Steammakes a comeback but totems keep up pressure

WITH the topfour realisations being steamnameplates, Great Central’s sixth monthly liveonline200-lot auctionon July 10wasalmost a harkback tothe old days, albeithelped by the fact that the diesel oppositionwasmissing the in-depth selection thathas been such a feature of the series since it started in February.

Topof the treewas CaerhaysCastle fromGWR-designed and BR-built No. 7014,whichwent under Mike Soden’shammerfor£10,400, followed at £6000each by anotherGWR offering, CountyofHants (No. 1016), andLMScontender Kenya fromJubilee No. 45613.

Not far inarrearswere Wimpole Hall carried byGWRNo. 5963 (£5200) and HenryCort fromLNWRExperiment class 4-6-0No. 1413 (£5000), while a second pre-Groupingsteamnameplate rostered for this sale, CityofLiverpool (GCR Class1No. 428/LNER B19 No. 1493),washeld over to the next auction (see previewinthis column).

Fighting the diesels’corner at£3600 was CharlesBabbage fromClass 60 Co-CoNo. 60054, built by BrushTraction inApril 1991and namedaftera19th centuryEnglishmathematician.