OK - First things first.... Purchase a schematic from Pinball Resource in New York. That is going to be the only way you will be able to figure out what the wires are for and where they are supposed to go to. They are also a really good source for any other parts you may need, such as rubber rings, balls, etc.

I suspect the wires had something to do with setting the machine up to play without dropping coins, but again, without the schematic, who knows. Do you remember ever seeing it work or playing it when you were younger?

The basic is that the score reels all need to turn to show zero when starting. The other things that have to happen include resetting steppers (For stuff like bonus, ball counts, etc.), decrement the number of credits on the credit wheel, reset and targets, etc.

Get a multimeter and learn how to use it - lots of good info out there on how to use it. You will need this in your pinball journey.

Good luck, and keep everyone informed of your progress. One other thing, once you get this one going, you will find out they multiply and soon you will have several more.

^This, and while waiting for the schematic, give the game a good cleaning. Vacuum out all the debris and dust, it will then be much nicer to work on the game.

There are a few things that could cause the “tilt” to be activating. Is the tilt bob centered and not touching any sides?

The wiring you are looking at could go to something or nothing at all. (some wiring on machines were left open to add/change coin relays)
A schematic would really help- you will really need one.

You said "start button does nothing" ... are there credits on the game ?

altered pic from https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2063

little square window on backglass

I wonder if activating the tilt is just lighting the GI (general illumination) the left flipper button may do the same thing when first plugged in -or- the start button -if- there are any credits.

the credit wheel in the back should move freely advancing credits ( don't force it )

lemme know the results

score board credit window (resized).jpg

I had to look at a pic to see that it has a manual ball launcher .... so a game starts allowing you to launch a ball , plunging it into the playfield will generate some points but both flippers don't work ?

hmmmm dirty flipper button contacts ? dirty EOS (end of stroke) switches on the flipper mechanisms

I once bought a game from 1964, most of the mechanics in the backbox were seized, I had to disassemble everything and clean

I'm not real familiar with "woodrail" games ... is that the flipper switch ?

The pic from IPDB https://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2063&picno=20921&zoom=1 looks like that red wire attaches to the "bus" (bare wire) that connects the two switches together

EDIT:
It's really hard to tell but the black wire on that switch might be on the wrong blade also

I just saw an ad for original schematics / manuals https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/150035

If this person doesn't have the one for your game, Steve at http://www.pbresource.com/your1st.html probably can make you a really good copy as Billc479 mentioned above. I like to call him on the phone myself.

a new ball,rubber rings along with shooter tip and rebound rubber and proper cleaning supplies will help preserve the game

You have an electrical issue. You need to check to see why the machine thinks the flipper button is pushed in, asking the flipper to go up.

Also, there are no transistors that drive anything in a 1956 machine. Howard, please correct me if I’m wrong.

What does the right flipper switch look like ? (compared to the left switch you've shown.)

The way it l@@ks , it seems like the left flipper would go up when red wire was attached to the bus.

the loud noise, can you tell if it's coming from the right flipper? Is the right flipper EOS switch properly gapped?

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts-blog/eos-switches/

ok as I suspected the left flipper would energize ....

move the black wire from one leaf blade to the other.

The missing coil wrapper could have been burnt off from overheating ( or glue came undone )

but it does seem to move freely it sounds like so that's good ?

There are 2 sets of windings in the flipper coil a power set & a holding set both should show a small amount of resistance on an ohm meter.

The part number for the coil; should it need replacing; seems to be under the coil stop, newer games it's written on the wrapper (see if it's on the other flipper wrapper ... but if it works , don't fix it
swap baldes (resized).jpg