Vintage railway signs steam ahead in sale

A selection of vintage railway signs steamed ahead in a recent sale at The Cotswold Auction Company, with each one being snapped up by bidders.

A mid-century British Rail ‘Chacewater’ enamel sign hammered at £1,250 on an estimate of £400 to £600, while a mid-century British Rail ‘Truro’ enamel sign shunted in close behind on a hammer of £950, beating its estimate of £400 to £600.

Meanwhile, a maroon Hornby ‘Princess Elizabeth’ loco proved just the ticket, hammering down at £800 against an estimate of £500 to £800.

Elsewhere in the sale, The sound of jazz also sent prices soaring with buyers snapping up a Yamaha baritone sax which blew away all competitors to hammer at £2,500 on an estimate of £700 to £1,000. A Yamaha tenor sax fetched a final hammer price of £900 on an estimate of £500 to £800.

Other top sellers in the auction included an Abraham Ortelius (Belgian, 1527–1598) framed and glazed map of China, first published in 1584, which sold for £850. A Telsalda toy robot with clockwork mechanism hammered down at £500, while a set of The Lord of the Rings trilogy from 1955 sold for a hammer of £1,500.

Auctioneer and company director, Liz Poole, said: “The saxophones proved particularly popular this time, as did railway memorabilia and model trains, with a British Rail ‘Chacewater’ enamel sign the pick of the bunch at a hammer price of £1,250.”