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The Railwayana Department
Bonhams hold two of these specialist sales per year at our Knowle salesroom. The sales are (usually) held in May & October. Detailed catalogues are available from the address below. The Railwayana lots can be viewed on this website just prior to each auction.
The interest in Railwayana has grown considerably over the past 10-15 years with locomotive items, particularly Name & Number plates now fetching many thousands of Pounds. The most popular are from steam locomotives from the LMS, LNER, SR & GWR. Modern Diesel & Electric nameplates have recently become popular, but command lower prices than for the older steam locomotive plates. Notable successes in the department include GWR locomotive nameplates Cleeve Abbey (£25,500) and Nunney Castle (£15,200).
In addition other popular areas include Locomotive works plates, smoke box number plates and shed plates. Again prices can range from a few Pounds to several Thousand depending upon the locomotive(s) involved. The most popular belonged to named steam locomotives.
Smoke Box Number plate from LMS Jubilee Class “Duncan” sold for £1700 in May 2006
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Shedplates 72E (Barnstaple Junction) sold for £900 in May 2007 & 75E (Three Bridges) for £230 in May 2006
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Worksplate from Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton Ltd locomotive dated 1912 sold for £1350 in May 2007
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Another area showing strong demand is for Totems, these are enamel station signs that were provided by British Railways in the 1950’s. Each region had its own colour scheme i.e. Green (Southern Region), Chocolate & Cream (Western Region), Dark Blue (Eastern Region), Light Blue (Scottish Region), Maroon (Midland Region) and Tangerine (North Eastern Region). Other experimental colours including Black & White are also known. The value of totems can vary from circa £150 up to £10,000 depending upon the condition and most importantly the location. Popular locations include Kyle of Lochalsh, York, Kings Cross, Cardiff Central, Darlington and Evercreech Junction amongst others.
Examples of Totems sold by Bonhams for between £360 (Cogan) & £720 (Galashiels)
Llandudno Junction (Midland Region) |
Clapham Junction (Southern Region) |
Cogan (Western Region) |
Galashiels (Scottish Region) |
Other examples of station signs that are popular include Station Direction signs (with arrow(s)), Southern Railway Targets, LMS alloy Hawkseyes and GWR & LNER enamel signs.
Example of SR Target
There are many diverse areas of interest to collectors in addition to those listed above this includes Railway Posters, Carriage Prints, Books, Jigsaw Puzzles, Lamps, Hand Lamps, Signalling items, Cast Iron signs, Silver plate, China, Glassware, Clocks and Tickets.
The most sought after Railway Posters date from the period 1925 -1960. During this period the LNER, GWR, LMS, SR and British Railways all used famous Artists of the time to produce the designs. These include Terence Cuneo, Frank Sherwin and Jack Merriott. Again Posters can vary in price from a few Pounds to many Thousands. Most popular posters are those that advertise a particular location e.g. Lowestoft, or a particular train e.g. Flying Scotsman. Headings such as “Go Great Western”, “It’s Quicker by Rail”, or “See Britain by Train” are common popular themes.
LNER Lowestoft by Kenneth Shoesmith sold for £1300 in Oct 2007
BR (Eastern Region) Suffolk by Jack Merriott sold for £370 in Oct 2007
BR (Western Region) St Ives Cornwall by Frank Sherwin sold for £720 in Oct 2007
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Another popular area is carriage prints, the most popular date from the 1930’s, 40’s & 50’s. The most sought after are from the LNER pre-war period. Again famous artists were used to produce the designs for these items. Collectors prefer the print to still be in their original wooden frame.
To enable the public to travel, each Railway Company provided a range of tickets. The type of ticket used throughout the period 1860 - 1970 are based on a design by Thomas Edmonson. Bonhams has the distinction of having achieved the World Record price (still standing) for a mid-Victorian ticket from Bangor to Britannia Bridge at £2800.
With the introduction of Railways in the UK came the standardisation of time (GMT). Station Waiting Rooms, Railway Offices, and Signal Boxes were all provided with clocks. The most popular are those with the Name, or initials of the Railway Company on the clock face, in original condition if at all possible. Sizes range from 8” up to 30” Dial.
As the Railways developed so was the need for greater safety, no more so than in the area of controlling the running of the trains. A wide range of signalling apparatus were introduced by the Railway Companies to improve this: such items include Signals, Signal Lamps, Block Instruments, Block Bells, Telegraph Instruments, Interlocking Frames, Single Line staff/Keys/Tokens/Tablets and telephones. All of these areas have become popular in recent years.
Single Line Key for Creech Junction – Hatch sold for £1500 in Oct 2007
Single line Key for Ilminster – Hatch sold for £1500 in Oct 2007
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Many members of staff were issued with a Hand lamp to enable them to perform their duties. The most sought after have the name of the Railway Company, location, or occasionally a Person’s name either stamped into the body of the lamp, or provided on an attached brass plate.
With such a large network in the UK, it was necessary for the Railway Companies to provide both the Public and their staff with various notices either warning or advisory in nature. A whole range of cast iron and enamel signs were produced for this purpose. A popular area relates to trespass notices, also highly desirable are Bridge Restriction Notices, notices dealing with specific issues, or locations, Boundary Posts etc. The most desirable signs are those with the name of a Railway Company or Companies in the title, or body of the text.
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