ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Telephone pics

By way of something a little different, I thought some of you might find these pictures of interest.

Up until the early 1980s, the GPO (General Post Office) had a monopoly on telephone service in the U.K., the only exceptions being the historical quirk of an independent system in one city - Hull - and in the Isle of Man, which is self-governing in many respects. (The Channel Islands were also independent, but strictly speaking they're not part of the U.K.)

This is a Post Office type 746 telephone, installed as the standard instrument in the late 1960s & 1970s. It differs only slightly from the earlier 706 model which was introduced in 1959.

As such it was practically the British equivalent of the ubiquitous Western Electric 500 in the Bell System.



Those of you familiar with the WE 500 will notice a somewhat different internal layout:





The range of colors available included a couple of two-tone schemes -- Green and gray.




[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 08-11-2002).]