THE WISHAW & COLTNESS RAILWAY COMPANY SEAL
A GEORGE IV / EARLY VICTORIAN LABURNUM AND STEEL SEAL, CIRCA 1840
£882
Auction: 19 May 2023 from 10:00 BST
Description
the slender baluster handle of polished laburnum, with simple circular steel seal engraved with motto Wishaw & Coltness Railway Company around a scene of an engine pulling carts over a bridge
Dimensions
Length: 10.2cm, matrix diameter: 27mm
Provenance
Provenance:
Great Central Railway Auctions, 13th October 2012, lot 307
Footnote
Note:
The Wishaw & Coltness Railway Company was one of the earliest railway companies formed in Scotland. It was formed by act of parliament in 1829 to raise £80,000 on an estimate of £50,000 in construction costs. Shortages of funds led to further Acts and was funded in the end to a much higher level than expected.
The company operated over an 11-mile route from Chapel Colliery at Coltness to join the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway. Originally built to a Scotch gauge of 4ft 6 inches as a single track line engineered by Thomas Grainger. By 1849 it was to become part of the larger Caledonian Railway and is now part of the West Coast Main Line