Modern railwayana – a growth area

Modern Railwayana A grow th area

Buying and collecting nameplates and station signs from both the pre- and post-Privatisation era is gaining popularity. Jack Boskett looks at the background and its appeal.

We have all heard of the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, and certainly among the railway fraternity, this can often be the case.

Like many industries, when a particular item has served its purpose, it ends up in the bin or a skip and will be disposed of accordingly.

Many railway enthusiasts are likely to have some form of relic in their collection somewhere, it could be in the form of a modern poster, or travel mug with a train operating company logo printed on the side, or it may be an antique from the 1840s such as a GWR clock.

Today the world of railwayana is becoming even more popular. There are a host of specialist auction houses taking the reins in this field with regular sales of items ranging from hand lamps through totems to nameplates. Such nameplates, particularly unique ones, are sought after by enthusiasts, yet unbeknown to the general public, each name has a meaning behind it.

Aladdin’s cave

Many of us remember, and probably visited at some point, the British Rail shop which opened in November 1969 around the corner from London Euston station in Cardington Street and known as Collectors’ Corner. It was an Aladdin’s cave for everything railway related and stocked a plethora of items; totems, enamel and cast irons signs, locomotive nameplates, clocks, signalling equipment, old uniforms, lamps, and ephemera

Only a self-confessed railway enthusiast and railwayana collector could have a bedroom like this! A great mix of signs from BR and London Underground, plus other memorabilia.

Avanti train manager and RM contributor Brad Joyce and Avanti communications manager Richard Stanton share a joke at the sealed bid auction of Virgin Pendolino nameplates at Crewe Open Day in 2019. The auction alone raised nearly £20,000.

for anyone to purchase at reasonable prices. Many items bought from Collectors’ Corner now reside in collections across the globe and occasionally make an appearance in auctions today.

Roll on almost 40 years to Privatisation and the situation that when a franchise changes or a train operating company alters its branding, the signage on the stations are replaced.

It is often the case that contractors who replace these signs believe them to no longer be of use and dispose of them in a skip. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a Collectors’ Corner in our world today? It would give everyone the opportunity to purchase a sign from the modern era, a piece of recent railway history at an affordable price.

When you look at the number of items of railwayana in private collections and on display in various museums it makes you wonder whether anything actually got thrown out.

One thing that remains is the history in the items which come up for sale, and as a result the prices are now beginning to reflect this aspect too. Railwayana is often seen as an investment. Like the stock market, collectors will often purchase items when prices are at a low, sit on them for a few years and then release them through the auction houses to make a nice profit. It doesn’t always work like that, but unlike stock, there is often a crucial extra factor behind the business – sentiment.

Any profit will enable the buyer to purchase another item which means more to them personally. This happens over time as the price accumulates, but it all depends on who wants it.

Foresight

A good example of price inflation is flamecut number panels from diesel and electric locos. Scrap yards will often cut around the locomotive number on a cab and sell them on to railway enthusiasts as mementos. Class 20 panels such as No. 20141 were sold at auction for £420 in November 2020. Yet, back in November 2004 the panel from 20203 sold for £20. A more soughtafter panel from ‘Deltic’ No. 55018 Ballymoss sold at a GWRA auction for £2700 in July 2019.

If it weren’t for the scrapyard owners having the foresight to cut these numbers out, then these would be processed along with the locomotive cab. It has to be said that many scrapyards are not sentimental and will not keep souvenirs, it

is purely business. An example of this style of rapid scrapping is Sims Group at Newport Docks in South Wales. Rolling stock is delivered by road and rail and is processed almost immediately upon arrival. The firm is well known for its quick turnaround on railway vehicles, which is a pity as there is a market for used items such as air horns, cab desks, chairs, signage, speedometers, destination blinds and number panels.

Between the mid 1990s and 2000s steam engine nameplates were at the height of their market, a typical GWR ‘Hall’ nameplate used to fetch anywhere between £6000-£12,000 depending on the name and condition. However, you can easily purchase one between £3000£7000 today. Iconic names such as Flying Scotsman are sought-after by collectors. A 1926 plate from the LNER Pacific made a record £64,500 in auction back in 2018. It took around 20 minutes to sell the solid brass plate when it went under the hammer because there was so much interest from all around the world. Normally items can be sold in under a minute, bidding can be that quick.

Modern railwayana is appealing to a new generation of collectors, with many of the buyers of such items tending to be much younger too. It’s a natural progression. Steam nameplates and BR totems generally appeal to older collectors as a rule, while diesel and electric nameplates often relate to enthusiasts who grew up with these locos in their youth. Consequently nameplates from the modern era are now fetching very good prices. Last November LNER sold several HST nameplates in aid of one of its charities, with that from power car No. 43308 Highland Chieftain making an astonishing £13,900, and there is a further set of LNER nameplates to be auctioned in July.

The value of nameplates from ‘Western’ class diesels has surprised collectors with their recent hike in value. It is known that one collector paid £100 for a nameplate and number from an auction back in the 1980s, this could be worth anything between £10,000-£20,000 today.

Charity

When the Virgin Trains franchise ended in 2019, all of the Pendolino and Voyager nameplates and nose cone crests were auctioned off, with all money raised going to charity. To buy a Virgin nose crest from a Voyager or Pendolino will cost around £300-£500 based on recent sales.

Today, the value of the nameplates carried by the 220, 221 or 390 classes range between £700£5000. The rarity of the Class 57 ‘Thunderbird’

 The depot crest for St Blazey featuring a lizard and dating from BR’s Railfreight era recently sold at auction for £2500.

 A nice mix of the old and the new.

Some of the modern traction nameplates now on display at STEAM, the museum of the Great Western Railway. JACK BOSKETT These specially designed ‘Castle’ namplates, carried by shortened GWR HST sets, will become collectors’ items in future years. JACK BOSKETT

Nose crests like this are gaining in value, one sold for £400 recently.

nameplates is such in November 2020, The Mole sold for £8200.

Back in 2001, a modern traction nameplate and worksplate auction took place at London Zoo and raised £79,000 for charity. The top price paid for a Class 91 nameplate was The Scotsman from 91003 with other names such as Queen Elizabeth II, Reverend W. Awdry, Northern Rock, Durham Cathedral and Saint Nicholas all fetching over £4000 each. It all depends on the name and who wants it.

But what does the future hold? There has been a tendency of late for railway companies to use vinyl decals to name their trains, which suggests there will come a point where it will only be freight locomotives bearing the nameplates in cast aluminium.

The GWR ‘Castle’ class HST nameplates are certainly ones to keep an eye on in the future. Designed by Paul Gentleman, they depict iconic and historic castles within the area served by GWR and are very pleasing to the eye. A display of the presentation nameplates went on display during an exhibition during July 2019 along with some old locomotive names too.

But it’s not just nameplates in demand. In March 2021, a station totem from Brecon reached a staggering £12,000 at auction.

Totems are the recognisable enamel sign and are found in every railwayana auction that takes place today. Back in the day, totems were deemed to be worthless and often ended up at Collectors’ Corner for disposal. However, they were often ‘snapped up’ quite quickly as they were an affordable artefact to purchase. When you think that the majority of stations carried an average of 10 totem signs, the pile would soon add up in the storeroom at Euston! Practicality encouraged a quick turnaround. Totems often have a personal appeal for buyers in respect of where they lived, spotted or are just in their local area.

Swap-meet

Today, around four times a year, come rain, sleet, or shine in the large car park at Quorn on the Great Central Railway, a railwayana swap-meet/car boot sale takes place. This is a superb opportunity to sell any unwanted relics, particularly if you are looking for a quick sale or want to avoid auctioneers’ commission rates!

From a buyer’s perspective you can guarantee that you will come away with a genuine artefact or two by the end of the morning. There is a rule that no reproductions are permitted to be sold unless clearly stated on the table. It is also a good place to make friends and learn from other collectors who are in attendance that morning, but is also a less intimidating way to begin collecting compared to bidding at auction. Most of all it is a great place to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy another aspect of the hobby.

After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? ■