Rare model locomotives sold for 'astonishing' £25,000

The "Special Tank" model fetched the highest price of £14,000

Three rare model locomotives have sold for thousands at auction.

The Fine Scale O Gauge models, made by James Stanley Beeson, went for £25,000 - nearly four times the total estimate.

A LNWR Ramsbottom 0-6-0T "Special Tank", listed for £1,500-£2,000, was auctioned for £14,000.

A 1958 locomotive "Belted Will" with tender, estimated at £2,000 to £3,000, sold for £9,500; while a 1940s LNWR 4-6-0 136 "Minerva" with tender, listed at £1,500 to £2,000, earned £3,400.

The sale was held on Wednesday by Market Harborough-based Gildings Auctioneers, which said it had bidders flying in from across Europe despite the auction being online-only.

The "Minerva" and tender sold for £3,400

More than 500 lots featured, with the star attractions being the items made by James Beeson, whose family firm was one of the leading makers of the 20th Century and supplied models used in Hollywood films.

Andrew Smith, model railway expert for Gildings, said the high bids were evidence of the quality of Beeson's work.

"The astonishing prices paid for these locomotives is testament to the incredibly high regard James Stanley Beeson is held in by collectors of model railways.

"The example of his extraordinary metalcraft which sold for £14,000 is believed to have been an especially challenging shape of cab for Beeston to build, which partly explains why it attracted such fierce bidding and ultimately sold for such a huge amount of money.

"The overall results of today's sale, and in particular this private collection of scratch-built models from the mid-20th century, shows that the market remains fiercely competitive."

The "Belted Will" locomotive and tender sold for £9,500 - over three times its estimate