Should railwayana be sold outside of the railway community?

[Ashley Hill]

I ask this having just watched this weeks Salvage Hunters. In the episode Drew Pritchard purchased two railway enamel signs from the WSR,a BR(E) Gentlemen sign and a BR(M) Ladies Room sign. Drew said these would be sold to a restauranteur he knows. The problem i have with this is that if the restaurant goes to the wall the signs then end up in a skip and be lost. The WSR would probably have got more money (and they clearly had more to sell) at a railwayana auction. So should railwayana be kept "in house"?

 

[birchesgreen]

Problem is the "railway community" doesn't have infinite cash / space. I'd also be wary of having too many eggs put in a small number of baskets. Having stuff like this in the wider community is also better for the future growth of railway interest, there is the risk some things might be lost but not everything can be saved.

 

[Master Cutler]

Fortunately with the increase in TV programmes such as Salvage Hunters most demolition and redevelopment companies have employees who are constantly on the lookout for anything of value that can be removed from a building prior to major works.
A bit like the operators of recycling sites, there are people constantly checking the incoming stuff for anything with a potential resale value.
I put some unwanted metal contents out for the scrap man from my shed which included an old pantograph draughting machine which was in working order. The guy who picked up the scrap took great care to wrap the draughting machine in cardboard before loading it in his truck, presumably because it looked like it was worth something.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Fortunately with the increase in TV programmes such as Salvage Hunters most demolition and redevelopment companies have employees who are constantly on the lookout for anything of value that can be removed from a building prior to major works.

Yes this is true,but does that also include high end retail shops? Fashions come and go and shop designers rely on quick turnarounds.
I'm reminded of the American restaurant chain that raided Collectors Corner in the 70s. Dozens of totems etc were shipped to the USA for their railway themed restaurants. Fortunately after the chains demise a large percentage were repatriated thanks to a British collector who knew of their existence.

 

[xotGD]

There's nothing to stop enthusiasts buying stuff from general antique dealers. If anything, you are likely to get a better deal if it is just being sold as a decorative item. It just takes more effort to find items of interest in amongst the chamber pots and desk lamps.

I picked up an English Electric engine plate in an antique shop that I'm sure would have cost more on the railwayana section of Ebay.

 

[32475]

I ask this having just watched this weeks Salvage Hunters. In the episode Drew Pritchard purchased two railway enamel signs from the WSR,a BR(E) Gentlemen sign and a BR(M) Ladies Room sign. Drew said these would be sold to a restauranteur he knows. The problem i have with this is that if the restaurant goes to the wall the signs then end up in a skip and be lost. The WSR would probably have got more money (and they clearly had more to sell) at a railwayana auction. So should railwayana be kept "in house"?

My thought is that the general public are much more wise about the value of anything vintage than they were not so many years ago, thanks to the myriad of antiques programmes on the TV networks. Unfortunately this in turn has spawned a rash of fake railwayana which turns up on eBay in the form of cast shed plates and enamel signs etc, not to mention some ridiculously overpriced railwayana which although genuine is in terrible condition.
Certainly the best railwayana gets kept within the fraternity and tends to pass hands over the years from one enthusiast to another. Last week I noticed a Sydenham SR target sign sell on eBay for twice the price I paid for it at auction about fourteen years ago and then put on eBay a few years later (it was definitely the same one). OK I could have hung onto it and made a bit more profit but it will have been bought by someone who appreciates it for what it is. Talking of eBay, I sold a Bognor Regis totem last year to make some money during the first lockdown. What really pleased me was that the purchaser was a signalman at the signal box outside the station and he has mounted the totem on the wall in the box. To me, that is a cheerful result!

 

[pdeaves]

I ask this having just watched this weeks Salvage Hunters. In the episode Drew Pritchard purchased two railway enamel signs from the WSR,a BR(E) Gentlemen sign and a BR(M) Ladies Room sign. Drew said these would be sold to a restauranteur he knows. The problem i have with this is that if the restaurant goes to the wall the signs then end up in a skip and be lost. The WSR would probably have got more money (and they clearly had more to sell) at a railwayana auction. So should railwayana be kept "in house"?

Presumably an enthusiast could just as easily have bought the items but didn't. My view is that if someone wants to spend their own money on any given item then why not? Put another way, if for any reason I want to sell something in the future, should I say 'I'll sell it to you but not to you', even if the other person wants it more or wants to pay more? Once something belongs to someone else it is up to them what they do with it even if that means, say, melting it down.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Tonight's Salvage Hunters -the Restorers sort of makes my point. A lamp described as a signal lamp from Clapham Jct (not a design in familiar with) was ruined by being upcycled into a SteamPunk lamp.

 

[ChilternTurbo]

I used to avidly collect bus (mostly Aldenham made linen backed London ones) and train destination blinds as a child, much to the annoyance of my mum who had to dust around them! They were not expensive items when purchased, under £5 from Collectors Corner and various bus rally events. They ended up in the loft until my mum was moving house and as I didn't really have space I put them on eBay as individual lots. I was surprised at just how much they made; between £90 and £150 per blind. I did notice a lot of them ended up being cut up into shorter lengths for framing and interior decor pieces. I did think that it was a bit of a shame but to be honest I was happy to take the money. I also wished I purchased lots more during the late 80's and early 90's!

 

[Ashley Hill]

a lot of them ended up being cut up into shorter lengths for framing and interior decor pieces.

And this is the problem I have. Often items are seen as "on trend" or "quirky" (I hate that word) by interior designers who will ruin items and sell them to trendies who have no interest in transport collectables for vast sums. Then along comes something else and the items get moved on again.
BTW I'm informed by an S&T pal that thankfully the lamp I referred to earlier was not a railway lamp. Clearly a dealer out for a fast buck by claiming it was!

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Several of the preserved lines etc have second hand shops/stands and I have seen on some of these, old and not so old rail uniforms, like BR and more modern TOCs, shirts, ties, caps, Jerseys etc. I have a three different type of BR Pullovers infact that I bought from these and one on Ebay too. I tend to wear these just around the house and garden (& in my railway room.) I suppose it is no different to being able to buy Army/Navy surplus etc.,