This is one item of a part of a set that came into my posession within the last month. A cousin was given my old Postwar Lionel trains many years ago, and he decided to return them to me. I received 7 boxes of train related items, with other items that didn't belong to me from what was mine. I sorted through the boxes to discover a complete set that was totally new to me. The photo attached is just one item, and am curious who else knows what it belongs to.
This is just a guess on my part, but I would say that it's an activation track section for some sort of operating car. The first two clips are for track power, and the second two clips feed the thin rails that power the accessory.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
Looks like a homemade activation track. The strip of brass? on the left side looks like it is bent and possibly used as a switch, to make contact with the leftmost wire terminal clip. Would like to see a picture of the underside of the track/terminal block.
Larry
I agree, it looks like a homemade activation track, probably as a replacement. Not a bad one either!
Becky
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Not bad guesses as to what it is. What was posted was just one section of 5 rail track, as opposed to the normal 3 rail & American Flyers 4 rail. I have what I would consider a complete set that was given to me from a cousin who just returned MY old Postwar Trains, after 45 years. He returned My trains, and added other stuff that was from his grandmother's house after she passed. He wanted me to have everything, no questions asked. The track belongs to a 1935 HOGE Shovelnose Streamliner, (pronounced Hoagy). I wound up finding all the pieces in various boxes, which included engine, 2 other cars, which is all that the set consisted of, original Hoge 950 transformer (working condition), and enough track w/pictured lockon to complete a small oval.
Here is the rest of it:
See? That's why I hang out around here! Because I learn something new every day! Thanks for showing (and challenging) us!
Becky,
I also learned a lot, when trying to figure out who made it. I was totally surprised to find that I had basically a complete set. It was mixed up into 4 different boxes that I got back from the cousin who so graciously received my trains back in the 1960's. The interest in trains wasn't there, and my mother decided to give my old Postwar stuff to 2 male cousins. The one cousin who held onto the trains, decided they should come back to me, and he added stuff from his grandmother's attic.....HOGE Streamliner, and in addition I got a Complete fully functioning MARX 25000 set, in Excellent +++ condition.
The HOGE was rusty, and the Shovelnose was pretty bent up, but with a little work of polishing, and a repaint of the bottoms, it came out pretty good. I had a lot of difficulty finding information on HOGE trains, and it appears that the "Shovelnose" is the only one that required 5 rails, and no other one needed the extra rails. I cleaned up all the innards, and reassembled it, and what is in the pictures is the final product. The transformer in the one photo has the 1-4 binding posts labeled (my added touch), and outside of those are the 2 pushbuttons for a Bell and a Buzzer, which is why the extra rails were added to the track. I'm glad you got to see it, and thanks for the help with how to post photos. I think I finally got a hang of it.
Jerry
What I posted was a section of 5 rail track and an original lockon to a HOGE Shovelnose Streamliner from 1935. It is pronounced hoagy, and the rest of the set is in photos that I added. I have all the components to make it a complete set, and it actually runs perfectly.
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