A separate number for Long Distance instead of plain zero was common
> in many cities. Long Distance switchboards were differently equipped
> than dial-0 boards
The same was true here in Britain. In smaller towns callers just used to dial "0" for either general assistance or to place a long-distance call, while in the large cities there were separate codes for long-distance.
In London, there were two separate codes to split the traffic. TOL (805) got the "Toll" operator for calls to the surrounding areas while TRU (878) reached the "Trunks" operator for all other long-distance calls to the rest of the country.
-Paul.