The Switch Tower No. 445 was available from 1952 until 1957, and there are no known variations. This Switch Tower used accessory voltage and a No. 145C Contact that was placed under the track. The weight of a passing train would cause a man to run down the stairs and another to come out on the second story balcony.

Early production of this tower has an activating coil plunger that is too short. This caused the men not to move as far as was desirable and also caused the coil to overheat. These early plungers were 13/16" long and were nickle plated. The replacement plungers were about 3/32" longer and were made out of brass. The overheating caused by this early plunger sometimes caused the roof to melt at the apex as is illustrated to the right.

An identical Switch Tower was produced in 1984-87 by MPC (No. 2324), so collectors should check the bottom of this tower to see if it has the following inscription: "PART No. 445-8 / NO. 445 SWITCH TOWER / MADE IN U.S.A. OF AMERICA / THE LIONEL CORPORATION / NEW YORK, N.Y."