Big Four and BR to vie for top GWRA slot
A SELECTION of 13 Big Four and BR nameplates from steam locomotives built between 1925 and 1953 will be the highlights of GW Railwayana’s July 9 auction, with the biggest contingent being seven from the GWR.
These comprise Tretower Castle, Barry Castle and Hereford Castle from Nos. 5094, 7012 and 7022, Oakley Grange and Peterston Grange from Nos. 6823 and 6867, and Haydon Hall and Edstone Hall from Nos. 5932 and 7921.
The three Castles were built respectively in June 1939 and by BR in June 1948 and June 1949, the two Granges in January 1937 and March 1939, and the Hall pair in June 1933 and by BR in September 1950, and all were taken out of service between 1962 and 1965.
The SR representative is Sir Geraint from King Arthur No. 30766, built by North British in May 1925 and pensioned off in December 1958, and from the LMS comes Comet, a name initially carried by Royal Scot No. 46129 from new in September 1927 until January 1936, when it was renamed The Scottish Horse.
Jubilee No. 45735 inherited the name 10 months later when it was outshopped by Crewe, and carried it until withdrawal from the Nottinghamshire shed of Annesley (16B) in October 1964. No. 45735 and classmate No. 45736 Phoenix were fitted with larger boilers and double chimneys in 1942, rebuilds that provided a significant increase in their tractive effort and led to both of them being marked with an asterisk in the Ian Allan ABCs, a nicety that passed most trainspotters by.
The LNER, via BR, supplies Kittiwake from A1 Pacific No. 60120, a December 1948 Doncaster product that was withdrawn in January 1964, and Nigel Gresley’s ‘Shire’ and ‘Hunt’ D49 class will also make its presence felt with nameplates Bedfordshire
from No. 62724 and The Oakley
from No. 62769. Both were built at Darlington, the former in August 1928 and the latter in December 1934, and were withdrawn respectively in December 1957 and September 1958.
Revered field marshal
Finally there is Lord Roberts, from Britannia Pacific No. 70042, built at Crewe in April 1953, withdrawn from Carlisle Kingmoor (12A) in May 1967 as main line steam approached its final year, and named after a revered British Army field marshal (1832-1914) who had no fewer than 10 sets of initials after his name, including the VC.
Cabside numberplates from 5094, 6823 and 5932 will also be going under Simon Turner’s hammer, as will plates from Nos. 1013 County of Dorset, 1029 County of Worcester, 4991 Cobham Hall, 5930 Hannington Hall, 6833 Calcot Grange, and 7916 Mobberley Hall.
Smokebox numberplates will include 6823 to accompany the Hall’s name and cabside number plates, 60032 from A4 Gannet, and 70004 and 70016 from Britannia pair William Shakespeare and Ariel, while there are worksplates from LNER trio A3 No. 60062 Minoru, A1 No. 60113 Great Northern (see article on news page 26), and B1 No. 61247 Lord Burghley.
Joining this selection will be a 1951 Gorton plate (works No. 1019) from Class EM1/76 electric locomotive No. 26012/76012.
A heritage modern traction nameplate is Zenith, from Class 42 ‘Warship’ Bo-Bo D867. This name was originally to have been carried by D865, and my November 1959 Ian Allan Combined Volume couples that locomotive with that name, even though it wasn’t due to enter traffic for more than two years. However, when D867 emerged from Swindon Works in April 1961 it was carrying that name, while D865, although a lower number than D867, wasn’t outshopped by North British of Glasgow until June 1962 and, with its scheduled name already on D867, it was named
Zealous. Confused? Me too.
Remaining with this more modern era, there are nameplates
Ben Line from 1964-built Class 47 Co-Co D1577/47457 and Invincible
from 1968-built Class 50 Co-Co D425/50025, and a flamecut cabside panel from Class 55 Deltic D9013/55013 The Black Watch. The name (albeit without the ‘The’) was formerly carried by LMS No. 46102, a Polmadie-based (66A) Royal Scot 4-6-0 that was so elusive to southern trainspotters.
Totem and target choice
Station totem signs include BR(NE) Scarborough Central, BR(Sc) duo Fort William and Elgin, and BR(M) Adderley Park, and anyone looking for a sign from the Hampshire station of Winchfield will have the choice of either a BR(S) totem or a SR target.
A Robin Hoods Bay signalbox nameboard from the Scarborough & Whitby Railway station that opened in July 1885 and closed in March 1965 will also be going under the hammer, as will a 1909 GWR/ LSWR boundary marker from Portland station, on the branch line in Dorset that opened in October 1865 and was closed to passengers in March 1952 and to freight 13 years later.
GWRA’s Simon Turner will hold an auction of posters, shedplates, advertising enamels, and other items on July 8, the day before the main sale. Among the 350 lots will be 33 Southern Region shedplates from a single collection and a York Newcastle & Berwick Railway guard’s clock dating from the railway’s very earliest days in 1850. This live online auction starts at 10am, and the main sale the following day at 9.30am.