L&Y memories as Nigel Thornley collection goes under the hammer
MEMORIES of the Lancashire & Yorkshire and London & North Western railways were a core theme of the 350-lot auction of the Nigel Thornley model train collection held by Hansons of Etwall, Derbyshire, on September 11, with the highest price being £1800 for an awardwinning O-gauge model of L&Y Class 8 `Dreadnought' 4-6-0 No. 1525.
Other L&Y four-figure O-gauge realisations were £1200 for 0-4-0T railmotor No. 8 and £1100 for another railmotor, and the leading LNWR realisation was £1250 for a scratchbuilt O-gauge Class C1 compound 0-8-0 No. 2545.
Nigel's railway interest, however, stretched into the post-Grouping era, as illustrated by Bachmann gauge 1
LMS Princess Coronation Pacific No. 46246 City of Manchester (£1700) and LNER A4 No. 60030 Golden Fleece in O-gauge (£1200). The GWR also featured in the leading realisations, with an O-gauge No. 3440 City of Truro made by Sancheng of China selling for £1000.
Although comprising mainly O, OO and gauge 1 models, the auction also included railwayana – mostly signalling equipment – and railway photographs, postcards, books and DVDs that Nigel, who died earlier this year at the age of 72, had accumulated over 70 years.
His interest started at the age of just 18 months, when he was given his first train set, and as a teenager he helped restore L&Y Class 21 `Pug' 0-4-0ST No. 51218 at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, and also became a founding member of the railway's Preservation Society.
With his love of the L&Y burning bright, Nigel was an avid modeller of the railway's locomotives and rolling stock, and his enthusiasm was typified by his involvement with Manchester's archives, helping to ensure that as much information as possible was recorded there, a role that meant spending many hours searching the internet and other sources for L&Y items which he bought for the archives.
He was also a member and supporter of many other railway societies and heritage trusts, and was regularly seen at model railway exhibitions.
One family memory of Nigel, who hailed from Chester, was that as a 12-year-old he often went to his local signalbox to help out, but on one visit he had to hide when an inspector called. However, he was discovered, and the inspector asked him a series of questions about signalboxes and how they were operated, and he even had to demonstrate the correct way to operate the levers. Finally, to the relief of both Nigel and the signalman, the inspector told them both: “The lad can stay.”
Hansons' train and railwayana specialist Mark Holder said: “Nigel's collection was a joy to bring to market, and the response from bidders was a tribute to his railway knowledge and expertise.”The auction was held live online and by telephone or commission, and prices quoted exclude buyer's premium of 25% (+ VAT).