The Western Electric 160 Series Payphone

Published: 07/11/2026

Written By Stan Schreier ATCA #2561

Of all the 3 slot payphones sought by collectors the Western Electric 160 series are the most difficult to find. A year ago I was fortunate enough to acquire two of them for my collection. Both phones were in poor condition and required restoration.

When I finished restoring them I posted a few pictures of the phones with comments as a ‘photo essay’ on the Antique Telephone Collectors picture site.

Because of their importance in the evolution of the 3 slot payphone I now realize they warrant a more in depth study not just a few passing comments. That’s the reason for this article.

Background

The original design for the 3 slot pre-pay paystation was the result of an engineering partnership between the Gray Telephone Paystation Company and the Western Electric Company. This partnership was formed after the loss of lawsuits by the Bell System brought by Gray Mfg.

Beginning with the development of the Model 50A manual pre-pay 3 slot in 1911, this engineering partnership lasted well into the 1930s.

By 1935 the patents held by Gray Mfg. for gravity drop coin signaling had expired. With the expiration of these patents the Bell System was free to manufacture their own payphones. The 160C series was their first attempt.

The Model 161A

The first of the 160 series was the 161A. There is disagreement among collectors whether Western Electric or Gray manufactured these phones. Refer to Fig. 1. Although they are embossed “Western Electric Company Inc.” in lightening script above the vault compartment and not the usual “ The Gray Telephone Paystation Company and Western Electric Co. Inc. Makers”, I’m 100% certain Gray, not Western Electric, manufactured them.

Internally the 161A is identical to earlier models made by Gray except for a few minor changes in the back casting and the wood terminal strip. The 161A has a groove along the top edge of the casting and an alignment tab cast in the right side to position the top. The screw terminals are mounted to the wood strip using rivets rather than wood screws as in earlier models. The two lowest terminal positions on the wood strip and the burglar alarm switch were eliminated. These differences can be seen in Fig 1

The 161A has the same high quality found in all payphones built by Gray Mfg. If you examine early models that were definitely manufactured by Western Electric the lack of quality compared to the 161A is obvious. Defective seam welding and poor fit of the tops and bottoms are the rule not the exception. Welded patches on defective cast backs are also common. Not very pretty but historically interesting


Fig. 1
Manufacture of the models 161C, 162C and 163C marked the beginning of the changes made by Western Electric to the 3 slot payphone that are of technical interest and historic significance. It’s obvious that Western Electric designed these for ease of manufacture and reduction in cost compared to earlier payphones made for them by Gray Mfg.

You might be wondering what happened to the 161B? So am I. Apparently they skipped that model number. Figs. 2 and 3 show a 161C compared to its earlier Gray 150 series counterpart. Gone is the handmade wiring harness with soldered connections. There’s no lacing cord, wood strip or separate hook-switch. All that was replaced by a unified transfer contact/hook-switch assembly.