Scarborough: Hundreds of model trains go under the hammer

A Yorkshireman's collection of 300 model trains has gone under the hammer, after never running on a track.

Andrew Carmichael spent 50 years amassing the vast collection of locomotives but was "only interested in building them".

After his death nine years ago, his wife Evelyn said the models had been left "undisturbed".

However, due to her downsizing to a new property, she no longer had the space to store the collection.

Instead, the model trains went up for auction at the David Duggleby saleroom in Scarborough on Friday, where they fetched £8,000.

"It's very tough because it's been nine years since he died and the collection has been left undisturbed all that time," Mrs Carmichael told BBC Radio York.

"He started his collection just after we were married and that was 60 years ago.

"He always had an interest in steam trains, following holidays that he used to spend with a very dear uncle of his, who was stationmaster at St Neots in Cambridgeshire."

After the couple were married, they spent time visiting heritage railway lines around the country, which inspired Mr Carmichael to start his collection.

He kept them in the basement of his home, but never owned a layout or a single loop of track to run them on.

"We had a large loft, if he wanted, he could have built a track up there, but the only thing he was interested in was building them," Mrs Carmichael said.

"He didn't build them from scratch, he always made them from white metal kits."

The huge collection of trains, building parts, and cabinets was separated into 104 different lots for auction.

Although Mrs Carmichael said the money was not important to her, the collection fetched more than £8000.

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