Built in both 6-inch and 71/4" swing  versions, the Lot 2 Dalton lathes are rare, especially the former of which, so far (2012) just two examples (Serial 036 and 038 both shown below) have been found in the USA. Also below is Serial 133, a blue-painted,  Lot 2 machine resident in England, an early example with a 71/4" swing (3.75" centre height). This Dalton hints at either a very effective Company export department - or a lathe left behind by American forces after WW1 (several other Daltons known to be in the UK. Now mounted very neatly on a circa 1941 to 1948 Myford M-Type stand with built-on countershaft - the lathe is something of a mongrel and, perhaps, incorporates some repairs and modifications. However, dating from around 1913 to 1914, the major parts - cross-slide, saddle and apron casting - are original, as it the bed, stamped Lot 2 and with feet of the type without the maker's name cast in. Some variations from standard include the cross-slide screw, nut mount and dial ring and, possibly, the complete top slide. While some minor parts - and the tailstock - are later, around 1922 to 1925, this is easily the earliest Dalton so far discovered in the UK. In full working order, the lathe is proving an effective work tool in completing day-to-day tasks. Unfortunately, it may not have started life as a Lot 2 lathe, but as a Lot 4 that was stamped incorrectly (the Lot 2 and 3 lathes bear little resemblance to the Lot 4). If it is a Lot 4, it must be one of the very first. Essential differences include genuine Lot 2 lathes having a top slide that fitted over a post cast as part of the cross slide, rather than being bolted on, as on the blue example below. The post had straight sides and inside the top slide base was a bronze locking mechanism activated by a square headed bolt that protruded through the casting to the right rear. The assembly was poorly designed and failed to lock the slide securely under heavy cuts. On a Lot 2 the top-slide's swivel degree marks are not, as on all other Dalton lathes engraved into the top slide, but found on an inclined surface on the cross side itself. 
A possible explanation is the blue lathe may be a "bittza" - made from bits of this and bits of that in order to get an export order out to the UK during WW1. As any lathe was then welcome, the customer would have been unlikely to complain...

A factory error? The bed is stamped Lot 2 but the machine more closely resembles an early Lot 4. Perhaps it's a "bittza" assembled in haste to get more lathes out for export to the UK during WW1

A genuine Lot 2 lathe - in one family for many decades. Serial No. 36 this is one of just two examples known in the USA