Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-01-23
GARDENERS NEWlTELEPHONE
N EXCHANGE is COMpLE TED.
Change to New Quarters in the Maine Trust
Building Will Be Made, Saturday Night /
==EiallowelI List Will Be Trans
ferred to Augusta Exchange.

| ern Electric Co.
| About $4,000 was expended for out
side construction work, including the
placing of poles, putting UP aerial Ca
bes and changing Subscribers sta
| tons. At about the same time that
| the cut over takes place in Gardiner,
| the HalloWell exchange wifi be ahol-
| iShed. 10 make this change it Will cost
about $50. Goo. one of the. greatest items
| in transferring nearly $50 HalloWell
| Subscribers almost instantly To the
| Augusta exchange is the construction
| Of an aerial cable containing 240 wires
| from the present fIallowell central
| office to the Augusta Office, a distance
! Of about 2ia miles Quite lot of
| changes have been made on the Au
| guste' switchboard to care for the IN
creased business, changes will be made
on every HalloweIl subscribers tele-
! phone and the Hallowell switchboard
| must be taken away, which will cost
| a large sum.
! After Sunday morning every Hal
| lowell subscriber will have greatly
| improved service by having connec-
| ton with common battery switch
board in Augusta. There viii be better
| supervision, better night service, less
| interruption by having the operator
! come in on the line and asking If the
! one call is answered.
| But one operator will be necessary %
connect Hallowell and Augusta subscrib-
! ers. where there are now two. TO put
i the Augusta exchange in better condition
! and to provide additional facilities eX-
elusive of the Hallowell exchange, rs
made a further expense of about $500 for
cables and central Office equipment What
is known as q telephone "eut over is
hardly what it's name suggests 1t is
transfer of subscribers lines from one
exchange to another but there is nothing
in the nature of cutting in connection
with this performance. The cut over,
| then, although it consumes but few
seconds of time and is only a small part
of the complicated proceeding. is a STU
preme test by which efficiency of months
of labor is to be Judged. When the
company decides to change from what IS
known as a magnetic to a common bat
terry system it must preface the actual
"cut over but complete feadjustment OF
its plant Every foot of the many miles
of open wire connecting hundreds of
houses and offices with the exchange isl
carefully inspected, repaired and put in
the best possible condition OF avoid
troubles The slight temporary changes
are made in the apparatus at each sui
scribers' station to conform to the new
system E
After the "cut over this temporary
equipment is changed to standard equip
ment In the course of time these pre-
liminaries, too technical for detailed de-
scrption, are completed. Meanwhile
new exchange building, or operating
room, has been equipped with the latest
telephone appliances including a new
switchboard with it's bundreds of thous-
ans of ter-connected lines, For several
days before the "cut over the new office
is ready for the actual changes, both
new and existing exchanges having
switchboards The original cables are eN-
tended to the new office. but the con-
neetions between subscribers are still
completed in the old Office. The effect of
this is to have the fully equipped switch
boards connected to the same lines for
cables, one ready to supersede the other
The cutting over is almost always done
at night, when the least number of sub.
scribers are using the lines. In the night
of the change additional operators are
provided in order that both switchhoards
may be used. The old switchboard IS
used up TO the very second of cutting
over" In less than one minute after the
new switchboard may be used to its full
capacity. In order to keep the lines run
ming into the new exchange entirely free
from connection, or interference, with the
lines running to the old exchange. little
pieces of wood, called Opening plugs"
about the sise of a lead pencil, and an
inch and a half long, are inserted in the
little holes, or Jacks in which the sub
scribers' lines terminate. This is done
in order TO keep all circuits open and
prevent calls from showing on the
switchboard. The actual work of cut
ting over is simple. In the old eX-
change one squad of workmen literally
rip the wires from the switchboard, while
in the new exchange another squad is
business engaged in pulling out the
wooden plugs thus closing the circuits
and putting the new system into instant
operation. 1t is all over in minute. The,
lines are then tested with great care. If
there are any troubles it usually is pos
sible to remedy them before daybreak
If there are none the subscriber simply
lifts his receiver from the hook and gets
the operator without turning the crank
and ringing a bell, as formerly