Earliest examples of Black Forest clocks with whistling cuckoo birds were simply shield clocks with the bird appearing in a opening above the clock dial.

After establishment of a wood carving school in 1853, a universal design for the cuckoo clock case was selected from drawings based on the design of a railway house or Bahnausle. It had ornamental railings. The design became a standard for the basic cuckoo clock.

Both of the clocks on this page are examples of the Bahnhausle form for clock cases decorated with wood carvings. The smaller clock above is a simple but elegantly decorated time-only 30 hour running alarm clock with porcelain face.