Phone booth ?

[gpwcollector]

Hi Mike Nico, I have seen these on ebay a few times and bid on them. They seem to always say made by Dinky the last one I saw said Post war 1940s Dinky I hope one day I come across one in good shape at a good price...and with a nice surprise inside Very nice addition to your collection

[motorman]

I hated using these phone booths (pre mobile phone days), as when you opened the door the inevitable stench of stale urine would hit you like a brick and then you would discover that the phone was broken/vandalised. At least that was my experience of them in Glasgow.

[Idris]

Great description..the scary part is that it may actually be needed by some people nowdays

There are two within 1 1/2 miles of where I'm sitting now (in the lounge at home). One is in the middle of the village and the other is in the centre of my postcode. The reason? There's no mobile 'phone coverage in the valley and so, with lots of walkers around, getting lost or falling over and breaking parts of their anatomy, access to public telephones is a must.

[Tinman]

Yes Mike these Phone boxes were used by British Telecom for people to make Public phone calls. You opened the big heavy door then lifted the handset and waited for a dial tone. Once you heard the dial tone you would phone the number you required by putting your finger in the number you wanted and turning it clockwise until it would turn no more, when you had done this in the correct manner to correspond with the number you required the phone at the other end would ring. Once the person you were ringing picked the phone up you would then insert a 10p coin so you could then converse with said person at the other end. Once you had finished your conversation you simply returned the handset to the receiver and exit via the big heavy door. Hope that helps mate.

LOL

[Ewan]

I hated using these phone booths (pre mobile phone days), as when you opened the door the inevitable stench of stale urine would hit you like a brick and then you would discover that the phone was broken/vandalised. At least that was my experience of them in Glasgow.

Some of them in Glasgow must have worked, judging by the number of times I've heard 'Got 10p/20p/50p for the phone pal?' whilst visiting the fair city......
Heavy as the doors may have been, they weren't always a match for the gales here, so the bloody sheep used to get in. Probably still not as bad as the stale urine stench though!

[Tinman]

I had half a dozen of these which I bought new in 1960 or 1961. They were HO scale and I purchased them new and the came (loose) out of a generic display cabinet in the model railroad department of a local hobby store. I do not know if they were made in other scales and the HO scale ones had no markings other than the paper stickers with the woman on the phone. I doubt if Dinky produced much in the way of HO scale accessories but I don't know any facts about my doubts. I had always been told that they were produced in the USA by Selley & Sons who cast a big selection of HO accessories. Since they were unmarked, I can't confirm or deny that. Selley & Sons also produced copies of other maker's items (especially generic items like the phone booth).

[mike]

I had half a dozen of these which I bought new in 1960 or 1961. They were HO scale and I purchased them loose out of a generic display cabinet in the model railroad department of a local hobby store. I do not know if they were made in other scales and the HO scale ones had no markings other than the paper stickers with the woman on the phone. I doubt if Dinky produced much in the way of HO scale accessories but I don't know any facts about my doubts. I had always been told that they were produced in the USA by Selley & Sons who cast a big selection of HO accessories. Since they were unmarked, I can't confirm or deny that. Selley & Sons also produced copies of other maker's items (especially generic items like the phone booth).

Hi Tinman,
The phone booths are made of very heavy metal casting.
See pictures of the underside and the rear side.
To compare the size, look a cadallic sixty.

I beg you for more information.
Cheers, mike

[Moyboy]

10p piece? Was 4d when I were a lad! If I remember correctly, in those one's the money went in first, then you dialled as described and if someone answered you pushed button A to make the connection. If no answer, you pushed button B and got your money back. Very few people had telephones at home in those days, you often had to queue up outside the phone box.

http://onlineborders.org.uk/community/c ... -phone-box

You mean you actually put money in - all you had to do was tap the handset button on the cradle. So for 9 you would tap nine times and so on until you did the whole phone number and you were through for free. Most I went to had a piece of cardboard or orange peel jammed up the return chute - come along later and collect all the returned money that no one got - oh sorry forgot to urinate on floor as I left !!
Must be collectors items by now.

[Tinman]

Mike, check to see if they are made of lead instead of zymack.

[tjlglass]

lol Mick, I don't miss the smell of them piss'y phoneboxes.