Here's something I think is pretty cool. I was looking over this Lionel #124 station today and it looks like somebody put a home made smoke unit in the chimney. They soldered up the seams on the chimney corner and inside the base to make it liquid tight. There's a little heating element looks like 3/8" square of mica with nichrome wire wrapped around it. I don't know enough about post-war Lionel to say but the smoke unit may have been pirated from a PW engine. Looks like the work was done a long time ago...like 70 years ago. A little crusty but I'd like to try it out someday, would be neat to see smoke wafting from that little chimney again.
I never really studied this station before but the detail's on it are impressive. Besides the fine stampings, the corner light stanchions are made of heavy castings and the spring-loaded/self -closing litho doors with their little brass knobs are great.
I guess it had to be nice to justify the princely sum of $9.00 in 1925 !