THE HISTORY OF THE TELEPHONE SYSTEM

2. The First Telephone.

But , in 1875, Alexander Graham Bell, a Scot living in Boston, USA, constructed his first experimental telephone

He used two similar receivers, the one on the left being the transmitter, the other is the receiver. Both use principles still in use today in modern telephone receivers.



Bell's first telephone - known as a 'Gallows' Receiver.

In 1876 Bell demonstrated his telephone to Queen Victoria who ordered a line from Osbourne House in the Isle of Wight to Buckingham Palace in London. This would have carried the first overseas call. Another line, similarly 'Point-to -point' was installed between the House of Commons and Fleet Street for the Press.

As more telephones were provided, it was obviously necessary to allow interconnection to all other lines on the system and TELEPHONE EXCHANGES came into being.

London CENTRAL exchange in 1883. Note all were women operators; boys were employed initially but proved too liable to distraction. Separate receivers were used and the transmitters were mounted on the face of the switchboard. The temporary connections were made by flexible multiple wires which became known as 'cords', and were used over and over again.

I
n 1912 the General Post Office ( GPO ) took over most of the private telephone companies that had sprung up throughout the country.
A network of lines between exchanges in the larger cities grew. These were called 'TRUNKS' or junctions

Many of the Trunk Lines used Telegraph lines , some in underground cables and many on overhead routes similar to the one shown below. These followed the main roads of the time with others going along the network of canals that linked the main centres of commerce and industry.
Growth of Main underground telephone cable network 1914 - 1938

1. Introduction 2. The First Telephone 3. Automatic Switching Systems