#5 Crossbar Switch in Newark, New York - 1990

Gil Smith from Cincinnati made this video of a #5 Crossbar Telephone Switch (5XB) in a New York Telephone central office in Newark, New York. This video was made about a year before the Crossbar switch was retired. This switch was equipped for Equal Access, which employed computerized equipment to allow customers to use the long-distance carrier of their choice. The CO sounds are quite different than those that you would hear in a Step office! Please contact me if you have videos of old telephone switching equipment! If you are interested in switching equipment or telephony in general, check out these organizations: Telephone Collectors International http://www.telephonecollectors.org The Collector's Network http://www.ckts.info