On 6/22/2016 11:45 AM, nospam wrote:
In article , PAS wrote:


You couldn't own a phone in those days either, you rented them from the
Telco. IIRC, it was around 1980 that we could buy our own phones to
use.

And the phones they sold were nowhere near the quality of the rented
phones.


Yep, like nospam said, those telco phones were indestructible. I
remember the "Princess" model that you would place on a desk. It
weighed a ton, you could use it as a weapon.
princess phones didn't weigh a ton. they were small phones, typically
used on a nightstand. they're also highly sought after by collectors.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped.../Western_Elect
ric_Company_Princess_phones.jpg/1024px-Western_Electric_Company_Princess
_phones.jpg

the most rugged phone was the model 500 desk phone, especially the
really old ones with the metal rotary dial. you could stand on it and
it wouldn't crack. the ones with a plastic dial and touchtone were
still strong but not quite as rugged.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped.../Model500Telep
hone1951.jpg/800px-Model500Telephone1951.jpg

Yes, it's the model 500 I was referring to, not the princess phone.
Calling it a tank would be an understatement.