfax 0 to FAirfax 8 exchanges.

They are still in use as 32X, Winter Springs AT&T Exchange is 327 (used to be FA7 or FAirfax 7)

32X (FAirfax X) Used to be a #5 XB installed in 1947 for Central Florida. It was cut over to a #5 ESS in the early-mid 1990s. (It still is a 5ESS!)

407-327-1000 is the Winter Springs PD (used to be FAirfax 7-1000)

I think that is REALLY cool that it's been in use for all these years!