Posted by Larry on September 30, 2007, 3:10 am, in reply to "Re: Step by Step Manufacturing" --Previous Message--
Hello Paul,
I too worked in a Step By Step Central Office for 31 years for a Government owned exchange. Most of our equipment had dates of 1941 and it was used equipment before we got it. I worked for Western Electric before I got drafted into the Army in 1957. I remember the days eating lunch in the switchroom and hearing a switch malfunctioning and you knew what the trouble was before you got up. Most times a broken Vertical Pawl or Rotary Pawl. Remember as a technician cleaning banks of each switch. When you cleaned the last bank it was time to start over cleaning banks again. It was the same procedure lubricating the switches also. We ended up replacing the old stepper in 1985 with a GTD-5MV. I like to say we went from the Prop Plane to the Jet Plane in 1985. Larry
: Hello Paul, I worked for General Tel. as a
: switchman in 1980. Everything was still step
: by step! I worked in some pretty big c.o's.
: West LA,Santa Monica, Malibu and Topanga
: Canyon which was my favorite!! Only 3000
: subscribers!!! I worked the second shift by
: myself. Re-hab routines, cleaning banks,
: replacing wipers and cords. Bench work the
: switches. Adjusting relays.The Ticketers
: were a challenge! Liked working in carrier
: doing patches.
: 1985 the DMS-10 was installed. Construction
: cleaned out the good ol switches,and we went
: Digital!! Then my switchroom (Topanga) went
: remote 1 year later by the GTD-5... No where
: to go, so I transferred to cable splicer. I
: really enjoyed that. Learning the inside to
: the outside!! Loved getting up on the poles
: and working in the manholes!!! Seen some
: pretty big vaults underground in West
: L.A.!!!
: Got Laid off in 1989..... My father started
: with GTE in 1958 as a switchman,Retired as a
: switchman in 1988!
: I miss that smell and sounds of a step by
: step office!!! Rob Small
:
: --Previous Message--
: In the mid 1950's (just out of the Navy) I
: worked at Intl Tel & Tel(ITT) in Nutley
: NJ. We manufactured Step by Step Equipment.
: Everything from the "switch bank"
: combs/assemblies and bank wiring" right
: on up thru relays assemblies and complete
: frames. I have many memories of that time
: which used "tremendous amounts of
: labor" to manufacture these items. I
: specifically remember being embarassed (only
: 21 at that time) by many of the
: "seasoned" manufacturing
: "ladies".
:
:
:
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