GCRA KEEP BUSY WITH THEIR WINTER WARMER SALES

GREAT CENTRAL Railwayana Auctions held its third sale within a month with a live webcast auction on December 11, featuring 230 lots.

A brass GWR ex-locomotive condition nameplate Hinton Manor from ‘78XX’ 4-6-0 No. 7819 provided one of the steam-era highlights, selling for £21,000. Built at Swindon in 1939, No. 7819 was a regular performer on the ‘Cambrian Coast Express’, being withdrawn on November 6 1965.

Interest in ex-Isle of Wight items continued with the sale of the cast brass nameplate

Ningwood from LSWR ‘O2’ 0-4-4T that sold for £12,000. Originally No. 220 when built at Nine Elms in 1892, it was renumbered W18 when it went to the Isle of Wight in May 1930, being withdrawn in December 1965.

An industrial cast brass nameplate in this sale carried the popular name

John, a standard gauge 0-6-0ST built by Manning, Wardle & Co. Ltd Leeds, works number 1760 of 1910. The saddle tank was new to Glasshoughton & Castleford Collieries Ltd at Castleford in West Yorkshire, later passing to the NCB. Out of use by June 1954, John was cut up by 1956. The nameplate found a new home for a hammer price of £1,200.

The majority of cast iron smokebox numberplates to appear at auction are BR examples, but in this sale there was LMS No. 743, originally from a Midland Railway ‘3781’ class 4-4-0 built at Derby in 1904. It was re-numbered 743 in 1907 from its original 833, becoming BR No. 40743. The plate sold for £1,200. There were several four-figure prices realised for enamel station totem signs with a BR(E) fully flanged Sutton-on-Sea from East Lincolnshire selling for £3,700, while a BR(W) Harlech, also fully flanged, not far behind at £3,500. A BR(S) fully flanged Clapham Junction sold for £2,600, with a half-flanged BR(W) Fishguard Harbour making £2,300.