Locomotion No 1 nameplates to go on sale

Memorabilia from the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public railway is to be sold at auction.

Locomotion No 1 was built by Robert Stephenson and Co and first carried passengers on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825.

The original locomotive is exhibited at Locomotion in Shildon, County Durham, but its nameplates are expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 at auction.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge described the plates as an "important part of transport history".

"Locomotion No.1 was the world's first steam locomotive to haul a public train on 27 September 1825," he said.

"She was the genesis for the concept of the train as a means for passengers to go from A to B and a significant milestone in the story of the railways."

Locomotion No 1 remained in service until 1841 and in 1857 its engine was mounted on a plinth in Darlington, before being displayed in other locations.

In 1889, the locomotive was exhibited in Paris and to mark the occasion it was fitted with new nameplates featuring the numbers "one" and "1825".

Locomotive No 1 was restored in the 1960s but the two plates were not reinstalled.

Instead, they were given to Peter Gray, manager of the North Road Locomotive Workshops in Darlington, as a leaving gift.

For a short period the plates were part of an exhibition but Gray's grandson has decided to sell them.

The auction will take place at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire, on April 18.

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