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Stevenson
Street......Bridgeton
Telephone Exchange
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Photographs taken from Abercromby Street
Bridgeton Telephone Exchange, British Telecom...........dialing codes
(0141) 550, 551, 554,556
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I worked in this exchange in 1972/3, very happy memories. In those days the
Telephone Exchange was 'electro-mechanical' and a large number of
technicians were required to keep the network running, compared to nowadays
with electronic unmanned exchanges.
The exchange was always busy and full of
practical jokers...aye it was a good place to work in.
Some names I remember when I worked there, in
alphabetical order :
Richie Aire, Gordon Blyth, Gerry Boyle, Bobby Cavanagh, Charlie Cochrane, Danny Fus, Russel Harris,
John Lochrie, Pat Kane,
Dougie McGaw, Pat McKenna, Jack Mellish, Willie Money, Frank Nawn,
Andy Stevenson, Jim
Turnbull (man in photo) and oor auld cleaners
( well they seemed auld tae me ) Tommy &
Charlie
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We had a wee cleaner, Charlie an elderly man, who liked a
tipple.......especially on a Friday, as was the norm in those days. One
day we were all working at our posts when it became apparent that we
had a problem......smoke was rising up the stairwell from the cable
chamber. The cable chamber is below ground level and a very important
part of the exchange. One of the technicians ran downstairs to find wee
Charlie sitting on a stool alongside a wee wummin he had brought back
from the pub! It was cold so they had gathered some paper and bits of
cable and started their own wee brazier to heat themselves! |
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