Yes, Sae Miller is correct, this is a Differential analyser, which was analog. This was a pretty advanced one, but the first had been around a few years prior. Meccano.us is a neat site to look at for more info. Meccano look cooler than Legos definitely, can't build your own Difference Engine with Legos. Perhaps you can, I'm just not that clever.

I'd like to see something like JJasper was talking about. Why can't like-minded neighbors get the super mega DSL or cable internet and then pipe it to each other either by wifi or Point-2-Point directional wireless? At least there are some people who are open minded enough to see the bigger picture and share their radio waves.