Speedy Cutover Service, SXS switching cutover to ESS filmed live at Glendale CA central office, 1984
The place: a Pacific Telephone
central office in Glendale, California, one of the oldest functioning switches
in the nation, a 35,000 line step-by-step office, is going to be transferred to an expanded ESS facility. Western Electric Speedy Cutover Service was selected by Pacific Telephone to provide a fast, reliable and
economical transition from the old to the new system. Features of the service are explained by Western Electric account representative Rick Snowden. “Speedy Cutover Service is a method
by which installers come into the office to be
transitioned from the step or crossbar to ESS, and actually perform the physical cut of the old office away from the new office. The ‘out of service’ time is just a matter of seconds as compared to
previous methods that took minutes and even up to an hour in some cases.
Several installers come to the office maybe a month before the cut and they analyze the cables to be cut and perform continuity tests to verify to
make sure that they have the exact cable, and move them away from other
existing equipment. After they’re identified they’re tagged so
that on the night of cut it can be a clean operation and nothing
else gets cut.” For this cut 127 feet of scaffolding has
to be erected the day before to accommodate the installers cutting
the cable from the upper portion of the intermediate distributing frame. On the evening of the cutover 51 installers and 3 supervisors are
assigned to cut the 927 cables. Western Electric supervisor Gary Brennan briefs them: “There’s approximately twenty
cables per person. These cable cutters are sharpened in a
special manner so they will cut a clean cut through
these and not cause any shorts.” Following a short rehearsal the Western
Electric installers wait with cutters ready. Three floors above the IDF frame Pacific Telephone people are hooked
up to the cut supervisor and TSPS operator who is handling emergency calls. “I will be on that conference line
approximately one minute before 11. They will give us the order to cut as soon as all emergency lines are down.” “Mary Ellen, would you call the operator to make sure there’s no emergency calls in
progress please.” “Hi, this is Mary Ellen at Glendale 11 CGO. Have you got any emergency calls in progress at this time? Good enough – it’s all clear, Don.” “Okay Western, cut the cable.” “Cut it! Let’s cut it!” [shrieks] “Okay! Cut complete!” “It’s cut.” “Nice cut Western, 47 seconds!” Western Electric’s Speedy Cutover Service an economical, dependable, quick response to telephone company needs.
WesternElectric representitive Rick Snowden eyh? He related to the great Snowden? Great video by the way. Some awesome history going on here.
How much prep time would be needed in something like this? And how was the copper tapped into the new switch?
since this is from 1984, I would think they'd call Western Electric ATT technologies or whatever the post
breakup name change was… anyone know how that branding change happened? Or perhaps this is actually pre breakup? the music sounds pre-1984 :) thanks so much for the great video!!I LOVE these Videos!! I would not doubt this was done like around 3 or 4 am. Plan well executed!
Zoidberg would love this. lol.
That procedure only worked where there was space available in the central office to install the ESS. Many older central office buildings leaked space to install the new switch until the old one was removed. In that case a "hot slide" was done. The new switch was installed in a temporary building with cables long enough to connect to the Main Distributing Frame. Once the new ESS switch was operating, the old SXS switch was removed, and the ESS switch was slid into its permanent home while operating. The temporary building was then removed, and the cables "half-tapped" or spliced to remove the excess length. All of this was done with no interruption of service.
1984?? Why install an ESS?? A 5E or Dms-100 makes much more sense.
Booooo ESS was shitty
How can cable cutters with METAL blades NOT short out some of the conductors? Also, curiously interesting of not is that the Bell System breakup became effective January 1st, 1984. Western Electric, which was a part of the Bell System was, was, in my understanding, no longer permitted to supply equipment to that entity.
Was that necessary?
This was a cool video. I'd love to hear from technicians who actually participated in one of these cutovers. How much did you guys get paid (relatively speaking)? Was this part of a regular shift, were you selected, did you have to sign up? Assuming you were CWA union guys was there extra pay involved as part of the contract? (My grandma was a 30-year PacTel employee in reprographics and I briefly did customer service for AT&T Wireless in Austin.)
I was present at the cutover of the Bradley c.o. in Bethesda, Maryland in the late 1980s or so. There the cutover team had what looked like power drills, but where the chuck would normally be the drill was fitted with cutter blades similar to those seen in this video. So one guy could go down the entire frame slicing through cables at breakneck speed without all that arm action. It was over before I knew it while the old #5XBar chimed for attention.
"Are there any emergency calls in progress?"
…
"Good enough."
What does that mean? Only one emergency call in progress, and they were already dead anyway? Lol.
Haha gpo did the transfer much better wedges not bolt cutters
That music is so 70s, it hurts. LOL
I participated in the first SXS to 1ESS cut in Oklahoma in 1972. In 1977 I worked on the fourth office to cut. This was the largest office in Oklahoma City. We worked for months getting the office ready to cut. We got farther and farther behind schedule. The main manager keep getting the cut date moved back. We were tolled that the cut date could not be moved anymore and that we had one month to cut the office. After that everyone worked as long as they could stay awake. I would get up in the morning and go to work, come home and go to bed every day for a month. Working 14 to 16 hour days. By Wednesday of each week, everyone would be making double time. The only day we only worked 8 hours was a holiday. Management stopped us from working any longer as they would have to pay us 2 1/2 pay. After the cut we had several times that the new switch stopped working correctly. When I got home form work on the Monday after the cut, My wife told me work had called my home to see if I could get to work ten minuets faster. in the year 2000 I help cut the last 1AESS office to a 5ESS in Oklahoma City. SO I did the first and the last during my 42 years with SWB TEL CO. What a live.
At 03:58 look at the note under the cut switches. " DONT TOUCH THIS, OFFICE IS IN PRECUT PER GARY CARTER." This film does not tell you what happens after the Tech typed in the cut message and operated the cutover switch. the CC started sending commands to all the Line Switch Frames (LSF) to close the cutoff remreed switches. This took one to two minuets and sounded like raw rice being thrown on a plastic plate.
I miss the early days when I can explore the phone system with my bluebox, then they had to ruin it by going out of band signaling.
Wasn't Pacific Telephone renamed Pacific Bell on January 1st, 1984? Maybe the lettering outside the central office wasn't yet changed.
The greatest mystery is, what did that woman hear on the phone when asking if there were any 911 calls in progress that was "good enough"?
Jeez, now I am going to have this zippy 80's music stuck in my head all day.
What..no arrestors on the frame? In Australia we would just wrap a cotton rope around all of the arrestors on each vertical. On cue about six guys would yank six ropes each and disconnect about 10k lines from the sxs in about 10 seconds. No scaffolds, no cutters.
3:43 I thought someone cut them selfs
Now i know why my calls get disconnected all the time. These guys cut my wires. Probably greed since i have to call back, and the initial minute is $.50
L the , Kiss
Telefunken Amazing.
Doesn't cutting the cable this way produce shorts on the lines?