Your photo did not show the front of the switch with the key slot. Some switches have an "off- - -unlocked" position where the key can be removed and the switch can still be operated by using a amall handle built into the lock assembly. Ir was designed to allow the vehicle to be operated without inserting the key into the lock. The "off and locked" position secured the vehicle so a key ws needed to turn the switch. On that switch, the center position with the key straight up is the "ignition on" spot. There is no "start" position, since the switch was used with a foot pedal starter.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!