Cabside Numberplates
BackMaximum price: £12,500
Average price: £1,022
Minimum price: £50
From the very early days of locomotive use in the UK, it made sense to allocate a reference number to every locomotive. All locomotives were housed at motive power depots and each had its own inventory of those locos. The designated numbers of these locos were used to determine the utilisation on freight, local and express trains. Shed staff needed to keep track of which locos were where, works visits needed the same and ultimately disposal details were required. Although not alone, the Great Western Railway were the stalwarts when it came to fixing numbers on loco cabsides. Made from either brass or cast iron, they were affixed on the outside of both sides of the cab. Most companies simply painted the numbers and when nationalisation occurred in 1948 and re-numbering was carried out, ex GWR locos retained their numbering system along with their cabside numberplates, the other regions simply used paint. Later on some Diesel and Electric locomotives also adopted Cabside Numberplates most famously the Western Region Hydraulics.
Great Western Railway brass cabside number plate 5967 ex Bickmarsh Hall, see previous lot for details. In good original condition.
Auction: March 2025 Sold for: £1,200Great Western Railway brass cabside numberplate 5010 ex Collett Castle Class 4-6-0 built at Swindon in 1927 and named RESTORMEL CASTLE. Allocated to Old Oak Common, Stafford Road, Laira and 81D Reading from where it was withdrawn in October 1959 and scrapped at Swindon Works. Face restored with feint class stampings in the rim, rear original.
Auction: March 2025 Sold for: £2,400Great Western railway brass cabside numberplate 6946 ex HEATHERDEN HALL, See lot 25 for details. Face restored.
Auction: March 2025 Sold for: £900GWR cast iron cabside numberplate 3643 ex Collett 0-6-0 PT built at Swindon in 1939. Allocated to St Phillips Marsh, Weymouth, Bristol Barrow Road and 85B Gloucester Horton Road from where it was withdrawn in September 1965 and scrapped. Partially face restored.
Auction: July 2024 Sold for: £300GWR brass cabside numberplate 2825 ex Churchward 2-8-0 built at Swindon in 1907. Allocated to Oxley, Reading, Worcester, Chester West and 86G Pontypool Road from where it was withdrawn in April 1959 and scrapped. Face restored with clear Class and boiler stampings in the rim.
Auction: July 2024 Sold for: £750Flamecut cabside panel 33034 ex British Railways Diesel locomotive built by built by BRCW in 1961 as works number DEL 144 and originally numbered D6552. Allocated new to 73C Hither Green and withdrawn from Eastleigh in 1988. Sold into preservation and eventually moved to the Swanage railway in 2001 and in 2007 a decision was taken to strip the loco of re-usable components and scrap the body shell. In good condition and all angle removed. Measures 30in x 12.5in.
Auction: July 2024 Sold for: £240GWR brass cabside numberplate 4084 ex Collett Castle Class 4-6-0 built at Swindon in 1925 and named ABERYSTWYTH CASTLE. Allocated to Laira, Newton Abbot, Old Oak Common, Weston-Super-Mare, Bristol Bath Road, Reading and 86C Cardiff Canton from where it was withdrawn in October 1960. Scrapped two months later at Swindon. Partially face restored, with boiler and Class stampings in the rim, rear original.
Auction: July 2024 Sold for: £1,900Great Western Railway cast iron cabside numberplate 4694 ex Collett 0-6-0PT built at Swindon in 1945. Allocated to Danygraig, Wadebridge and 72A Exmouth Junction from where it was withdrawn in June 1965 and scrapped. In restored condition with a couple of welds.
Auction: March 2024 Sold for: £500Great Western Railway brass cabside numberplate 2043 ex Dean 0-6-0PT built at Wolverhampton works in 1898. Allocated to Lydney, Gloucester Horton Road, Hereford and 6C Birkenhead Mollington Street from where it was withdrawn in January 1955 and scrapped. In nicely restored condition with boiler and class details stamped in the rim, one of only a handful of this class known to have survived.
Auction: March 2024 Sold for: £1,400Cabside numberplate, SOUTHERN RAILWAY A 790 ex SECR Maunsell K1 2-6-4T built at Ashford in 1917 and named RIVER AVON. Rebuilt at Eastleigh in 1928 as a U class 2-6-0 and numbered 31790. Allocated to Yeovil Town, Exmouth Junction and 70C Guildford from where it was withdrawn in May 1965 and scrapped at Cashmore's Newport. Oval cast brass in as removed condition, measures 13.75in x 7.75in.
Auction: July 2023 Sold for: £1,200GWR brass cabside numberplate 7711 ex GWR Collett 0-6-0 PT built by Kerr Stuart as works number 4446 in 1930. Allocated to St Philips Marsh, Weymouth, Cardiff, Exeter, St Blazey and finally sold to London Transport in 1957 and became the first LT number L90 and was scrapped in 1961.the. Face restored rear original.
Auction: July 2023 Sold for: £500A South African Railways dual language brass Cabside Numberplate E1186 from a 3 kV DC Class 6E Bo-Bo electric locomotive. E1186 was built in 1970 by Union Carriage and Wagon, Nigel, RSA, with the electrical equipment supplied by Associated Electrical Industries and English Electric. Oval cast brass in as removed condition. Measures 20.75in x 14.5in.
Auction: November 2022 Sold for: £200South African Railways brass cab side numberplate 535 6B. Ex class 6 4-6-0 locomotive built by Neilson Reid in 1898 as works number 5320. Supplied new to the Cape Government Railway and numbered 596 and then renumbered to SAR 535 in 1912. In good condition, measures 20.5in x 14.25in.
Auction: November 2022 Sold for: £400GWR Cast Iron cabside numberplate 6380 ex Churchward 2-6-0 built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn Ltd in 1921. Allocated to Old Oak Common, Chester, Croes Newydd, Shrewsbury and 86E Severn Tunnel Junction from where it was withdrawn in December 1963 and scrapped at Birds, Risca, Newport. In nicely restored condition.
Auction: November 2022 Sold for: £400GWR Brass cabside numberplate 4235 ex Churchward 2-8-0T built at Swindon in 1914 Allocated to Newport Pill and 86A Newport Ebbw Junction from where it was withdrawn in October 1962 and scrapped at Swindon Works. In restored condition with boiler and class details stamped in the rim.
Auction: November 2022 Sold for: £680BR(W) brass cabside numberplate 8431 ex Hawksworth 0-6-0 PT built by W.G.Bagnall in 1953 as works number 2941. Allocated to Swansea East Dock and 87A Neath Court Sart from where it was withdrawn in August 1964 and scrapped at Birds Morriston. Lightly face restored.
Auction: March 2022 Sold for: £420GWR cast iron cabside numberplate 7203 ex Churchward 2-8-2 T built at Swindon in 1930. Allocated to Llanelly, Aberdare, Carmarthen, Neath Court Sart, Ebbw Junction and 86E Severn Tunnel Junction from where it was withdrawn in December 1963. Scrapped the following year at King's Norwich. Face restored.
Auction: March 2021 Sold for: £540GWR brass cabside numberplate 316 ex Taff Vale Railway Cameron A Class 0-6-2 T built by The North British Locomotive Company Glasgow in 1915 as works number 21158 and numbered TVR 52, then GWR 440 and lastly GWR 316 around 1946. Allocated to Rhymney, Merthyr Tydfil and 88E Abercynon from where it was withdrawn in July 1956 and scrapped. Face restored, rear original with Caerphilly painted on.
Auction: July 2020 Sold for: £900GWR brass cabside numberplate 208 ex Taff Vale Railway Hurry-Riches Class 04 0-6-2 T built by Beyer Peacock as works number 5387 in 1910 and numbered TVR 113, then GWR 317 and lastly 208 around 1946. Allocated to Aberdare and 88B Cardiff East Dock from where it was withdrawn in July 1955 and scrapped. Face restored, rear original with Caerphilly painted on.
Auction: July 2020 Sold for: £850GWR brass cabside numberplate 5030 ex Shirburn Castle. See previous lot for details. In nicely cleaned condition.
Auction: July 2019 Sold for: £2,000GWR brass cabside numberplate GWR 369 ex 0-6-0 ST named HILDA. See previous lot for details. Face restored with Hilda stamped into the rim.
Auction: November 2018 Sold for: £3,700GWR brass cabside numberplate 6020 ex Collett KING HENRY IV. See previous lot for details. Face restored with boiler and engine class details stamped in the rim.
Auction: November 2018 Sold for: £5,000A numberplate, C.C. & CO PTY 1, from a standard gauge 0-6-0T built by Yorkshire Engine Co, Works No 428, in 1888 and originally fitted to Southern Coal Co No 1 in Wollongong, New South Wales. It later moved to Corrimal north of Wollongong and by 1937 was Corrimal Coal & Coke Proprietary Ltd No 1, the plate showing evidence of the name change. It was scrapped in 1964. Steel with Brass letters.
Auction: March 2018 Sold for: £200GWR brass cabside numberplate 5032 ex 4-6-0 Usk Castle (see previous lot for details). In as removed condition complete with original purchase letter from Swindon.
Auction: March 2018 Sold for: £2,000