News story of the month: Taking a shine to a Scottish sign (18-Mar-11)

When it comes to railway signs, the larger examples can sometimes be overlooked as they often take up too much room in a collection. There are, of course, exceptions and a fine example of a British Railways pale blue Scottish Region enamel sign for the Kyle-Kyleakin Ferry recently sold for a hammer price of £3,100 at Railwayana Auctions UK’s sale at Stafford on Saturday 22nd January. The appeal of the sign, which had obviously come from a choice location on the west coast of Scotland, certainly made it highly desirable to a number of collectors.

There was a distinct Scottish theme to a large number of the lots in this sale including single line key tokens and tablets, station totems and seatback names, mileposts, signal box name boards, armbands and even a Highland Railway hotel chamber pot! Not to be sniffed at, the latter found a new home at £110.

Other parts of the country were also well represented with the Great Western Railway Tufts Junction signal box name going for £2,000; an Eastern Region Grimsby Town totem making £2,650; a Southern Railway target station sign from Ventnor, Isle of Wight, selling for £2,100; and an historical and very heavy stone sleeper with an engraved brass plate giving its history as being from the Pen-y-Darren Tramroad, where Trevithick’s early steam locomotive ran, which sold for £150. All prices are liable to a buyer’s premium of 10% on top of the hammer prices given.

To mark the Royal wedding at the end of April, Railwayana Auctions UK is holding a telephone auction featuring a selection of railway items with Royal links, including the Class 47 diesel locomotive name-plates ‘Lady Diana Spencer’ and ‘Prince William’. Bidding will commence at 10am on 16th April and end at 10pm on 24th April.

This auction story was first published in the April isssue of Collectors Gazette. To see which issues of Collectors Gazette are available to buy online, click here.