The 450 Noma Talking Station was made in the 1950s by Noma Lites – a Christmas light company to go with Lionel and American Flyer trains. The mechanism was powered by two regular D batteries.
When a child pushed down on the station top, the mechanism started and played a bit of the record. When found today these talking stations rarely work due to the mechanism decaying,
Noma made two colors of talking stations in the 1950s. They look the same but the mechanisms are different. The boxes and packaging are different. The red roof station may be the earlier one. Here’s the red one so you can see details:
Red roof station box has blue printing with round circle Noma logo. Green roof station has black lettering (see top picture).
Red station has different box inserts:
Red Roof talking station has red ink on printed label:
Green roof station has green ink on printed label:
Instructions for both station are inside a brown envelope with extra records:
Both stations came with boxes for batteries and extra station signs. The green station also had a pull tab locking notice. The lock kept the needle head from moving during transit.
Green station has different color instructions:
Green station with it’s different box inserts:
Both station have similar mechanisms. The green has centered arm to start mechanism which is shown below. Red has smaller arm in corner.
Both types of mechanism have die cast parts that are subject to zinc pest decay. Photos below show the decayed and warped platter on the green station. The red station has decayed platter and motor casing.
