Steam still a major force as Manor and IoW locos lead the pack in GCRA sale

THE diesel era may have become a major player in the world of railwayana auctions, but steam is a long way from being a spent force, as was emphasised in Great Central’s 10th monthly sale on December 11, when the GWR and Southern Railway put on a show that eclipsed all else.

Leading the 230-lot pack was Hinton Manor from preserved No. 7819, which went to a delighted Mr Hinton for a class record £21,000, three times its bottom estimate.

Providing strong back-up at £12,000 was Ningwood from SR Isle of Wight Class 02 class W18. Two other steam nameplates, The Grove from LNER D49 No. 62767 and Iron Duke from

Britannia No. 70014, didn’t sell under the hammer but went to new homes after the auction closed; the former for £7200 and the ‘Brit’ for £8000.

Industrial steam also got a look-in when John, from an 0-6-0ST supplied by Manning Wardle to Glasshoughton Colliery in Castleford in 1910, went for £1200.

Top of the diesel line-up at £7600 was Glorious from 1968-built Class 50 D433/50033, while a selection of 25 HST, electric locomotive, and DMU nameplates sold by rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook in aid of the Railway Children charity went under the hammer for a total in excess of £40,000. The highest realisations were £5000 each for Colchester Castle from 1966-built E3138/86242 and Diamond Jubilee (Class 90 No. 90009).

Station totem signs made their usual mark, with 14 examples achieving four-figure prices, headed by £3700 for BR(E) Sutton-on-Sea and £3500 for BR(W) Harlech.

Close behind this pair at £3300 came headboard ‘The Waverley’ from the London St Pancras-Edinburgh train.

A worksplate from a 700mm narrow gauge 0-4-2T built in 1901 by Orenstein & Koppel of Berlin (works No. 772) for a sugar factory on the Indonesian island of Java sold for £2200, and another, from Class 40 D207/40007, built by English Electric in 1957, for £1950, while a Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway brakevan lamp from the Ivo Peters’ collection plated Radstock fetched £1700.

Signalling realisations included £1500 for a Tyer’s double-line block instrument, £1450 for a Webb & Thompson train staff from the Maguiresbridge-Lisnaskea section of the Dundalk to Enniskillen route, and £1300 for a North London Railway Tyer’s train describer plated Shoreditch No 2, an 18-lever signalbox opened in 1893 and closed in about 1954.

Finally, locomotive items from three different eras and two different continents were a BR lion, wheel and crown aluminium emblem from a WCML electric locomotive that went for £1450, a cabside numberplate, worksplate and licence plate from South African Railways’ GMAM class 4-8-2+2-8-4 No. 4161, built by Henschel & Son of Germany in 1958 under licence from Beyer Peacock (£1250), and the LMS smokebox numberplate from Midland Railway 2781 class No. 743 (£1200).

This 4-4-0 was built at Derby in 1904 and withdrawn by BR from Bedford (15D) as No. 40743 in July 1952.

Prices exclude buyer’s premium of 15% (+ VAT).

“The price for the Manor nameplate was obviously exceptional, and totems were even stronger than of late,” said auctioneer Mike Soden. “I am also delighted that every one of the 230 lots sold, be it during the auction itself or soon afterwards.”