I have no idea. I had assumed cheap spring steel, but material this light should have rusted away quite quickly. I guess they must be stainless after all.
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Update after 4 years outdoors in New England -
I pulled all three switches at Indian Hill Junction yesterday. The 2nd and 3rd switch for the two sidings were having problems. One with a broken throw bar and another that has a bent point.
The spring switch still functions perfectly. The springs are still solid so they must be stainless. Nothing else that thin would have survived the frequent exposure to water. Here are pics taken today after just a brush cleaning…
Supposed to be gloomy this weekend, but nice next week. I should be able to finish refurb of the two siding switches and get the railroad back in service next week.
BTW - Beefing up the spring on the C-19 pilot truck solved the problem with it not being able to push over the spring. However, by shifting weight to the pilot, I reduced traction on the drivers and wasn’t able to pull much up the grade, so I took it out. If I go very slow through the spring, it will push over. If not, it’s easy to re-rail just the pilot. Since I’m not doing roundy-round, this isn’t a big deal.