Winter 2020

T he collecting of model trains and railwayana has continued to increase in recent years. Since the introduction of the railways in the 19th century the popularity of model train collecting has developed from the fascination among young boys of the great engineering feats of that time to the latest eco and carbon efficient examples of the modern age still garnering admiration today. The ability to bring a little bit of that magic to your own home has seen the model train world expand hugely over the years There are many factors that contribute to the train collecting world, but one important one is space. The bigger the train, the more space you need. In the first part the trains were just made as toys and not to a specific scale. Now and over the course of the last century we have seen the scale become very important and there are a host of sizes depending on the size of the track. For example, unless you live in a mansion you couldn’t run a 5-inch gauge locomotive, it really needs to be run outdoors on a 5-inch wide track that is pretty substantial. On the flip side of this, you can buy N or Z gauge that

you can run on your coffee table or 00 gauge introduced by Hornby, which would easily be run on a board layout in a small room. Another big factor with model trains is the quality. Some trains can be made quite simply and to a fairly standard finish, they can be made by anybody and as a result collecting becomes ever more accessible, however, on the other hand, we are lucky enough to be in the advantageous position to see very fine and amazingly well modelled trains where every rivet and detail is exact. As has come to be expected there is a great selection of fine and rare examples available in our Trains Galore Auction. We see the model train market as one that will carry on capturing people’s imaginations for years to come and if you have some old trains in the loft, it might be worth getting us to have a look at them. Trains Galore is on December 15, all viewing is by appointment and all bidding is online via our website www.specialauctionservices.com. To make an appointment to view and for all enquiries email mail@specialauctionservices.com or call 01635 580595

Of particular interest is an exceptional scratch built O Gauge model of the unique Great Eastern Railway ‘Decapod’ 0-10-0 Experimental Tank Locomotive which because it is a prototype is very rarely modelled. Märklin made one, but it was not a good model, with the wrong number of wheels. It is entered for auction with an estimate of £300-£500.

Perhaps with a more topical theme for the festive period, an uncommon Märklin British market O Gauge Bass Beer Van Circa 1930 carries a guide of only £100-£140. This particular example stands apart from most as almost every Märklin beer wagon that comes to the market is for German beer whereas this particular example is for the British market and was only made for a brief period.

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