48 BELL SYSTEM TECHNICAL JOURNAL 



to greatly simplify the efficient and economical operation of all units 

 involved. Let us cons'der this large, self-contained manufacturing 

 plant completely dismembered, with the various machines and manu- 

 facturing processes widely scattered over distances of many miles 

 instead of a few feet, and we have a very fair comparative picture of 

 the relative importance of the Telephone Companies' transportation 

 and construction apparatus problems in providing and maintaining 

 efficient service. Because of this fundamental condition which obtains 

 in the telephone industry, all outside plant machinery units must 

 be portable, of comparatively small capacity and yet of high efficiency. 



To meet these exacting requirements the Bell System is ever on the 

 alert to avail itself of every possible advantage in the development, 

 adaptation and application of transportation equipment, machinery 

 and methods. By means of this mechanical equipment the heavy 

 units of material are handled with ease, safety and dispatch by the 

 gangs, leaving them fresh for the lighter detail work- requiring dex- 

 terity but practically no heavy, straining effort. 



When one speaks of automotive and construction apparatus or 

 machinery developments as applied to the telephone business, such 

 developments must naturally appeal to many as being foreign to and 

 rather difficult to closely associate with the furnishing of telephone 

 service. We are, however, in the midst of a truly mechanical age 

 and the more we study and experiment with the adaptation of me- 

 chanical equipment to the new lines of telephone activity, the broader 

 seem to be the fields of applicability and the more evident becomes 

 the necessity of closely coordinating the various phases of adapting 

 commercial equipment and developing new types of apparatus for 

 telephone use. 



It is the intention in the following to outline a number of the more 

 important developments associated with the adaptation of mechanical 

 methods to outside plant construction and maintenance work. In 

 presenting the picture contrasting the construction methods of today 

 with the earlier practices, one cannot but note the remarkable develop- 

 ments and improvements which have come about. 



Transportation Equipment 



It is reported that some forty years ago, after deliberating for an 

 entire day the directors of one of the now large Associated Companies 

 decided that the volume and nature of the company's business war- 

 ranted the purchase of a horse and buggy. 



Figure 1 represents such an outfit as was probably purchased and 



