The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-05-29
new PLANT OF THE
SOUTHERN 4 |: BELL Fl. [.
1t Has Cost More Than Half a.
Million.
SOME. INTERESTING FEATURES
1t is Not Only Complete and Up-to-
Date, but Contains Many Fea-
lures Never Introduced
Elsewhere.
SOME INTERESTING FEATURES

Richmond at this time is the new build
ing of the Southern Bell Telephone and
Telegraph Company on East Grace
Street, where a large force of men IS
installing complicated and extremely
expensive equipment of the latest and
most complete and up-to-date telephone
appliances.
The thoroughness with which this
company has addressed itself to the
problem of giving Richmond the most
perfect telephone service obtainable
after many long and vexatious years Of
unsatisfactory facilities is attested by the
fact that on the company's books in
New York there stands n item for bet
terments and new equipment at Rich
mond of S532,O00.
a large portion of the amount has
gone into an expensive system of con-
Quits and underground cables. More of
it than the public would suppose. how
ever, has gone for the delicate and COM
pncated machinery Of the new central
office.
The order for this equipment was
placed by the company, soon as 1t
secured its franchise here, with the
Western Electric Company Of Chicago,
which, like the Southern Bell, is owned
and controlled by the American Tele-
phone and Telegraph Company The
entire plant of the Western Electric
Works is used for the manufacture OF
telephones and telephone equipment for
the company which controls it.
IS NOW COMPLETE.
BY getting the Richmond order in first
and side tracking similar orders from
Northern and Western cities the com
pany was able to push the Richmond
and partially in place. Residents on
Grace Street have noticed that the Bell
Telephone building is brilliantly lighted
at night The manager in charge of the
work is working his men in relays we'll
on into the night. He is especially proud
of this piece Of work and believes that
Richmond should be also, as there are
features about the new switchboard and
other appliances which have never been
introduced elsewhere in this country or
in the world and which mark this plant
as the most complete and up-to-date
equipment of the character to be found
anywhere.
CABLES UNDER GROUND.
The work of drawing the lead-covered
cables from the street into the building
began yesterday. They enter through
number of ducts Immediately under the
front door and pass up from the base
ment to the second story. These cables
contain 400 or 500 wires each, which
insulated or separated from one another
by a fibre or paper preparation An 500
wire cable measures in diameter less
than s inches. AS this system is to be
metallic circuit system. two wires are
necessary for each phone. In this way
an S00-wire cable supplies 400 phones. or
a larger number where the duplex or
party line service is given.
novel and extremely useful feature
l~., H. -. .x.l, l.
under the Richmond streets. never be-
fore used elsewhere, is the ia ct that the
wires in them are colored sixteen diff
ferent shades In an s00-wire cable there
will be fifty reds, fifty greens. and so on.
In the same way smaller cables are
divided into coors. The object and
value of this simple arrangement is to
facilitate the finding of a given wire in
cable. If a wire is attached at one
end to a telephone. the finding Of the
other end at the central exchange out
Of a possible SEQ in the cable by testing
back has been no easy task, and has re-
qu!red a vast deal of time and patient
labor. The finding of one out OF fifty
reds or greens is very much easier and
can he done in a rea sonably short time.
PATIENT WORK REQUIRED.
The connecting or splicing of the diff
ferent sections of cable in the man
holes after they leave the central office
is an interesting but tedious task. The
cables are made in sections of not over
two squares in length.
The longest in Richmond runs down
Ninth Street and is $50 feet long. Gables
Of greater length cannot be pulled into
the ducts of the conduits. Where the
cable ends meet at man-hole they are
spliced together with great care The
lead sheathing is turned back for a short
distance and each one of the 500 wires
is separately connected with a wire in
the other ca BILE. A green is always con-
rected with a green and red with
red, and so on. Then the joint or bundle
of connections is covered with lead
sheath to keep out moisture The two
wires belonging to any given telephone
always return in the same cable side
by side to the central office.
On the first floor of the new building
there will be the offices of the superin-
tendcnt on one side and of the manager
on the other. On the second floor there
will be rooms for the long distance ope-
rators, for the power plant. and for
of special frames and peculiar
applia noes through which the wires from
the cables are pa Used before passing to
the floor above, where the switchboard
is located. The power will come from
one Of the electric power companies.
There will be storage battery capable
of running the whole plant for seventy
two hours The whole system is on the
principle of central energy plant, the
electric power coming from the central
office rather than from batteries at the
telephones. as at present. Il
THE CRIss CROSS FRAME.