Mutant Lemming
Established Member
You see all manner of railway related items for sale in all manner of places from e-bay to transport fairs. Some items have probably been acquired in a dubious fashion and I wondered where one stood in such a siutaion. Say for instance you purchased a British Railways totem from someone who had unscrewed it from their local station 45 years ago chucked it up in their loft and forgot all about it till they had a clearout and then stuck it on e-bay? Would the current owners of the particular station be able to claim it back as their historic property ? What if the station was closed and no longer exists ? Is there a time scale on it whereby the original thief can claim the item as theirs because of the length of time it was in their possession and what if the item changed hands several times ?