Enduring Appeal of Collecting Model Railways

In the run-up to an auction of vintage model railway collectibles, Tim Blyth of Keys Auctioneers & Valuers discussed the endless appeal of treasuring model trains.

Auctions of model railways are almost as old as the trains themselves, as model railways first emerged in the 1840s as simple “carpet railways.”

By the end of the 19th century, the German company Märklin had introduced wind-up tinplate train sets. British entrepreneur Wenman J Bassett-Lowke began producing highly detailed, expensive model trains for adults in the early years of the 20th century, and American companies such as Lionel launched electric train sets as early as 1901 that quickly became valuable, in-demand collector’s items.

“The appeal of collecting model railways is multi-faceted. The hobby is not only creative, with the opportunity to indulge in creative design, modeling skills, and storytelling, but also engineering and electrical expertise,” Blyth said.