Part of Edward 'Smokey' Crawforth's Collection
An LNER locomotive nameplate from 2870 ‘City of London’, as rebuilt as a B17/6 before 1951; originally purchased from Collector’s Corner, Euston. Estimate: £10,000 to £15,000.
Smokebox Plate from City of London
A4 Tri-Tone Steam Whistle from 60015 Quicksilver
GWR Cabside Plate, Dean, Saddle Tank Locomotive
Douglas Baldock (1932-2018)
Lots 1 to 170
Douglas Baldock
There can be few Hornby 0 Gauge enthusiasts who are not familiar with the name of Douglas Baldock. His ‘Years Ago’ and ‘Platform End’ articles featured in almost every HRCA Journal/Collector for thirty-four years. He was a committee member for twenty-five years.
Douglas Baldock with three of his four grandsons and his Standard 4 Mogul
Doug’s railway passion started early - when he was a small child, his mother Elsie, took him to Euston Station. He was bowled over by the sight of all the steam engines there, and thus began a lifelong fascination with all things rail related, and, especially, steam engines. In later life, he and fellow rail enthusiasts John and Ian, bought a BR Standard 4 Mogul and he worked with others to restore it.
Doug grew up in north west London and he was a keen trainspotter in that area, spending many happy hours recording his ‘cops’. He first played with Hornby-Dublo in 1945 and acquired his first set at Christmas in 1948 (this set, other early post-war sets and his remarkable pre-war Hornby-Dublo collection will be in the Trains Galore auction on 12 December). He decided to train to be a chartered accountant, and was successful in his chosen career. For this he travelled widely by train, as he did for his lifelong involvement in the Scouting Movement.
Doug married Sylvia in 1962 and they had two children, Dawn and Mark, and later four grandsons. He continued his railway interests, visiting the legendary Woodham Brothers yard at Barry, from whence his locomotive came, and was also active on the Severn Valley Railway and the Mid-Hants ‘Watercress’ Line.
In 1974 the family moved to near Dorchester and he was able to build 0 Gauge and Hornby-Dublo layouts and add to his large collection, which he continued to do until his final illness. He exhibited for many years at Mortimer and other shows, often with Derek Mew.
Doug was a kind and considerate man to his family and friends. But his sense of compassion and kindness went far wider than just his own family. He made countless gifts to charities and to disaster appeals, telling no one. He also gave his time to help others, doing voluntary work at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Oxford, offering his financial expertise for free. With Derek, he used to spend four weekends a year exhibiting model train layouts at the Kidlington Scouts Exhibition and the Oxford Toy Fair to raise money for the scouts and guides. It was a privilege for his family and friends to have had him in their lives.
Mark Baldock and Tony Twiggs
Dick Comber 1931-2022
Lots 917 to 936 - Lots 1015 to 1019
Dick was born Edinburgh, but the family were brought up near the GWR main line. Like many lads of his generation, he cycled past the railway daily, and loved to watch their handsome locomotives, even if disfigured by wartime grime.
After leaving university where he trained in biochemistry, he spent his career as a research scientist, mostly in the UK. By contrast, his older brother, Jim, found himself in the Far East for National Service and then spent the remainder of his career in the Far East, mainly on Java in Indonesia. Steam locomotives were still being used in Java, and Jim, a keen photographer and Dick were both charmed by these locomotives. Hence the inclusion of various Javanese locomotives and coaches in the collection.
In 2002 Dick joined The Gauge One Model Railway Association, soon becoming a regular contributor to the Journal, as well as indexing the Newsletter and Journal contents back to their creation in 1948. Similarly, he was an invaluable and hospitable member of the Hants and Sussex group. He put his garden at Rownhams to good use with a fine layout, which is now on the market with the house. He was a keen locomotive builder, as his collection in this auction testifies, also including the interesting and possibly unique Javanese locomotives Tender/Tram (0-4-0), 12 coupled tank (2-12-2T) and the big articulated Mallet (2-6-6-0), that he commissioned from Neil Butcher.
Alison Comber
Order of Auction
Day One - 27th June 2023 10:00 am BST
The Douglas Baldock Collection - 1 to 170
001 to 032 - Other 0 Gauge Manufacturers
033 to 126 - Hornby 0 Gauge Locomotives and Rolling Stock
127 to 155 - Hornby 0 Gauge Accessories
156 to 170 - French Hornby 0 Gauge
171 to 272 - Other Vendors Hornby 0 Gauge
273 to 318 - Other 0 Gauge Manufacturers
319 to 336 - Live-Steam and related 0 Gauge
337 to 381 - Bassett-Lowke and other makers Vintage 0 Gauge
382 to 562 - Modern Finescale and Kitbuilt 0 Gauge
Day Two - 28th June 2023 10:00 am BST
563 to 584 - Bus and Tram Collectables and ephemera
589 to 625 - Railway Collectables
626 to 701 - Railwayana
702 to 712 - Railway and other Transport Signs
713 to 761 - Edward "Smokey" Crawforth Collection
762 to 841 - Gauge 1
Gauge 1 from the Collection of Dr John Moroney - 842 to 911
913 to 1019 - LGB and Garden Railways
1020 to 1084 - Wide Gauges and Live Steam
End of Auction
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