Legendary loco lights up Great Central’s second mini auction
Anameplate KingLeodegrance from No. 73118, one of the SouthernRegion StandardClass5MTs that adoptedthe namesofwithdrawnKing Arthurs, lit up GreatCentral’s second‘ mini’auction with a realisation of £ 6300.
The4- 6- 0, built atDoncaster in December 1955 and withdrawnfrom Guildford( 70C) inJuly1967, was in1960 giventhename, albeitnot the actual plate, ofNo. 30739, which had been takenout of service inMay 1957. King Leodegrancewas the father ofQueen Guinevere inArthurian legend andthus the father- in- lawof King Arthur.
Several totemsigns alsoventured into four- figureterritory, led at £ 2300 byTaynuilt, fromaScottish Region station opened by the Callander& Oban Railway in July 1880 and still open today. Twoothers in this category, each at £ 1150, wereWesternRegion Acocks Green& SouthYardley – a lot of letters just squeezedontoone line by BR – fromthe BirminghamSnowHill to Leamington route, and BR( S) Three Bridges, a former LBSCR station on the Brighton main line thatwas the location of shed 75E.
Falling just shortof four figureswas a‘ Next train for Liverpool Street’LNER/ BR( E) enamel sign(£ 920), behind which came cabsidenumberplate 7777 from aGWR0- 6- 0PT built by Armstrong Whitworth& Co inDecember 1930 (£ 860), andacast letters onwood nameboardfromByfield signalbox on the Stratford- upon- Avon& Midland Junction Railway (£ 820).
Further downthe pecking order came the smokeboxnumberplate fromClass9F2- 10- 0No. 92045 (£ 760), aFebruary1955 Creweproduct that waswithdrawnfromBirkenhead ( 8H) in September 1967. Followingwasa pair at £ 720 each– acollection of Isle of Wightpaperworkcomprising tickets, labels andasharecertificate, and a Tyer’sNo. 6 single line tabletWolfertonDersinghamon the King’s Lynn to
Hunstanton branch that closed in 1969. Prices excludebuyer’s premiumof 15% (+ VAT).
Theauction, which ranfromJune 12- 26, was the second of GreatCentral’s series of fortnightly75- lot internet, email, telephone and postal sales that due to the coronaviruspandemichave replacedthe auction house’s liveevents at Stoneleigh.