Industrial equipment - Railway switch - Italy - Railway Switchboard

Early 20th century railway equipment from Italy, Province of Cuneo, from the famous Ceva-Ormea railway line in the Tanaro Valley. Analyzing the logistical details legible on the labels ("Bagnasco", "Trappa", "M 13-14", "KM 25-34" Ormea etc etc), gives full confirmation of the attribution of this splendid switchboard: it is, in effect, a magneto-powered railway telephone exchange, originally in service along the historic Ceva-Ormea Railway, located in the Upper Tanaro Valley in the Province of Cuneo. The labels clearly refer to the stations and interlockings of the railway line: Bagnasco: Official station of the Ceva-Ormea section. Trappa: Another historic stop and a hamlet of the municipality of Garessio, located on the same line. KM 25-34 / M 13-14: Kilometric indications and the locations of block posts or intermediate interlockings of the railway. These switches (also known as switching tables for exclusive station service) were used by the station master or the block operator to coordinate train traffic, handle faults, or rapidly communicate with the line guards stationed along the tracks. Two of the 24 switches can be withdrawn and have been photographed; one upper left is blocked; all the others, when you turn the two bakelite knob levers, operate through the complex inner mechanism back to the original starting position. Three are missing and can be opened, revealing that inside each station or kilometer marker there is its own complex inner mechanism; in total there are 21. The structure is very sound and shows no major aesthetic defects, only consistent with age and use as well as material. It will be carefully packed and shipped via tracked mail. I do not ship outside the EU. Observe that the photos are part of the description.