NEW HAMBURG, Canada – On Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24, Miller & Miller Auctions will present an Advertising, Railroadiana & Historic Objects auction showcasing the lifetime collection of William Robert Wilson. The catalog is now open for bidding on LiveAuctioneers.
“Bill Wilson curated one of Canada’s best collections of railroadiana to ever hit the market,” said Ethan Miller of Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. “Nothing was held back, and collectors are stirring. Until now, only his closest friends knew what he had. Bill’s passion was railroad, but any object rich with historical meaning had a place in his collection. Session one on Saturday focuses on breweriana, stoneware, general store signage and unique historic maker’s plaques. Session two features Bill’s railroad spoils. It includes the most extensive collection of locomotive number plates ever offered at a single time. This is a historic, single-collector sale.”
Among the prizes on offer is a brass Canadian National Locomotive Mountain-type number plate, measuring 11 by 16 ¾in and coming from a famous locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1930. Bearing the number 6057, it traveled more than 250 miles, from Kamloops in British Columbia to Jasper in Alberta, on a Royal Train Ride in 1939. “Each number plate is unique and is often the only remaining thread of a locomotive’s identity,” said Miller. Included is a copy of Canadian National Magazine, with a cover relevant to the plate. The lot carries an estimate of CA$5,000-$8,000 ($3,700-$5,925).
Worthy of mention is a Canadian Pacific Locomotive number plate, having the number 815, dating to the 1940s, and estimated at CA$2,000-$3,000 ($1,480-$2,220). Featuring a cast-iron frame and brass numbers, it derives from a locomotive that was built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1908 and later repainted. Ultimately scrapped in 1960, it was one of three that powered the special ‘triple-header’ train that chugged from Toronto to Orangeville and back within Ontario, Canada in May 1960.
Also on offer is a 1910s Canadian double-sided porcelain flange sign emblazoned with the words ‘Canadian Northern Express’ on black against a yellow background. Described as ‘rare’, it is estimated at CA$2,000-$3,000 ($1,480-$2,220). Given the same estimate is a Canadian 1920s Grand Trunk Railway bronze locomotive bell, marked ‘GTR’ in the casting on its red-painted hanger.
Completing the highlights is a Canadian double-sided porcelain RCA Victor Globetrotter radio sign from the 1940s, estimated at CA$3,000-$5,000 ($2,220-$3,700). One side shows a pea-sized factory flaw below the left side hanging hole, and there are some scattered minor surface scratches, but competition should be keen for this piece.
