NEWS and SITE DIARY

About Collecting Railwayana - News and Events

"Presenting information with greater accuracy -
reduced hype, correct measurements and improved grammar!"

Most Recent Amendment : 2nd October 2010
(Malton Results)

LATEST AUCTION NEWS & VIEWS

The "Five-Eighths Boys" - and the "Professionals". In the late 1950s, apprentices from the BR Works at Swindon spent one day each week in classroom study at "The College". There they would be joined by other trainees from local employers, such as Vickers Armstrong and Garrard (the makers of hi-fi turntables). In such company, friendly banter led to the railway lads being known as the "Five-Eighths Boys" - because we worked to the nearest 5/8ths of an inch! And for readers unfamiliar with the size of tools used to adjust spring hangers on steam locomotives, that epithet is quite understandable. But, in getting the balance right, heavy engineering requires accuracy - and even the veritable 5/8 is important. So it is when describing items for a railwayana auction and placing it on your on-line web catalogue - an imperative in today's internet environment - not a mere afterthought expected to be delivered by an unedited distillation of the print media version.

CLICK ON BUTTONS FOR LATEST RAILWAYANA AUCTION PREVIEWS & RESULTS
	Malton 25th September 2010	Derby 6th December 2008
	Wickham 21st February 2009	Stoneleigh 17th January 2009
	St Leonards 10th January 2009	Pershore 15th November 2008

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Following a clear preference shown in our recent Survey, from the beginning of 2008, prices reported from Railwayana Auctions published on this site will be INCLUSIVE of all additional charges applied to buyers' invoices - whether they be called admin fees or Buyer's Premium - and VAT will be incorporated where applicable. [The rate of Buyer's Premium and a simple ready reckoner that we call "Bidder's Square Deal Factor" has been provided on all the Auction Scene and Events pages.]

The two auctions already held in 2008 have been reviewed; Malton did not require any amendment since Cundalls do not apply such charges to their Railwayana events but the Stoneleigh results have now been updated with the additional 11.75% applied to the Hammer Price. It is not intended to rework any of the results published before the beginning of this year, as most include a comment at the beginning indicating what additional charges should be calculated.

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"Hype and Tripe" is alive and well and oozing from the pages of Railwayana Auction Catalogues. What moronic readership is being targetted by their compilers as they ladle out the alphabet soup? The problem is that too many people BELIEVE what they read, treat it as gospel and then quote it for future reference!

2007 ended with a petty squabble - and a rather pointless Renaming Exercise. Let's hope that 2008 brings more tolerance & realistic expectations - with less hype and less market manipulation. £250,000 Fund for a National Railwayana Centre?

Has the bottom really fallen out of the nameplate market? A crestfallen auctioneer, visibly shaken by the lack of interest in his A4 offering (later to be sold at £10,000 below estimate - and then only when reduced Buyer's Premium had been negotiated) might provide some indication of the present state of the market.

Auctioneering Ethics under the Spotlight. It really is about time that auctioneers confined activities to their own events and avoided the confusing messages being sent out when appearing at competitive locations.

Buyer's Premium offers hidden benefits. The introduction of free catalogues was a welcome, albeit limited, offset against the extra cost to buyers - yet not every event offers even that. The opportunity for vendors to negotiate a reduced (or even FREE) commission rate in today's competitive environment heralds another ball-game altogether!

Ready to pay to attend a Live Auction? Following reluctant acceptance of Buyer's Premium, will railwayana collectors be equally tolerant of the introduction of Admission Charges?

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You can access RCJ information in a dedicated area on the site. From the drop-down menu, select Information then RCJ Archives. By clicking an issue number on the grid, cover pictures and contents list will be displayed - together with "Highlights" facility to read those contents. Alternatively, you may page through the issues after selecting Last Issue.

"What's Happening" in the world of Railways Today? - Click NEWSNOW feed.

New "Pictures of the Day" Choices are now Available - Click on Pictures

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DOUBLE WHAMMY AT DERBY

After two years of anticipation, the Sheffield Railwayana Auctions team has finally conceded the inadequacy of the spiritual home at Myers Grove School and will be re-opening for business in the Gateway Centre at the Derbyshire County Cricket Club. But it is not only the unfamiliarity of the location that collectors will be faced with on Saturday 15th September, they must also be ready to acquire a taste for the new recipe on offer "Now with ADDED Buyer's Premium"!

RCJ had been a lonely champion for the introduction of such charges - against the entrenched view that they were simply "enthusiast run" events - provided that "Added Value" be returned to collectors, by way of investment in improved service, professional advertising and promotion, developments aimed at widening the appeal to younger collectors etc. What galls in this case, is the way in which the B.P. has been introduced. Not a word of advance notice appeared in the advertisement that we were asked to publish (which was otherwise, as usual, extremely verbose), just the unheralded appearance of a new clause in the conditions of sale in the catalogues. Indeed, the previous catalogue was still extolling the attraction of no B.P. being payable - and the SRA website was only amended with the release of the latest issue. SRA has sat on its hands for two years, allowing its competitors to draw the flak for bringing in the charges. But those competitors, who might have been less well placed to lose business, did offer some trade-off at the time of its introduction - such as eliminating the subscription charges for printed catalogues. One assumes that the facilities in Derby will be better than in Sheffield - and certainly more expensive to hire - but not to the extent of the extra revenue being generated. We will be interested to watch future developments once the first event has been held.

And just what has brought about Ian Wright's "Conversion on the road to Damascus"? His outspoken opposition to Buyer's Premium is legendary - both verbally and in letters to the magazine that we have on file. We disagreed on this matter numerous times - and agreed to disagree. In Britain, we respect the right to hold a contrarian opinion to ones own. Surely he can't expect to disassociate himself from the decision - he is acknowledged as both "Consultant and Auctioneer"? If his genuine conviction is as strong as ever, how can he continue to be associated with this new policy without losing the respect and goodwill that was built up over many years. [As an aside, why do specialist auctioneers retire/sell their businesses - then stick around as if nothing has changed?]

Why the move only 30 miles down the road to Derby - and not more positively towards the South East where the Directors are based? The Midlands now hosts all the main events - from Stoneleigh, Knowle and Rugby to Pershore, Stafford and now Derby. Perhaps in another couple of years Milton Keynes will begin to figure in the diary?

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TONY PEART

David Anthony "Tony" Peart M.A. died in September 2006. As founder and curator of the renowned railwayana collection at Doncaster Grammar School, he gave freely of his time, knowledge and advice on all aspects of our hobby and contributed for many years to RCJ and its forerunners. An enormous debt is owed to him by all enthusiasts - and auctioneers alike - for his ability to "cast his eye" over virtually everything and make a meaningful contribution to our corporate knowledge. We are fortunate to be the custodians of the bulk of his written output on Railwayana and will ensure that it remains accessible to everyone. It is hoped that the DGS Collection will remain a monument to his lifetime interest in transport matters, when its stewardship is transferred to the National Railway Museum. He was also a keen vintage road vehicle enthusiast and will be missed at rallies around the country with his AEC double deck buses - often having to choose between competing road / rail events! In every sense a "Gentleman and Scholar", it will be difficult to find his like again. DW

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