AUCTION SEASON COMES SOONEST IN THE SOUTH
The new collecting year has started and, by the time you read this, the first railwayana auctions and collectors’ fairs will have taken place, with a busy calendar of events ahead of us.
solent Railwayana Auctions starts its sale year at The Wickham centre, Hampshire on saturday february 11. Describing itself as “The south of England’s Premier ‘Live’ Auction” you would expect to find some locomotive numbers beginning with ‘3’ and you wouldn’t be disappointed, as smokebox numberplates from class 0395 0‑6‑0 no. 30581 and class n ‘Mogul’ no. 31817 make an appearance. The 0‑6‑0 was a real survivor, as it was built by neilson & company for the London & south Western Railway back in 1885, being one of the class members that made it into BR ownership in 1948 as the last of the batch nos. 30564‑30581. It was withdrawn from Exmouth Junction in March 1953. other regions are also represented in this sale, with the smokebox numberplate from GWR ‘castle’ no. 5059 Earl St. Aldwyn, and a 1951 engraved worksplate from ‘B1’ no. 61385 also available. GWR cabsides on offer are nos. 3734, 4326 and 6649, with worksplates including LMs Derby, LMs Horwich, and Hawthorn Leslie.
Among the other locomotive items in this sale are a cab gauge ex‑‘A4’ no. 60026 Miles Beevor and ‑ for the specialist collector ‑ ‘Merchant navy’ class wooden cab windows. At the time of writing, the only main line nameplate on offer is from ‘Warship’ diesel‑ hydraulic no. D604 Cossack.
BR(s) is also well represented at Wickham with totems including Guildford, Leigh Halt, Maidstone East and Preston Park, and an enamel seatback from Ash Vale. southern Railway targets offered are Lewes and Ramsgate.
The following saturday, february 18, Great central Railwayana Auctions holds its first Bloxham general railwayana auction, then makes its 2017 stoneleigh debut on March 4.
Quorn station yard on the Great central Railway hosts its first swapmeet on sunday March 12, while Thirsk Railwayana Auction makes its second appearance of the year on saturday March 18.
Great Western Railwayana Auctions is at Pershore on April 1, Great northern Railwayana at Poynton Leisure centre on April 8, and the crewe crew are at… you guessed it… crewe Heritage centre on April 22.