I found another strange thing on the web: From the PRR Orangeville Yard in Baltimore Maryland, I wonder what it is... and so does the author of the website.
I wouldnt have a clue, but the part at the top looks as though it might hold a light bulb. I wish i knew, its going to bug me now until there is an aswer
It may be just that. If you look towards the middle , it appears to have a power receptacle outlet. Perhaps this was used to plug in the heaters on some equipment as many passenger lines do today when trains are laying over. The only thing that looks odd about it to me is the switch. It looks more like a gas cutoff switch than an electrical switch. Russ
That could be an old version of a weather-proof switch. The actual switch would be inside the box and mechanically linked the the knob on the outside. Just a guess.
That thought crossed my mind, too. Would that be in an area where there was a danger of a chemical spill?
Well,here we go again! It certainly looks like a light outlet, judging from the holes around the top it looks as though a shade of some kind was attached there. The first switch could be a simple off on and the bottom could possibly be an early dimmer type to control the brightness but what in a world for I cant begin to to guess! [ 03. January 2003, 21:36: Message edited by: r watson ]
From the appearance of all the sand around in the backround, this could be an an air compresor outlet, the air compressor would be in a small shanty nearby and it would supply air to a train so that the train spends less time in the yard, by not having to build up air brake pressure. Obviously the extension hose isn't attached at the time the picture of the fixture was shot. that's my .02 cents
I mentioned the sand because locomotives would stop to couple to a train and they would have the sand blower on and leave piles of the sand at a time.
I'm guessing the round knob on the bottom assembly is a kind of regulator or restrictor, and the next thing up is some kind of on/off valve. The big box that the on/off thing is attached to could be some kind of mechanical timer like an egg timer but it shuts off flow after some amount of time? Isn't this fun? [ 03. January 2003, 21:17: Message edited by: pray59 ]
Ok, keep in mind, my knowledge of all things rail is about as little as it can be, but the lower box looks very similar to an old barrel switch for selecting from various circuits (the US Navy had lots of old equipment when I retired a few years ago). The curved pipe and fixture on top looks like conduit and an outlet of some type either for a light or possible high voltage plug? It looks like there are mounting holes for a weather guard of some type, like on a porch light.
