Charity chance for rail buffs to enjoy success on a nameplate!
Railway buffs and die-hard rail enthusiasts around the country are being given the chance to own their own piece of railway history.
London North Eastern Railway is auctioning some of its historic nameplates for charity.
43274 Spirit of Sunderland, 43208 Lincolnshire Echo and 43257 Bounds Green will go under the hammer in an online auction on July 24.
Proceeds from the sale of plates from the iconic LNER InterCity High-Speed Train fleet, which was retired in 2019, will go to LNER’s partner charity Campaign Against Living Miserably CALM.
The auction comes after seven HST nameplates and a crest celebrating the heritage of the East Coast route raised £41,000 for CALM in 2020. Auctioneers say record prices were reached for Class 43 HST nameplates last November, with 43308 Highland Chieftain proving most popular selling for £13,900.
Nameplates 43274 Spirit of Sunderland, 43208 Lincolnshire Echo and 43257 Bounds Green from one side of the power car raised a combined total of almost £10,000 and now enthusiasts have the rare chance to bid for the three remaining plates in a one-off sale.
In advance of the auction, LNER colleagues were pictured holding the nameplates beside the famous record-breaking Class 43 power car 43102 ‘The Journey Shrinker’, which has been donated to the National Railway Museum for its Locomotion site at Shildon in County Durham by Porterbrook.
LNER managing director David Horne said: “Our historic nameplates have generated interest from around the world, as they are sought-after memorabilia that celebrates some of the regions along the historic LNER route. We hope the upcoming auction will help support our communities and raise much needed funds for our partner charity, the Campaign Against Living Miserably, which has seen record levels of demand for its services.”
CALM’s CEO, Simon Gunning, said: “Since the beginning of lockdown the CALM helpline has answered over 177,000 calls and chats.”
The proceeds of the auction will be added to more than £300,000 LNER has already raised for CALM since the start of the pioneering partnership in October 2018. Visit www.gwra.co.uk for further information about the auction.