Dial Telephones in the 1930's?

Solid Granite · 07-04-2009

Okay, here's a question for anyone with a background in the telephone industry (or just a lot of basic knowledge): did they have DIAL telephones back in the 1930's?

The reason I ask is that I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, USA, and we didn't get dial phones until around 1960. Up 'til then, we asked the Operator for the number we wanted to call (like Andy Griffith in Mayberry...lift handset and say "hello Sara, please get me 1234, thanks").

In at least a couple of RP shows, I've heard characters dialing telephones, and I got curious about whether this could have really happened "way back then". I honestly don't know when dial telephones were invented, but I know they didn't hit the sticks of New Hampshire until 1960 or so...

hudson · 07-04-2009

Well, I guess there were a lot of phones to replace but, in 1919 ;

"AT&T installs the first dial telephones in the Bell System, in Norfolk VA. The last manual telephones in the system were not converted to dial until 1978. "

So it's possible.

Gregg · 07-04-2009

New York city seems to have been pretty solidly dial-converted by the early thirties, if every Shadow novel I've ever read is anything to go by...

frankenstein1887 · 07-04-2009

Dial service for major urban areas began in the early 1920's. The Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Co. (soon bought by GTE Automatic of Kansas City!) was formed in 1893 to promote the 1891 pat. #447981. Several small scale offerings were made in the mid 1890's in some areas in order to promote the wider use of the new service. I might add, I don't think direct dial telephone service was every where in the US before the later part of the 1970's.

frankenstein1887 · 07-04-2009

On a semi-unrelated note any know when the (often great plot points in OTR) party lines died out?

WNDRWolf · 07-05-2009

Telephone...Dial....

Ummm...

I still use smoke signals to talk to the internet...

pbsbelle · 07-05-2009

My parents still had a party line up until just a few years ago. At that point nobody else shared the line but it was still a party line.

Solid Granite · 07-06-2009

Well, I've learned a lot about the introduction of dial phones! I guess we were pretty much behind the times in our little town in New Hampshire. We got converted to dial phones right after Uganda and Zimbabwe.

The use of party lines ceased when they implemented the dial system. Up 'til then, party lines were the norm.

krale · 07-06-2009

I had a party line until the big break up of AT&T in the 80's

Undrave · 07-06-2009

	Quote:	Solid Granite
	Well, I've learned a lot about the introduction of dial phones! I guess we were pretty much behind the times in our little town in New Hampshire. We got converted to dial phones right after Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Its eaiser to install a new system where there is none than to upgrade an old one, that's why.