Original Western Electric 30A, 30B or 30C Lock With 2 Keys For 233 Payphone Vault 233

Among the most interesting, and formidable, lever-tumbler locks in the United States were made by the Western Electric company to secure (former) Bell System coin telephones. (Similar locks were also made by Northern Electric and Automatic Electric to serve the Canadian and US independent telco markets.) These locks (as well as the payphones themselves) were required to withstand considerable physical abuse and function reliably for long periods with only limited maintenance. The design is thought to effectively resist virtually any practical picking or bypass attack to which it might be realistically exposed in the field. Tens of thousands of the various original versions of these locks remain in service across the country today, over 20 years after the breakup of the Bell System.

Western Electric style Payphone 233 lever type vault door lock with Two matching serialized Keys. It is Marked Western Electric P/N 30A, 30B, or 30C Made in USA with Key Numbers. For Western Electric 233 Payphones. Most are Model 30C with a few available being 30A or 30B having the same dimensions. 

There are lots of locks for sale on eBay and internet without keys. Unfortunately, since these locks are practically pick-proof with keys custom to each lock, they are next to useless without keys. The last attachment is a Bell instruction on who to remove a lock without having the key.

Dimensions: Width 2.95” x Height 1.9” x Depth 1.06”

Lock Tab Dimensions: 0.81” x 0.156” Protrudes 0.3”

Mounting: 4 Holes: 0.275” Diameter, 1.2” x 2.4” Spaced Apart

Internal Mechanism: Lever – Extremely difficult to pick.

Material: Lock is Constructed of Steel.

Both Keys are serialized and specific for that lock. Locks will not accept Universal Keys which increases security and prevents use of another Lock’s keys.

Shared-spring lever design dates to 1966 (US Patent 3,402,581) and been in use for over 50 years.

Applications: Will reportedly also work on Northern Electric Payphones. 

Procured directly from a Western Electric Authorized Repair Dealer over 30 years ago with other Western Electric products such as relays, cord sets, connectors, etc. Removed from new, used or salvaged payphone years ago. Some have low levels of surface rust and all have been tested to be fully operational.

Genuine Vintage Western Electric – Rare – High Quality - No Counterfeit – USA

Proudly Made in USA

• 30A (Early Version): The foundational lock, often considered harder to find now; uses simpler keying.
• 30B (Mid-Generation): Improved upon the 30A, often featuring fixed vertical wards in the keyway, requiring deeper cuts in the key for operation, enhancing security over the 30A.
• 30C (Advanced Version): Included the advanced warding of the 30B plus a unique, serrated, spring-loaded "tumbler lock" that would effectively jam the levers once they reached the correct position, preventing manipulation even if unlocked, a feature not present in the 30B. 

Additional Application Note: The Western Electric 1D2 payphone uses #30-type lock (30A, 30B, or 30C) for the vault (lower) door and a #10-type lock (10G or 10H) for the upper housing. 

Please advise us at time of order if you have a preference of 30A or 30B, otherwise we will ship the latest version 30C which are generally in better cosmetic condition. We are selecting and filling orders with the best cosmetic condition locks first when filling orders so order sooner than later.

Discounts are provided for purchases of 2, 3, and 4 or more.