Scottish-built Jubilee and Swindonbuilt Grange are stars of GNRA sale

NAMEPLATES from the LMS Jubilee class have long been a regular feature of railwayana auctions and that theme continued at Great Northern's saleroom sale in Poynton on October 1, when Bombay from No. 45576 sold for £8000. The 4-6-0 was built by North British of Glasgow, and the plate was cast at St Rollox Works, which are shorter than a Crewe plate.

A second nameplate, from GWR No. 6822 Manton Grange, fetched £5250, but two others, Murdock from LNWR Newton Class 2-4-0 No. 1488 and Peacock from GWR Bulldog 4-4-0 No. 3450, failed to sell.

From the post-steam era came headboard ‘The Hadrian Flyer,' carried by Class 55 Deltic No. 55015 Tulyar when it hauled a special on November 27, 1981, organised by Doncaster Works when the class was in its twilight months. This piece of heritage modern traction railwayana sold for £1800, just ahead of the £1600 achieved by an LMS hawkeye from Elland station, near Halifax.

Following this pre-Nationalisation sign was the leading totem, BR(NE) Pontefract, which had been in the vendor's ownership since the 1970s and went for £1450. At £1100 and £1000 respectively were two cabside numberplates, 2038 from SR Class H1 4-4-2 Portland Bill

(BR No. 32038) and 6822 from GWR Manton Grange, whose nameplate had been sold 50 lots earlier. Prices exclude buyer's premium of 15%.

Due to a severe bout of Covid-19, Great Northern principal Dave Robinson was unable to attend the auction, which was Ian Wright's final sale on the rostrum. A week after the sale, Dave, although still feeling distinctly under the weather, told Heritage Railway: “I am improving but it has taken a lot out of me. The feedback I have received about the auction from our crew, collectors, and stallholders is that they all had a good day, so it's on with the next one in April.”