Dad’s Railway - Where to auction?

I should note I have now catalogued all the locomotives, sets, limited editions and yesteryear cars. The rest is boxed up and ready to go 👍

Hi,
Sorry to hear of your loss.
If its that large a collection, perhaps Vectis is a good shout. From watching the TV series, they will value everything for you and direct it to the right customers, not sure, but think they even collect it.
They will obviously charge a commission, but so will anyone else, they are a business after all. This will also save you the time and effort of trying to sell it off bit by bit on on-line auction sites, some of whom will charge fees etc too, and could take a very long time.
Hope everything goes well with the sales whichever path you decide on.
Regards
Alan

Likewise, every sympathy; no sooner had we largely wound up my in-laws estate over the past eighteen months, then we had to move on to my parent's estate, early this year. (My layout room is still emptying of furniture being held for family...)

If you feel duty bound to raise as much cash as possible for your mother, then try selling some items for which you can get recent achieved prices, to see what can be obtained. It takes quite a lot of effort packaging and shipping; and sooner or later 'someone' will complain. It's a test of how much energy you have to put into this. There will always be the alternative of an auction house...

Thank you very much Alan, it's good to hear I'm going down the right lines. Some of the choice items (I think) include: "Raveningham Hall" 9ct gold (1 of 2000) "Lord Nelson" 9ct gold (1 of 1000) "Royal Scot" Brass Bell (1 of 1000) "Green Arrow" 9ct gold (1 of 1000) "Southern Railway" & "South Eastern & Chatham Railway" Twin engine set (1 of 1000) "Mallard" 18ct gold 80th anniversary edition (1 of 1000) BR35028 "Clan Line" 18ct gold merchant navy class (1 of 1000) "City of Truro" NRM Platinum Edition (1 of 500) Pullman observation coach engine Tri-ang Blue Pullman

Thank 34C - My Dad always said the collection would have to go to auction and I'm happy for it to go to a reputable company who will do their best and who will have a draw with other enthusiasts. I would really like it to go to genuine collectors where possible.

DadsRailway said:

Thank you very much Alan, it's good to hear I'm going down the right lines. Some of the choice items (I think) include: "Raveningham Hall" 9ct gold (1 of 2000) "Lord Nelson" 9ct gold (1 of 1000) "Royal Scot" Brass Bell (1 of 1000) "Green Arrow" 9ct gold (1 of 1000) "Southern Railway" & "South Eastern & Chatham Railway" Twin engine set (1 of 1000) "Mallard" 18ct gold 80th anniversary edition (1 of 1000) BR35028 "Clan Line" 18ct gold merchant navy class (1 of 1000) "City of Truro" NRM Platinum Edition (1 of 500) Pullman observation coach engine Tri-ang Blue Pullman

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I'm not familiar with British outline although I do have a few, as my layout (and collection) are European, mostly German. but just the description of those limited editions sounds like they could be worth a bit, condition allowing. I am in no way linked to or an advert for Vectis, but they have experts who will be familiar with these items, and probably the whole collection, and know their true value and , as said before, can aim them at a captive audience and save you a lot of time and effort. I defiantly think that's the route I would like my descendants to take if my grandson does not want to take on the hobby. At the moment, he does, but he hasn't yet reached the distractions of being a teenager or adult yet 😄
Its your choice in the end.
Regards
Alan