A rail journey from Crewe to the Himalayas

MODELS of two contrasting steam locomotives dominated the Vectis live online model train sale on April 23, when an OO-gauge model of Princess Coronation No. 6237 City of Bristol went for £1000, closely followed by a G-gauge Beyer-Garratt at £950, both prices excluding buyer's premium of 25% inc VAT.

The Pacific on which the LMS model was based emerged from Crewe in August 1939 as one of 24 in the class to be streamlined, in which guise it was modelled by Wrenn. The streamlined casing was removed in March 1947, and withdrawal ensued 17 years later, from Carlisle Upperby (12B), the shed where seven in the class ended their days.

The Garratt live steam model was loosely based on a Class D 0-4-0+0-4-0 built by Beyer Peacock in 1910 for the 2ft gauge Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, who numbered it 31 and ran it until November 1954. The 55-mile railway runs to a height of 7218ft above sea level, is nicknamed the ‘Toy train,' and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The London & North Western Railway coatof-arms was among a collection of seven railway company transfers mounted on wooden boards that sold as a single lot for £320 (exc buyer's premium of 25% + VAT) in a railwayana and toys auction held by Hansons of Etwall, Derbyshire, on April 22. Other companies in the collection included the GWR, and the Lancashire & Yorkshire and Caledonian railways.