Antiques

FULL STEAM AHEAD

Richard Bromell ASFAV, Charterhouse Auctioneers

Christmas is coming. No doubt some of you will be counting down to the big day and the shops will soon be stocking Christmas pudding and table crackers. We’re not getting the tinsel out just yet but our auction of model cars, trains, dolls and toys on 2nd December might just offer up the perfect Christmas present.

One great thing about being an auctioneer is seeing and handling all the lovely lots before the auction. Many of them bring back happy memories and nostalgia plays a big part in auctions. You might rediscover a toy you owned as a child or one that belonged to an elder sibling that you’d dare not touch. Maybe it was the one you spent hours dreaming about or peering at through a shop window.

For me, there is one lot which I always fall for – the train set – despite having little interest in trains or railways.

I was generally a well-behaved child and having two older sisters thankfully resulted in me having many of my own toys. Typical of the time, these consisted largely of toy guns and anything with wheels. One year, I received a train set (I’m not sure who from, maybe Santa) but apparently, in a later tantrum, I destroyed it. Unsurprisingly, that was the last train set I was ever given.

Fast forward several decades and I’m cooing over another one – the iconic Stephenson’s Rocket locomotive – part of a beautiful, large set made by one of perhaps the most famous of all train set manufacturers, Hornby.

The set comprises a 31/2 gauge working steam train and 25ft of track. Also included is a coach, set of points and an additional 25ft of track, all in their original boxes.

This wonderful lot was found at an 18th-century Dorset cottage we had been asked to clear earlier this year. The owner had been a true enthusiast and spent his working life employed by a railway company – a career that, his family told us, gave him immense satisfaction.

Whether this train set will be bought by a fellow enthusiast, a collector or as a gift for a child, is unknown. One thing is sure however, I am under strict instructions from Mrs B. not to put my own hand up come auction day!