Barbara Sevigny, a clerk at the lost and found who, like Mr. Felton, takes the train to work every day, said there was never really a seasonal lull. In the winter, there is the predictable deluge of mittens, beanie caps and scarfs. In the summer, it will be the beach gear that gets left behind as travelers make their way to (or from) the shore.

Whatever they have lost, people are ecstatic when they get it back, Ms. Sevigny said. Sometimes, an item truly is priceless.

For one passenger, a wool cap that was returned was the last remaining possession of a grandmother who had died.

“Some people get discouraged and don’t come back,” Ms. Sevigny said.

Little do they know that there is a system dedicated to reuniting passengers with their wayward mittens and sun hats and, of course, their smartphones, which go astray no matter the season.

Indeed, nothing taxes the office (or its power supply) like the stockpile of lost mobile communication devices. Underneath the main desk is a tangle of wires charging the multitude of phones that are found every week. Sonar-like pings fill the space each time a user somewhere activates the Find My iPhone app.