Nothing vague about it. Most NYTelCo repairmen and installers were on foot in Manhattan, at least below 59th Street. Above that street, the districts were combination walking and driving districts. If an I/R person needed a large amount of cable or other materiel, a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood, or a ladder, etc, the stuff would be delivered by a truck and waiting for the technician when he got there.
There were also many conveniently-located storefront supply lockers where a walking or driving guy could use the facilities , wash up, eat lunch, call the dispatch desk, and get the needed telephones, parts, supplies and phone books for his next job. Non-capital (hand) tools could be turned in and replaced on a one-to-one basis. Knowing the locations of these lockers was handy when traveling around Manhattan while off-duty, if nature called or there were no convenient pay phones in the vicinity.
They were all "keyed alike," with replaceable-core BEST locks, Jeff.
Later, during the AT&T-IS days, (1984 to 1989) the company arranged for UPS to deliver the phones and KSU, and the installer just walked in and did the installation. We had several "roving" teams who wore work clothes and carried cables, drills and ladders in vans. These guys supported the walking "grid" technicians who dressed in casual business attire and carried hand tools in a briefcase.
I could write several chapters about that era and how it all turned to $h!t when the local Bell-head managers screwed it all up.
