I'm not sure if this is relevant to path racers, but I've read that in 40's/50's England people used to turn up to races and strip all the unnecessary parts from their bicycles(mudguards, lights etc).

Seeing as people didn't have as much disposable income then, perhaps it was a way to have a single bike that would do it all. Long track ends for fixed/hub gears, mudguard/brake braze-ons. So the one bike could have many configurations, perhaps...