Based on your recent photos, it appears that this building does not come apart, ie roof not removeable. It also appears that there is a wooden 2nd floor installed?
There is nothing revealed in these photos that would make me change my opinion, which is this was made by some craftsman and was not produced by a train manufacturer.
Well...no question in my mind, this was produced in a factory. Just a question of who's and where.
While I'm not knowledgeable on structures, everything about this looks homemade to me. Further proof of that is it seems to be one of a kind. If it were made in a factory, many more would have been built and would probably be known about. Nothing about the way it's constructed would be that hard for someone with a little experience building similar structures.
This corner of the roof that I circled, where the sides don't match up, doesn't make sense to have been made in a factory as I would expect a lot more precision. However, it makes perfect sense for something that was homemade, where the builder may have made a mistake and didn't fix it.
You made the perfect example john. If that was built by someone with that kind of skill, they would not have 'tolerated' the un-eveness of the roof eve. The crown bent in the platform roof would have to take a special bending brake and die so not to crush the corrugation.
@Chuck Sartor posted:You made the perfect example john. If that was built by someone with that kind of skill, they would not have 'tolerated' the un-eveness of the roof eve. The crown bent in the platform roof would have to take a special bending brake and die so not to crush the corrugation.
Chuck you seem to think that you know that a craftsman/home builder would not "tolerate" the roof edges being off. That is reading a lot into this as you have no knowledge of who made the station and what they were thinking when they assembled it.
The only thing I agree with you on, is that the bend in the roof/eaves would have taken a brake/die so that the corrugation would not be crushed. However, since we know nothing about the builder of the piece, we cannot say that they did not have access to such a brake/die.
I'll admit, I don't fully know what it would take to bend that corrugated roof, I have no experience with this regard. But here's the thing, I'm honestly not convinced that the original builder was so experienced or concerned with perfection. I collect vintage kit-built trains, and it's very common to see mistakes and imperfections in them similar to that roof, so it's easy for me to think that someone didn't care that it wasn't perfect.
While I respect your opinions, I just see it in a different light.
Post note: I see going back to the first set of pictures, I see the front and rear eve of the station are the same length.
Put me in the homemade camp. Both Bing and Marklin models had more exquisite details and stampings.
Yep after the internals and further investigatory shots .. I am in the craftsman/beardy bloke in a shed/ homemade camp as well , it certainly reflects on being European in style , but this doesnt mean its a European manufacturer, more an indication of the major players in that time period WERE euro companies and thats what buildings looked like that they made ..... there are just too many "Non-factory methods " the major one being the window slatting/soldering ... a Manufacturer would have the resources to clean punch windows with a die ...The heavy gauge of the tin and the lack of variety suggests to me that a home builder cut and folded this up out of a single sheet or sheets that they sourced ... even down to the chimney cap being made out of the same mild corrugation material as is the soldered in door frame ... that would be a beeyarch to get right that could be so easily rectified by instead using flat sheet or angle if it were available to the builder ( as it would be in a factory) . Down to the four part base screwed onto the upper base wood ... just steps that speak of someone using "found" objects rather than "provided" ones ...
It's made well , but its not made "Smart" ... as in factory smart ... However a further option might present itself that this item could be a pre-production sample , something made to give the overall look before being simplified and cleaned up for production, but without some form of provenance you could never seriously make that claim it is factory prototype made by a major player ...
However dont lose sight that this is a charming piece and should be celebrated as such... its pedigree with nothing to support it , is relatively moot ... it is what it is , and can be whatever you want it to be, but you just cant prove the pedigree without being able to compare it to another or without documentation . In the present scenario with neither its just more in the home-made camp than factory in my eyes .. you can see the opposite , and thats what makes the world a great place 
It exists ... and thats a good thing hey ?
Fatman: Well reasoned and stated! :-)
Guys, thanks, all excellent points and wonderful analysis. The notion that someone home made this for the love of the craft or the love of their children adds to its charm. Of course when I am gone my wife can sell it off as a "rare factory prototype" and buy a house in Malibu with the proceeds. Until then I love it as a part of my collection.
I wonder....what the person who MADE this would have to say😁
To me a great piece. Enjoy it
Frank, Obvious question, how did you find it? Is there any history?
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