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A pristine toy train station made in 1905 shines in an exhibition of 3,500 antique locomotives and railroad buildings at Sotheby’s in New York. The group is part of the Jerni Collection, which includes more than 27,000 toys made between 1850 and 1940. The auction house is offering the entire collection as a single lot in a private sale estimated to bring more than $10 million. Other experts put the value much higher. “I think $40 million to $50 million is a very comfortable number for that collection,” said Noel Barrett, an appraiser on PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow” and president of Noel Barrett Antiques & Auctions. Thomas the Tank Engine has got nothing on these gleaming locomotives of mostly European lineage. Displayed on the fourth floor at Sotheby’s through February are also hand-painted station houses, bridges, barges, carousels, Ferris wheels and hundreds of figurines in 19th- century garb and Prussian army uniforms. “I think they are beautiful,” said Jerry Greene, 67, a Pennsylvania-based music executive who owns the collection. “They survived both world wars. For me it’s part of history.” Half of the collection was made by Maerklin, one of the top toy manufacturers at the turn of the 20th century. The German company made about 150 colorful tin train stations that are delightful to look at. Some are outfitted with working fountains and clocks; many are replicas of the actual buildings in Europe. A highlight is an elevated train platform from 1895 with two curved staircases parting like a curtain at the center. “He has every Maerklin station,” Barrett said “It’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen.” (Bloomberg)
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