For the Prewar enthusiast, the #436 Power Station is a fairly easy and fun item to collect. It offers a number of color variations and even a couple hard-to-find pieces, such as the rare “Edison Service” station.

I bought my first #436 at a toy show about seven years ago along with an #840 Power Station. About two years ago I ran across another one at an antique shop. The price was too good to pass up, so I bought it even though I was perfectly content with just having one.

It wasn’t until I put the two of them together that I noticed something unusual. Can you spot the difference in the photos below?

It’s not the color difference, nor the fact that one is mounted on the base backwards. It’s the smoke stacks. One is mounted on the left, one on the right. None of the books or articles I’ve read mentions that there is a variation in the smoke stack mounting. Every #436 that I’ve seen since has the smoke stack mounted on the right.

But there must be other “lefties” out there. Let me know. Simply email me at fuga@aol.com and write in the “subject” line either “Smoke Stack Right” or “Smoke Stack Left.” That way I can easily count the number of lefts and rights without opening the emails.

I’ll let you know the results at a future date.