Steam coming out of their ears

You could say that Cheffins have got steam coming out of their ears. In the five months since appointing Willem Middlemiss of Godmanchester as their Steam Consultant they have amassed one of the biggest catalogues of steam traction engines to sell this Spring, valued at more than £1 million.

Recognised as the leading auctioneer of steam engines, Cheffins have two major sales coming up in the next five weeks, starting with the auction of an exceptional collection on 27 March which Willem Middlemiss says will undoubtedly be one of the sales of the new decade.
A well known steam preservationist Bill Briggs of Mobberley, Cheshire, has instructed Cheffins to dispose of his wonderful selection of four steam engines. A former chartered accountant with a nuclear energy organisation, he is retiring to the Isle of Man, and has reluctantly decided he can’t take his toys with him. The sale takes place at the historic Foxfield Railway museum at Blythe Bridge, near Stoke on Trent. Pre-sale estimates are set at nearly £600,000 but expectations are high.

A month later on 24 April, at the firm’s half-yearly Vintage sale at Sutton, near Ely, Cheffins have three more classic steam engines to auction among a wide range of vintage tractors, motorbikes and all sorts of other equipment and memorabilia. Again, high prices are expected. The steam engines alone have pre-sale estimates totalling around £500,000.

Among the Sutton auction lots is a giant of a steam traction engine, the ‘Bromyard Queen Nance’. It is owned by a local businessman living west of Cambridge. According to Willem Middlemiss, for a while now the owner has been keen on swapping his Fowler steam engine for a large single cylinder engine. In view of its high quality restoration and desirability among collectors, the Cheffins Auction is considered the ideal way to achieve the optimum price. The pre-sale estimate is between £225,000 to £250,000.

Willem Middlemiss says: “These seven engines encapsulate the history of steam locomotion, having been made by some of the most famous engineers of the Victorian age. The oldest was built 127 years ago and they have been used in various roles including hauling beer barrels for a west country brewery, by the War Office in the First World War, driving threshing machines, road haulage and much more.”

While steam engines tend to conjure up the image of Fred Dibnah in his flat-cap, the reality is that the modern-day collector is as likely to be a well-heeled High Court judge, a molecular scientist, lawyer and accountant, as much as a farmer or haulage contractor.

Bill King, Chairman of Cheffins, is one of the UK’s leading steam and vintage auctioneers and valuers. Eighteen months ago, he achieved a world record price of £250,000 for a pair of 120 year old John Fowler ploughing engines – nearly double their guide price - and seven years ago achieved the highest price ever paid at auction for a steam engine - £320,000 for a Charles Burrell engine built in 1920. He says: “We have moved up several gears with the appointment of Willem to our well-established team of steam and vintage specialists, and the next five weeks will more than confirm Cambridge as the city of steam.”

WILLEM MIDDLEMISS: Tel: 07801229129

WILLIAM KING: Tel: 01223 271956