Guardian Electric Relay (Vintage) --were these ever used in a model railroad layout?

The selector relay has an operating voltage of 120 Vac, so would not be very useful in a toy train setting. It advances the contact one step at a time, when the coil is energized. It would have been useful in some industrial process.

The second one looks like its coil is low voltage, and it's also a stepper, but much simpler. Actually, its contact pawl resembles the action of an E unit. You can draw the contact sequence yourself, by advancing the pawl and observing the contact movements.

@Former Member posted:

I think they are cool looking and will probably put them on a freight car, secure them with O gauge chain, and have them go around my layout as some interesting machinery.

I agree that they are interesting looking (certainly old-school electrics/electronics), but rather than just haul them around as a display, perhaps you can actually put them to work on the layout and showcase them as industrial equipment. For instance, when I used a 4PDT AC relay to implement a Marx "Twin Train" emulation on my layout, I ended up showcasing (and disguising) the relay and its red LED activation light as part of a 'power sub station', rather than hiding it below the surface. The top of the relay itself is the plastic box partly obscured by the worker in white, and the signal connections and other circuitry is concealed in the cardstock box, as shown below:

@Arthur P. Bloom posted:

The selector relay has an operating voltage of 120 Vac, so would not be very useful in a toy train setting. It advances the contact one step at a time, when the coil is energized. It would have been useful in some industrial process.

The second one looks like its coil is low voltage, and it's also a stepper, but much simpler. Actually, its contact pawl resembles the action of an E unit. You can draw the contact sequence yourself, by advancing the pawl and observing the contact movements.

Hi Arthur,  You are so right! The second one definitely has a similar look and feel as an E unit.  It also was the one in the original box, untouched since before zip codes, which were introduced in 1963.  Before then, there were postal zones, so the address for Guardian Electric was "Chicago 12, Illinois". So, perhaps this "Train Guy"  intended to use it some how in his layout.  He left behind several track plan books,  all HO. 

Thanks for your reply. Also,  I found the page in the Lionel Manual from 1956 that has a reference to the Guardian 200 series relay, which is different than the one that I have.  The full manual has also been added.

@Steve Tyler posted:

I agree that they are interesting looking (certainly old-school electrics/electronics), but rather than just haul them around as a display, perhaps you can actually put them to work on the layout and showcase them as industrial equipment. For instance, when I used a 4PDT AC relay to implement a Marx "Twin Train" emulation on my layout, I ended up showcasing (and disguising) the relay and its red LED activation light as part of a 'power sub station', rather than hiding it below the surface. The top of the relay itself is the plastic box partly obscured by the worker in white, and the signal connections and other circuitry is concealed in the cardstock box, as shown below:

Thanks Steve, really innovative way to add some interest to a scene.  These old relays are mechanical wonders and would be great to highlight them.  Best, Dave