Images of the German railway 'plattformwagen' show specific markings on the sides of the wagon. Does anyone know the significance of these markings? ... in particular, the four items arranged in pairs around the central point of the side panel (hard to describe, but vaguely resembling a crab's claws, or an open adjustable spanner).

Freaky but this same topic thread also exists under the railroads/trains section and all the answers to you inquiry are posted there.

The link to that alternate thread is as follows:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/274635