Steam, nameplates, and memories as collectors gather at Sir William’s home

AGAINST a backdrop of a working steam loco, a large crowd, and a day when the rain mercifully kept away, railwayana collectors from far and wide attended a special one-off auction on June 19 in the rural setting of Sir William McAlpine’s estate at Fawley Hill near Henley-on-Thames.

Steam, nameplates, and memories as collectors gather at Sir William’s home
Ready for sale: Steam locomotive nameplates are in evidence in this view from the balcony of Sir William McAlpine’s railway museum as collectors view some of the items in the railwayana auction held in the museum. GEOFF COURTNEY
There were mums and dads too, and a beaming Sir William who spent the day watching visitors enjoying themselves, admiring – and experiencing – his private standard gauge railway, and collectors balancing their desire for what was on offer against the depth of their pockets.

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