Smokebox Numbers on Ebay

Little while back smokebox plate from King John , I think, (didn't take a lot of notice) appeared on Ebay. Looked the part and went for £250 approx.
Now I see Butler Henderson 62660 has popped up, rusty and unpainted from same vendor.
Vendor states they are unsure of what items were/are????? but mmmmmmmm!
Thoughts anyone.
I certainly have my own.

 

I saw these too - there was 62660 and a Jubilee/Patriot from memory, both seemingly now disappeared?

I was of the opinion that 62660 smokebox resides with NRM at York?

 

Used to be quite heavily involved in Railwayana and could ask others on the scene, but since prices went silly (as far as I was concerned) have lost contact with those in the know!
Still keep an eye but only for curiosity as much as anything.

 

I would view any railwayana on eBay with a great deal of scepticism.

 

I do.
I remember the discussions regarding repro shedplates, smokeboxes, totems etc in the 1980s revolved around the idea that these could not be aged to represent authenticity. Well a repro smokebox, painted up in the 80s left out in the weather for 20 odd years will have been ageing longer than on some locos. Simplistic maybe, but a desired plate can be weathered enough to fool many.
My experience has been that buying railwayana with confidence, particularly high value goods, relied upon being able to follow the ownership trail.
S'funny how a large number of very rare shedplates seem to have survived and entered the market, at least when I was still collecting.
I do remember Steamtown selling freshly cast shedplates back in the late 70s / early 80s.

 

Imagine my pleasure in finding this item in a drawer on the Broadway site:




I had never seen one like it before. What a great discovery! Then I googled it....

Came back on Ebay, Etsy, you name it :-(

 

One of my local stations has had a number of Totems put up recently. Not had a chance to inspect them closely, but they do look nice. Obviously repros. and having seen some other repros, (full flange to boot), I can see in 50 years time these possibly weathering quite nicely, particularly with the help of the local vandals.

 

On Ebay, also available: 'GWR' toilet roll holders, 'GWR' coathooks, 'GWR' luggage rack brackets... to name a few that spring to mind.

How about these two:


Chose your company!

Sadly, it seems to have fooled our S&T dept, who have put up 4 'GWR' coat hooks in Broadway signal box :-(

 

Whilst they may have been fooled the idea to put up repros. is not that silly really.
If they disappear no great loss and museums, heritage railways etc are looking to portray a "feel" so nothing wrong in using replicas. However, I get your p

 

Dunno what happened there - think internet went down momentarily .......to add

Whilst they may have been fooled, the idea to put up repros. is not that silly really.
If they disappear no great loss and museums, heritage railways etc are looking to portray a "feel" so nothing wrong in using replicas. However, I get your point replicas should be as "authentic" as possible!

 

What i was getting at is that I don't believe that GWR coat hooks ever existed.


They are like those suspended baby clocks on sale that say 'Paddington ' - there's one outside our Trust office at Toddington.

 

I share your point of view about using realistic repros out of doors. The risk of theft is too high for an original.

 

Oh I agree and get that. Whether the general public notice, or care, is another matter

 

Just looked on Google images for GWR coat hooks. Gadzooks -what isn't available new, and in a myriad of companies?
Crown cap bottle openers, coat hooks of every shape, bog roll holders ........................... Just think, in 50 year time people will be unearthing these things and they being sold at auction for inflated prices

 

Yes, that's why I didn't like finding them in our signal box. These are replicas of things that never existed.

 

How about these though, I have commissioned a pair of replicas for use on a pair of outside gates (which carry the risk of theft) at the GWSR:



The original from which these were cast (and it took 3 years!) was, I'm told, on the gates of Old Oak Common. I also saw them on the gates of Malvern Road shed. These are one-offs, there won't be any more.

 

They do, but look like this but with a discreet GWR stamped into them:—


https://insitumanchester.com/shop/door-furniture/09-hooks/brass-elephant-hat-and-coat-hookH4BSimple/

 

Should've made a few more and stuck them on eBay

 

Does any one whereabouts the smoke box number plate 40016 is or even if it still exists ? it came of a fowler 262 scraped at Thomas Wards i Barrow in Furness, they were cut off for me by my uncle who worked there along with a smokebox plate from a 2p 440 and a Jinty , my mam and dad didnt like them in the house so i sold them for £4 each to a local second hand shop , i would love to know if they are still around

 

I'm quite relaxed about replica plates, most of which are obviously replicas and are thus stated. The ones to avoid are those where the buyer denies knowing the origins or authenticity - or simply those selling at replica prices. If it looks too good a bargain and all that........
There are many locomotives in preservation where the replica now in use has spent longer bolted to the loco in question than the originals ever did. In the case of Butler Henderson, the BR smokebox plate 62660 does indeed adorn the display at NRM York however a replica was used on the loco for a while in the 1990s when last running in lined/unlined BR Black.