What railwayana/train junk do you have in your house/garden?

[hmrspaul]

Although I have been given various items when we toured around I've never delved into Railwayania.

 

A simple question, is it better to leave plates in their original condition, or is repainting preferable?

 

Paul Bartlett

[Rugd1022]

Although I have been given various items when we toured around I've never delved into Railwayania.

 

A simple question, is it better to leave plates in their original condition, or is repainting preferable?

 

Paul Bartlett

 

Personally I prefer them in ex-loco / ex-wagon condition and as far as auctions go I think it makes them worth more. The 75xxx smokebox plate I have had been cleaned up and the numbers repainted before I owned it, so it's probably worth a bit less than others for that reason. In the latest GCR Auctions catalogue there are a couple of ex- GWR cast iron lineside signs which have tatty Western Region brown and cream paintwork, chipped bashed and generally quite grubby, which are far more attractive than  restored examples.

 

On the other hand some of the larger untouched / unrestored items are quite cheap simply because they're too big for people to take home and display, whenever the big BR enamel running in boards come up for auction they usually go for lowish sums.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...whenever the big BR enamel running in boards come up for auction they usually go for lowish sums.

 Though I imagine the railwayman I know with sufficient of these to completely fence his large garden (with easily enough over to completely roof it as well) must have acquired a fair packet's worth by the simple action of 'being there' with screwdriver at what looks like every SR location that changed its signage between 1965 and 2014.

 

He's a very useful fellow: whenever there is a slight dig at my own affliction from madam I can point at him and say 'it doesn't even qualify as a cold compared to XXXXXXXX's Lassa fever*.

 

*Other major infectious diseases are available to suit all tastes.

[Classsix T]

Anyone here keep their modern day travel pieces?

I doubt they're "worth" the paper they're printed on, but I've been keeping specific ones since the late Eighties as a reminder of a particular day out/journey. I think this really took hold when making souvenirs of railtour tickets, but evolved into toc travel as well.

Additionally, it's interesting to keep them from even the mundane frequent journeys from time to time, I'm loath to bin my monthly seasons, subconsciously so I can prove to whomsoever the "spiralling cost of commuting"!

 

C6T.

[stevex59]

Although I have been given various items when we toured around I've never delved into Railwayania.

 

A simple question, is it better to leave plates in their original condition, or is repainting preferable?

 

Paul Bartlett

 

Hi Paul,

I assume you mean wagon plates.

well I had a very large collection of those, in excess of two and a half ton.

Some were restored the others were ex wagon.

Most collectors like myself prefer ex wagon, however some will only buy them restored.

I prefer all those years of muck and paint and the smell of the tar backing that most had.

I have since sold around half of my plates and now collect different ones from each diagram number.

As for the value, it does not make any difference if restored or ex wagon.

The value is in its rarity as in some cases 7500 wagons were built to a lot number, where as sometimes it was just one. 

The builders name also plays a part in its value, ie. Pressed Steel, Shildon and Darlington can almost be worthless, whilst Barrasie, St Rollox and Crewe can be worth a fair bit.

My first plate cost 50p...I still have it, whilst my most expensive was £85.

Prices have come down a bit of late so for those who have the knowledge there are some good buys.

[nomisd]

'sentimental attachments', the latter partly because I carried it, and several other bits of scrap, in my backpack for absolutely blooming miles as I explored quarry branches up onto the "tops" around Blaneau. I was young and fit then!

 

 

 

 

I have a rail chair from Dinorwic that I liberated from a part of the quarry which was on its way back to being part of the mountain. It too went in my rucksack. By the time I got back to London on the train three days later I wondered if it was really worth it - its astounding how heavy an insignificant looking think like a rail chair can get, in hindsight it was.

[bike2steam]

I only have one railwayana artefact that's very special to me, and I don't have any need of any other, and that is a shed plate from my favourite loco shed that I picked up a couple of weeks before it's closure - 1A.

[beast66606]

The discussion regarding wagon plates reminds me, I've also got a stack of them - off topes mainly (I think).

[The Stationmaster]

Anyone here keep their modern day travel pieces?

I doubt they're "worth" the paper they're printed on, but I've been keeping specific ones since the late Eighties as a reminder of a particular day out/journey. I think this really took hold when making souvenirs of railtour tickets, but evolved into toc travel as well.

Additionally, it's interesting to keep them from even the mundane frequent journeys from time to time, I'm loath to bin my monthly seasons, subconsciously so I can prove to whomsoever the "spiralling cost of commuting"!

 

C6T.

 

I do keep some pocket timetables and special timetables for major engineering works and another thing - almost modern I suppose - is that I've kept some of my (travel) passes plus a number of my Footplate Passes (but I'm not sure where they are!) together with my BR Domestic driving Licence.  None of it is any use at all but it's just one of those daft things that sometimes happens.

[lightengine]

Anyone here keep their modern day travel pieces?

I doubt they're "worth" the paper they're printed on, but I've been keeping specific ones since the late Eighties as a reminder of a particular day out/journey. I think this really took hold when making souvenirs of railtour tickets, but evolved into toc travel as well.

Additionally, it's interesting to keep them from even the mundane frequent journeys from time to time, I'm loath to bin my monthly seasons, subconsciously so I can prove to whomsoever the "spiralling cost of commuting"!

C6T.

I have many priv tickets from European journies but also have two of the destination boards from the Hook-Hamburg and Hook- Copenhagen services. One aluminium the other plastic. They both fell off their placement positions at the ends of the carriage into my case.

[Graham456]

Haveing a interest in the Welsh Highland from my late teens and haveing walked it from end to end in pre rebuild days I have a collection of scrap track spikes, telegraph insulators,and even a lump of coal found trackside or track bed side on a sharp curve near plas y nant far from any where, all heavy junk I carted miles on my back to the nearest transport

Then there is a bit of rail out of a north Devon mine adit that has rusted to portable size, a BR brown ERWOOD enamel sign from a friend's shed that lead a previous life on the station befour he bought it to use as a shed

And finely from a now dead ex fitter at bath road one whistle ! But from what? It's not a standard gwr fitting and is a bit small single note five inch long by two and a half inch wide

I won't go into the lumps of coal picked up not far from my home to crush up and fill 4mm coal wagons

[tractionman]

I have two Travellers Fare sugar cubes in their original wrappers... Just had a major clear out of my dad's house as he's downsizing, all my railway junk from forty years ago needing to find a new home. My wife said she's not having it here, but I managed to smuggle the sugar cubes in. Ssshhh.

[Colin_McLeod]

I believe there is a BR cheese sandwich at Shildon.

[lightengine]

I believe there is a BR cheese sandwich at Shildon.

I think I saw that once, years ago.

 

I had a tomato plant from the four foot at Dawlish Warren and have a piece of ballast I found that had been thrown on the beach.

[The Stationmaster]

I have many priv tickets from European journies but also have two of the destination boards from the Hook-Hamburg and Hook- Copenhagen services. One aluminium the other plastic. They both fell off their placement positions at the ends of the carriage into my case.

 

The earlier ones were steel - more inclined to fall off as they were a bit heavier but also a bit heavier to carry home.  Nowadays judging by what my son reports the cheapskates are using cardboard for some of them.

 

One of the most useful relics in my experience is a spring steel (but no longer springy) key as used on bullhead track - makes an excellent soldering iron rest.

[lightengine]

The earlier ones were steel - more inclined to fall off as they were a bit heavier but also a bit heavier to carry home.  Nowadays judging by what my son reports the cheapskates are using cardboard for some of them.

 

One of the most useful relics in my experience is a spring steel (but no longer springy) key as used on bullhead track - makes an excellent soldering iron rest.

Nice souvenirs though!

[APOLLO]

In my garage, at the side of my old 1973 Rover P5B 3.5 litre V8 is an old railway wagon brake block. It's been in the family years, my dad used it to flatten piles of photos he developed after fixing & washing them (good old days !!).

 

I still use it. Occasionally the old girl is a begger to start, manual choke out, a few pumps on the accelerator and she (usually) coughs to life. The brake block is placed on the accelerator pedal to keep it in a bit after the choke is put back, manually, under the bonnet as the return spring has broke. Been doing this for years !!!

 

Brit15

[modfather]

And finely from a now dead ex fitter at bath road one whistle ! But from what? It's not a standard gwr fitting and is a bit small single note five inch long by two and a half inch wide

 

Sounds like an 08 whistle to me fella.

[Zomboid]

Nothing at all in terms of genuine memorabilia. I have a couple of recent prints of rail posters, but that's it. If I could get a US style smokebox number which matched the door number of my house that would be great, but no doubt ruinous as well.

[w124bob]

I own a full set of Sulzer manuals(classes 24 to 47) issued to drivers in early 60's, I also a similar EE publication for class20's. BR 33056 are the more modern 80's equilvatent, as I trained Cl31,37,45,47,56&60 plus HST's I've still got them . I also still have an early yellow anorak in the car, it's shrunk around the waist! Found my first BR wage slip awhile ago(£35 aprox) not bad in 1978 for spotty 16year old 2nd man.

[Ruston]

In the garden I have a two stone sleeper blocks, probably from about 1815, one from a horse-worked colliery line, near Lofthouse, and one from the Flockton Colliery Tramway.

There is also a 10" gauge wheelset from a hand-worked line that served a local brickworks. Mainline items are an LMS rail chair and a sprung steel key, both from the former NCB line at British Oak.

 

All the above are probably of no interest to anyone but myself.

[Flood]

 

which I still have. I previously owned this one as well:

 

 

Yes they are originals from Collector's Corner.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Flood

[Worsdell forever]

My Uncle has a few fishplate bolts, these were 'shovelled up' along with a few tons of coal, sometime in the late 70s there was a derailment between Danby and Lealholm on the Esk Valley line and much of the spilled coal ended up on a relatives land, BR wanted rid so they were told they could have it so the lineside was decended upon by tractors and trailers. The bolts were spotted among the coal and as they looked useful they were shovelled up too. He's still using them now, last year he was building a trolley for a small stationary engine (a JAP or Petter) and needed some axles, they fitted the wheels perfectly.

 

There's no coal left unfortunately... 

[russ p]

It seams hard to imagine now that there was still local freight workings to Whitby to what seems comparatively recently. The Whitby pick up ended 82/83 and Brotton/Carlin How 84.

[Co-tr-Paul]

As an employee, tons of stuff ! Ranging from the common GWR tresspass on the back wall to Class 43 defect books including 43002. Loft full of paperwork stored as its too soon to sell !