09 January 2018
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A delightful and unusual item, a steam bus with functioning engine, built by a very able amateur engineer. The Sentinel, in Lake District Bus Company livery, realised £1,100.
Special Auction Services’s last 2017 sale actually encompassed two days – and went to prove that not everyone was out on the high street, shopping.
Special Auction Services’s last 2017 sale actually encompassed two days – and went to prove that not everyone was out on the high street, shopping. Trains were the name of the game and out of 1,374 lots just 18 were unsold, the affair netting close to £250,000, some £70,000 over expectation, according to the salesroom’s Hugo Marsh.
“This was largely the final part of a very large collection from Switzerland, which realised £75,000 alone, mainly comprising smaller gauges from numerous different makers. The whole collection, which consisted of 7,000 locomotives and 14,000 diecasts, has been now been sold by us over the last nine months for a total of £202,000,” he explained.
Needless to say, in this particular trainfest there were some true highlights, like a Marklin ST800 railcar set (a Triebwagen), which made £1,000; and a rare and unusual Conti Il Settebello train, which ran off to realise a healthy £1,800.
On day two, December 14, most of what might be termed the big guns were deployed in the larger gauge sections at the end of the sale. However, a notable exception was that of lot 748, a rare Tri-ang TT Gauge CT502 Tank Passenger Set. There was plenty of interest within the room in this particular set and the hammer finally closed on £950.
Other lots of note included a Bassett-Lowke BR Royal Scot locomotive and tender which sold for £1,100 and from the same maker, a Tregenna Castle locomotive and tender which realised a staggering £2,600. A pair of Marklin Stephenson Tank locomotives obviously drew many to the sale: seldom seen, here was a gauge 0 and a gauge 1 example in matching livery. In all, the pair made £16,000.
On the slightly less dramatic front was a 5 inch gauge BR Standard Mogul steam locomotive and tender, which stoked up those present to bid it to £4,800; and a companion piece, another 5 inch model, this time a GWR City of Truro steam locomotive and tender, which finally settled on £4,000.