Preservation nameplate tops the GCRA Bloxham charts

A NAMEPLATE that was carried by an LMS express locomotive for 24 years after being saved for preservation was the top seller at £1550 in a Great Central Bloxham-style sale on June 25.

It was from No. 45596 Bahamas, a Jubilee built by North British of Glasgow in January 1935 and withdrawn from Stockport Edgeley (9B) in July 1966, following which it was saved for preservation by the Bahamas Locomotive Society.

In 1968 the 4-6-0 was fitted with replacement plates and carried them until 1992, during which it covered more than 9000 miles on railtours, and it was one of these that went under the hammer on June 25.

Runner-up was a London & North Western Railway Fletcher’s receiving train describer that included such destinations as Curzon St Goods and Saltley Loco Shed (£1300), behind which came four BR wagonplates dated between 1949-62 (£940) and an SR/BR(S) running-in enamel board from the Hampshire station of Fareham (£880).

Another nameboard, albeit one comprising cast letters on wood, was from the LMS signalbox Longbridge East, located at the former Austin car works in Birmingham (£680). Prices exclude buyer’s premium of 15% (+ VAT). Great Central’s Bloxham-style auctions, so named after their original location but now being held live online, sell general railwayana with no telephone bidding and few reserves.

Mike Soden, who shared auctioneering duties with colleague Martin Quartermain, said after the final item of the 535 lots went under the hammer: “It went well, and another is already in preparation, which I expect to be later in the summer or early autumn.”