Little and large double act in Great Northern March sale

LMS locomotives both full-sized and in miniature will be a major force in Great Northern’s email, telephone and postal auction that runs from March 14-22, with the full size being represented by a Patriot class nameplate and smokebox numberplate, and the miniature by a collection of

O gauge models.

The nameplate is

Lord Rathmore from

No. 45533, an April 1933 Derby product that was withdrawn from Liverpool’s Edge Hill shed (8A) in September 1962 and named after a Conservative MP who was chairman of the North London Railway and a director of the Central London Railway.

The smokebox comes from No. 57591, a Caledonian Railway Class 812/LMS 3F 0-6-0 that was outshopped by Sharp Stewart & Co in August 1900.

It gave more than six decades of service before being withdrawn in June 1961 when a resident of Edinburgh’s Dalry Road depot (64C).

Supporting the LMS in miniature is a collection of tworail electric models of the Patriot, Jubilee, Royal Scot, Princess Royal and Princess Coronation classes – including, coincidentally, No. 45533 – as well as LNER A1 and A3, GWR County, and Standard Britannia, all kit-built over many decades by a model train enthusiast from West Yorkshire.

Mention of the GWR leads to a second smokebox, 9014, from a ‘Dukedog’ 4-4-0 that emerged from Swindon in August 1937 as a rebuild, comprising the boiler of Duke class No. 3252 and the frame of Bulldog No. 3434. Withdrawal came in October 1960 from the Wrexham shed of Croes Newydd (84J).

It was one of a number in the class to be named after members of the GWR hierarchy, but after opposition to the idea from the said gentlemen, who believed these Victorian-era outside frame locomotives were oldfashioned, the names were instead given to the more prestigious Castle class 4-6-0s. The name destined for No. 9014 was Earl Waldegrave, which went to No. 5057.

Another GWR locomotive item is the whistle from No. 5944 Ickenham Hall, accompanied by an identifying plaque. Back to the LMS, there is a lamp tablet from Settle station on the iconic line to Carlisle, and a selection of watches, including examples from the GWR, SR, LMS, and BR Western, Southern, and London Midland, regions.