Western Electric Company Equipment
The Western Electric Company has been in the business of manufacturing and
distributing electrical equipment since 1869. In 1881, the Western Electric
Company and The Bell Telephone Company signed an agreement which made Western
Electric the exclusive manufacturer of telephone equipment for Bell Telephone.
In return Western Electric would only sell its telephone equipment to Bell
Telephone. Western Electric was still distributing non-telephone electrical
equipment made by other manufacturers in the early part of the 20th
century and was comparable in size to Westinghouse and General Electric companies.
World War I Field Phones
These field phones were produced by Western Equipment for the US Army during
World War I. US infantry soldiers would deploy a twisted pair of wires from one
location to another. After the wires were connected to a field phone on each
end, information about enemy strength and location of enemy forces, ranging
information for artillery and other communications were possible.
World War II BD72 Switchboard
The BD72 switchboard was used to connect many field phones to each other. The
operator would pack this device along with him and his partner would be
responsible for running the twisted pair wires.
Installation Truck Inventory
In this Western Electric Company advertisement they explained to the public that they were the supply department for the Bell System. These are the tools that are found in a typical installation truck inventory. All these tools were supplied by Western Electric Company.
Office Dial Switching Equipment
Installing office dial switching equipment was another function of The Western Electric Company. Bell Labs designed this equipment. Western Electric Company manufactured and installed the equipment, and the Bell Telephone Company operated it. We should all be grateful to all the employees of Western Electric Company and all other telephone companies who designed, sold, manufactured, shipped, warehoused, installed, serviced and maintained this equipment. These workers produced the finest telephone infrastructure in the world.
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These field phones were produced by Western Equipment for the US Army during
World War I. US infantry soldiers would deploy a twisted pair of wires from one
location to another. After the wires were connected to a field phone on each
end, information about enemy strength and location of enemy forces, ranging
information for artillery and other communications were possible.
The BD72 switchboard was used to connect many field phones to each other. The
operator would pack this device along with him and his partner would be
responsible for running the twisted pair wires.
In this Western Electric Company advertisement they explained to the public that they were the supply department for the Bell System. These are the tools that are found in a typical installation truck inventory. All these tools were supplied by Western Electric Company.
Installing office dial switching equipment was another function of The Western Electric Company. Bell Labs designed this equipment. Western Electric Company manufactured and installed the equipment, and the Bell Telephone Company operated it. We should all be grateful to all the employees of Western Electric Company and all other telephone companies who designed, sold, manufactured, shipped, warehoused, installed, serviced and maintained this equipment. These workers produced the finest telephone infrastructure in the world.