Vintage Bell~Railroad~Wood Telephone~Connecticut Earpiece~See Description

Description: Payment | Shipping | Some things I'd like you to know. Vintage Bell~Railroad~Wood Telephone~Connecticut Earpiece~See Description This item is a very vintage wood railroad/trolley telephone. Probably used by a railroad or trolley company at the end of a yard limit or where trolley tracks go from double to single track. The earpiece leads me to believe it might be from the Connecticut Company trolley line. It measures 4" X 4" on the face and is about 4 1/2" deep from the front of the speaker to the back. The earpiece has "Connecticut" in raised script like lettering. It has a loop on the top to hang on that arm that sticks out from the left side of the phone. I have a cloth cord that could be attached but it is a modern repro. A friend with long service with Bell Telephone gave me some insight, which I have edited into a shortened description: I believe your assessment is correct about Connecticut Company. (There was no monopoly back then and users could add such things to these phones.)My recollection is they were referred to as a "Side Hanging Manual Wall Phone". While I am aware of a few other uses for them they were specifically made by "Bell" before Western Electric was purchased and became the development (Bell Labs, etc.) and manufacturing arm of the nationwide "Bell System" which ultimately became AT&T. These were located in switching and other service buildings along the right-of-way and connected back to a manual (switch) board in a central location via 2 strands of iron wire (per phone, now a days referred to as "Tip" & "Ring"). This iron, its telecom nickname, was strung on 10 pin cross arms 25+ feet up on phone poles along the RR / Trolley lines. At each wooden pin there were glass insulators to maintain the then 48 volt DC current, now wired phone service operates on 24 volt DC current. If you do the math you can understand why old photos of phone & RR poles are seen with so many cross arms on them! 5 phone lines per cross arm! Referring to the photo showing the front of the phone: The side hook on the left is where the ear piece was hung via a hook or loop on its end. The 2 bells on top could be adjusted for loudness by loosening their cover slightly and turning it for the proper spacing. The closer they were to each other the quieter the ring as the little hammer between them didn't have that much "travel" space. The hex shaped grommet on the left was where we used a special tool to open the cover to get inside. The brass button on the lower right of the fixed mouthpiece is a "push to talk" button.This truly shows the quality made bell system equipment of the old days. How often do we see brass grommet lined holes for mounting screws?? Referring to the photo showing the inside of the phone: This inside view is a fine example of basic telephone theory. In today's world, July 2020, all you see here is contained in one miniature micro chip and is why you throw it away. To work on this phone 3 basic tools were needed, screwdriver, gaping tool or a $1 bill and a small soldering iron possibly with some solder and small pliers.For the interested here is what you're looking at: On the left the ear piece arm activates a flat spring relay, the multi fingered silver item vertically mounted on the left side. As shown the circuit is open or "off hook" in telephone talk and the listener can hear the caller, if an incoming call, or the main board is signaled that this phone is "off hook" and they will plug in to see what is needed. On the right side the 2 ringer coils, looking like balls of grey string, are removed from the circuit as they are only needed to operate the bells on top when a call is coming in and not during conversation. The circuit continues onto the back of the door via its hinges to the mouthpiece. The vertical grey metal strip keeps the mouthpiece from working until the "Push to Talk" button is pressed. The call is complete when the ear piece is placed back on the hook, which drops downward and opens the flat spring relay's contacts. At the main board a tiny light bulb flashes above the jack the connection was made in and the board "operator" removes the cord from that jack. Referring to the photo showing the back of the phone: The ruined finish on the backboard is typical of many phones like this. In the heydays of railroading most all offices and indoor heated spaces were finished with fine, heavily varnished, woodwork. As most of us know in a hot humid climate like ours can be, varnish will soften and get sticky as could be the case in this photo, or possibly some sort of note was stuck onto the back. In my career I've seen it all. All that being said (written), I don't believe the phone will work without someone looking into it and possibly fixing it. I am selling it as non-working. An interesting collectible. Check the pictures. US Buyer to pay the amount calculated by the US Shipping Calculator, located in the Shipping & Handling Section below this one, for S&H within the USA. Non-US customers, please use the International Shipping Calculator located in the Shipping & Handling section I combine S&H charges on multiple purchases. If insurance is requested, the appropriate charge will be added to the invoice. ******************************************************************************************************************* ATTENTION INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: Sorry, I can't be responsible for the failings of the various non-USA postal services, so everything of significant value is invoiced with insurance, but if you wish to assume the risk, I will oblige. You must so state that request though the eBay Message (e-mail) System or else I won't be able to honor your request. I'm also sorry to say that any FREE SHIPPING options don't apply to international sales. I just can't afford that. Also Please Note: Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying. Please don't ask me to alter facts on any Customs Forms. ************************************************************************************************************************* It can also be picked up at my location in Methuen, and paid for in cash, if you'd like; just message me through eBay to set up a time that is convenient for you. ********************************************************************************************************************** I expect payment to be made within one (1) week of purchase. If you are unable to make that payment, please contact me. ******************************************************************************************************************* My mailing address is: WLHG-Company P.O. Box 790 Methuen, MA 01844. Thank you and Good Bidding. Payment Back to Top Pleae note: An invoice will be sent to you as soon as possible after the auction ends. If you wish to pay sooner, go right ahead. If you've won multiple auctions, please wait for an adjusted shipping fee. Thank you. I accept the following forms of payment: PayPal Shipping & Handling Back to Top Please note that I like to recycle shipping boxes and packing material so don't be shocked if your package arrives in a recycled/reused box. It's my small part to help the environment. US ShippingPlease check eBay's Shipping & Payment tab USPS Priority Mail® International ShippingPlease check eBay's Shipping & Payment tab USPS First-Class Mail International (Worldwide) Some things I'd like you to know. Notes on Pictures, Postcards or Slides For Sale Back to Top WLHG-Company/methuen-web-sales has, on occasion, slides, postcards and photographs listed at auction. These photos, postcards and slides are sold without any restrictions by me as to their right to publication. If you buy them then you have the right to publish them if you so desire and no one owns the copyright. These photos and slides come from acquired collections without restrictions to me. Please also note, the "methuen-web-sales" wording ghosted onto the photo or slide is done in the scanning process and is not on the original. That someone thinks otherwise is unusual, but I have been asked, hence this statement. Company History Back to Top WLHG-Company is an offshoot of Modeler's Junction, a hobby shop that we ran for 18 years. Modeler's Junction closed on August 31, 2007. My wife and I decided that there was a need for an online selling and buying service. While running the hobby shop, many times I sold items on consignment for customers and also purchased items for customers. They were pleased at the results and a company was born! We expect to maintain that level of customer service into the future. We sell on eBay as: methuen-web-sales Something to remember! Back to Top Remember, the item you are looking at today in order to think about purchasing tonight, might be the same item that some one else looked at yesterday, so that they could purchase it today. More than just a pretty picture. Try Vendio Image Hosting.Make your listings stand out with FREE Vendio custom templates! FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager. Over 100,000,000 served. Get FREE counters from Vendio today!

Price: 60 USD

Location: Methuen, Massachusetts

End Time: 2024-08-31T18:48:03.000Z

Shipping Cost: 1 USD