The Beamish Automatic Telecom

Jonathan Kindleysides, Keeper of Transport and Allan Monkhouse, museum volunteer, introduce us to the Beamish Automatic Telecoms system. The museum has had its own Strowger exchange since 1985 when GEC Plessey, Hartlepool, donated a 100 line Siemens type 222. This exchange operated phones around the Tramway and tram depot. However, it proved to be hard to maintain and not very reliable. In 1992 BT offered the museum a 100 line exchange from Embleton, on the Northumberland Coast. It was decided to abandon the Siemens exchange in favour of the 100 line UAX 13 rural exchange, a workhorse of the GPO. This was installed with help from BT and has spent the last 21 years operating the internal tramway and depot telephones. However, up until recently, only a handful of the possible 100 lines have been used. Over the past few years members of the Tramway Group and volunteers made up of ex-BT engineers have expanded the network across the museum. Work has involved the erection of traditional telegraph poles and wires around the site, and the fitting of period looking handsets and hardware into museum exhibits - reducing the amount of modern technology being used to communicate between teams. The main exchange unit, situated within the Tram shed, is a hive of activity. It is hoped that an exchange building which visitors can access will be constructed within the museum as part of future plans.