Shropshire railway signs uncovered after 50 years
An old sign from a Shropshire railway station has been found in a garage 50 years after being taken out of use by British Rail.
Published
Andrew Wardle was clearing out his shed when he came across three old railway signs, including one from Gobowen Railway Station, near Oswestry.
The 61-year-old purchased the items when he was aged 15 from a British Rail clearance sale in either 1969 or 1970 and they will now be put up for auction.
Mr Wardle, of Consall, near Leek in Staffordshire, said: Id virtually forgotten I had them. I was a 15-year old railway enthusiast then and spent all my pocket money at the sale which was held in an old goods shed behind Stoke station, the site of which is now the stations car park.
Among the hundreds of items for sale, ranging from steam engine nameplates and number plates to signal arms and parcels trolleys, two signs in particular, Sudbury and Gobowen, caught Mr Wardles eye and he bought them, along with a noticeboard header sign, for five shillings each. He also filled his pockets with cap badges and buttons at a pre-decimal cost of around a shilling each (about 5p).
Both Sudburys and Gobowens old totem-style station signs were removed in approximately 1965/66. Sudbury station was closed in November 1966, while Gobowen station remains open to this day.
The signs, among a total of 400 railway-related items, are to be auctioned off at the Railwayana Sale held at The Blessed William Howard Catholic School, Rowley Avenue in Stafford, on January 9.
The 400 lots will begin selling at 8am and the totems are expected to fetch in excess of £250 each.
