Rare Model Trains Selling For £14,000 At Auction In Market Harborough

A rare model train has sold for £14,000 at auction in Market Harborough – 12 times the list price.

The Fine Scale O Gauge model locomotive, made in 1963, went under the hammer at Glidings Auctioneers on Wednesday.

LNWR Ramsbottom 0-6-0T ‘Special Tank’, listed for £1,500-£2,000, sold for £14,000. Pic: Gildings Auctioneers

Another model locomotive sold for £9,500 at the on-line sale, which attracted bids from collectors all over Europe.

The models were made by James Stanley Beeson, whose family firm was one of the leading makers of the 20th Century and supplied models used in Hollywood films.

The collection, which made-up over 600 lots, was amassed by the late collector Paul Dowley between 1940s – 1970s.

The total value of the sale came to £94,500, with 542 of the 619 lots sold.

Andrew Smith, model railway expert for Gildings, said the high bids were evidence of the quality of Beeson’s work: “We’re delighted with the figures achieved for these very special mid-20th century locomotives, which reflect the unparalleled reputation of Beeson among specialist collectors.

“In particular, the ‘Special Tank’ model which sold for an incredible £14,000, is believed to have been an especially difficult shape of cab for Beeson to craft, which is one reason why it sparked such a fierce bidding war, and ultimately sold for such an enormous amount of money.”

London-born Beeson, who was known as ‘Stan’, began his 55-year career in 1924. Over the course of making around 1600 model locomotives, he earned a well-deserved reputation as the Fabergé of model train making, thanks to his perfectionism and extraordinary skills with the tools of the trade.