30 Jan
1999
30 Jan
'99
6:37 a.m.
I've often thought it would be fun to collect old
telephone company
equipment, like chunks of crossbar and step-by-step switches, early
ESS switches and so on. My fantasy is to acquire the equipment from
a small rural exchange that was upgraded, get it set up and run an
actual non-connected telephone exchange in my basement. But the
power requirements are bizarre and that equipment never seems to
surface anyplace I can find it.
Oh, have I got a URL for you!
I'm also posting it because Hans asked for it a while ago.
http://www.scn.org/tech/telmuseum/index.html
The Vintage Telephone Equipment Museum
This place is in the Seattle area. They have a number of working, actual
non-connected telephone exchanges. At the old end, there are a couple of
switchboards (the kind that go with magneto phones). There are also
step-by-step and crossbar switches and there's a 3ESS switch. And there are
phones to go with the switches, of course, and PBXs, not to mention a very
nice Teletype collection and a further range of non-working or non-connected
equipment. (Did you know that Western Electric made washing machines?)
They do have a small computer collection. I'm still looking for docs and
software for the 3B2, by the way.
Perhaps they could tell you how to get more equipment.
-- Derek