Bay Shore

Bay Shore Station - c.1900

Bay Shore 3rd Station 
view NE c.1918 

Bay Shore colorized 
post card c.1918

Bay Shore 3rd Station  - south side zoom
view N  1912 Archive: Dave Morrison

From Fourth Ave view NW c. 1985
Photo/Archive: Steven Lynch

Emery 1902 Bay Shore map Sketch

 SUNY-Stony Brook final Emery 1902 version

Sanborn map - Bay Shore 2/1925 - Summers Lumber
at Clinton Ave

Previous Suffolk Gas & Electric tanks 1913 served by the LIRR. Later became South Shore Gas Co. prior to LILCO Gas Generating Plant deactivated in 1955.
On the NW corner of 5th Ave and the LIRR tracks. The view is west as 5th Ave is northbound at this location as the one way sign indicates.  Info: Steven Lynch

1926 LILCO close-up,  Clinton Ave. 1/27/2008 
Photo: Mike McDermet

1926 LILCO substation,  Clinton Ave. 1/27/2008 
Photo: Mike McDermet 

View of substation bldg, looking SE to former site
of gas tanks/transformers 1/27/2008
Photo: Mike McDermet

Bay Shore LILCO Gas Plant Clinton Ave
View E c.1948 Archive: Brian Cholerton

View NE from Clinton Ave crossing.  Tanks/transformers used to be here 1/27/2008
Photo: Mike McDermet

NYSDEC sign on the site 1/27/2008
Photo: Mike McDermet

Bay Shore,  Clinton Rd. Signal S398 - View NE
Photo/Archive: Benjamin Lederer

That's a "Talker" box, or a Line-Phone, when radios fail, or for any other time where the tower or dispatcher governing that part of the line needs to be reached without a radio, the Conductor uses those phones to receive an order, call in a problem, etc. I don't know how often they are used nowadays, perhaps some of our guys with experience can fill us in *Nudge Nudge*

In the days before Radios, those phones were crews only "verbal" link up to the Operators, Towers and Dispatchers along the line, when an order needed to be received or relayed from an outlying terminal or a block limit they didn't have authorization to pass on the initial order, the line-phone was used to receive further clearance. 

Ah yes, the old "T-box" hand cranked magneto phones. The phone would be located in the box with the blue letter "T" on it.

You had to open the door, usually secured with a rusty old switch lock that you had to fight to open. Once you opened the door, you needed to chase out anything living inside the box before attempting to use the thing.

Inside the box, there is a three position toggle switch marked (usually with a magic marker or crayon) "C", off, "B". C was for the operator, "B" was for the nearest block station, and off is what it says it is. You put the toggle switch in the position for the person you wanted to call.

You picked up the receiver, checked it carefully for any six or eight legged creatures inhabiting the handset, and gave it a good smack to knock them free of their new found home.

You then cranked the magneto handle furiously either to the east or west direction (ringing the phone in the block phone in the tower) depending again on who you were trying to contact. Ringing east would call the block station east of you, west the one west of you if in the "B" position. In some of the more congested locations, you had to ring twice for one tower, three times for another. This information was usually located on a faded weather beaten piece of paper taped to the inside of the box. Calling the operator didn't matter which way you cranked the handle. If you were lucky, someone picked up the other end and you could hear them and/or they could hear you.

Some of the "better" phones had a small drop down "plate" you could use to write train orders, clearance cards or what ever (providing someone didn't break the thing off) you had to copy onto paper (that you supplied). The most fun of all was trying to do this in a driving rainstorm with the wind blowing. Nearly impossible to accomplish while trying to stay dry and keep the paper work dry also (every try to write on wet paper....don't work well). Funny thing is it was accomplished without much complaint for years and years. 

The really "high-tech" once had an actual key pad to dial the extension you needed (normally these were found in terminals).

Once you were done, you hung up the receiver, placed the toggle switch into the off position, and closed and locked the door (again fighting with that rusty old lock).

With the advent of better radios and the cell phone (I know your not supposed to use them), the T-boxes have become somewhat of a "dinosaur" on the property. They are still located all over the place, and I bet most of them still work if needed.  Info: Bob Andersen