Meccano heads for the clouds

On 17 August Vectis hosted a train sale and a wide variety of locos, rolling stock and accessories went under the hammer, as did some allied material, including Meccano.

Let’s start with the latter, for a change. Pride of place indisputably went to the absolutely gorgeous Meccano Aeroplane, in this instance constructed as a twin-engined biplane and finished in cream and red. The auctioneers noted that a number of parts had been expertly repainted; otherwise its condition was described as generally excellent. The repainting, the auctioneers thought, would diminish the interest and so the aircraft attracted a modest estimate of £80-120. But quality shone through - and the aircraft flew off to make a handsome £528 for its last owner.

On to the trains: an OO gauge kitbuilt 2-4-0 Holden T26 Class finished in Great Eastern lined gloss blue livery, was well built and neatly painted. Estimated at up to £130, this handsome example realised £456. Another OO gauge kitbuilt locomotive was the 4-4-0 London Brighton and South Coast Railway. Lined in brown, this B4 Class No.55 "Emperor" was again nicely built and painted, which was reflected in its sale price of £408. A third, a 2-4-0 North Eastern Lined green loco (No.258), was in equally good condition and chugged away to make a creditable £648.

For lovers of miniature layouts, the Tri-ang Minic Motorways lot was interesting. Comprising six M1545 London Transport Routemaster Buses, five M1544 Luxury Coaches and a M1545 Green Line Routemaster Bus, here was a good basis for improvement. Many models were incomplete or damaged, but despite this fact, the lot went for £264.

The big money went to Fulgurex, though. An O gauge Overhead Electric Locomotive SNCF in green (No.2D2-5516) was one of a limited production (number 32 of 60) produced in 1988 by Lombardi. In excellent plus state with a comparable box, this gem realised £1,560. In contrast, £1,200 secured the 4-8-4 Tank Loco ELM lined in green. Again, it was a limited production model, produced in 1979.Lastly, the Marklin replica O Gauge 8-wheel Bogie 50-ton 2-bay Hopper Wagon (to give it its full title!) was a joy to behold. Nearly mint, this model had clearly been looked after. A low estimate of £40-60 belied the quality of the piece, which rolled off to realise £168.