Harrishwhippets,
Congratulations on your new 301. Can you tell us what color it is? I have a short bed black 301 and it sews like a dream.
Neither the 301 or the Featherweight have on/off switches. The switch that you are refering to on your Featherweight is to turn the light on and off; the light switch for a 301 is under the arm and its a turn knob.
Don't leave your Singer 221/301 plugged when not being used as it could potentially cause a fire.
Sharon