by ferroequinarchaeologist
One of my historical society friends (I heard that! - yes, I do have more than one!) found the pictured object during excavation at the site of a railroad station that was built over a hundred years ago. It appears to be cast iron, about one foot long, with semi-circular mounting flanges at the midpoint, and, not visible in the photos, annular scratches on the inside that suggest it was used to clamp or retain a circular movable object, such as a metal rod. "B&M" and "4" are cast near one end, and "048" at the opposite end. I can't guess the function of the two projections on the side, but the observation that one of them is cracked probably explains why it was discarded.
http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=218534" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=218533" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=218534" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://photos.nerail.org/s/?p=218533" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
PBM