Mechanical miniatures build head of steam

An auction of toy trains and Marklin pieces next Monday is expected to total more than £150,000 sterling (€245,000). The Christie's sale in London includes two large single-owner collections that contain exquisite examples of the fine German craftsmanship of Marklin toys.

One of the highlights of the auction is a handpainted tinplate model of the liner Deutsch- land from 1909, complete with lifeboats and flags, estimated at £10,000 to £15,000.

A mid-1920s model of the railway station in Leipzig, Germany, is expected to go for up to £8,000. Hand-soldered and painted, it is an accurate representation of the station, which still exists. This type of model was one of the precursors of the 1930s Supermodell designs, which witnessed the increased sophistication of Marklin trains, culminating in a precision and wealth of detail previously only seen in collectors' models.

The auction includes a range of electric steam and electric outline locomotives, 40 centimetre coaches and special freight wagons from the two Marklin O Gauge collections. Estimates for these pieces range from £300 to £10,000.

Marklin accessories can also be worth a lot of money. A rare gantry crane with its own tracks is estimated at up to £1,000, while a rare, grey mountain Etat locomotive produced for the French market is estimated at £6,000 to £8,000.

A clockwork river steamer, the Havel - a small, decorative toy with gilt scrollwork on the bow and canopy to provide refuge for its tiny passengers - is expected to fetch between £5,000 and £8,000. A rare Gauge I clockwork steam locomotive, produced in 1904, is also expected to do well. Coming with its minutely detailed bogie coach, it is expected to realise £5,000 to £8,000.

Meanwhile, a sophisticated Pullman O Gauge 12-wheel coach, finished in green and produced for the US market in the 1930s, has a guide price of £2,000 to £3,000. This piece is accompanied by the rare Commodore Vanderbilt, a separately produced locomotive designed to link with it, which is expected to fetch as much as £10,000 to £12,000.

According to Mr Des Cooney of the Toys of Yesterday Collectors' Association, Marklin has dominated the world of model trains for more than a century.

"From live steam through clockwork, electric and computer chip, from progressively larger gauges One, Two and Three to the popular O and HO - of most Hornby trains - to the smaller recently in vogue N gauge and the tiny Z, Marklin is the byword for excellence," he says. "Ask any train collector about his most treasured possession or dream and, nine times out of 10, the model will be a Marklin."

Marklin models are trade marked and relatively easy to date.

Mr Ian Whyte, director of Whyte's auctioneers in Marlborough Street, Dublin, says most train collectors in Ireland seem more disposed to acquiring than selling at the moment. "I think it's a sign of the Celtic Tiger. People want to buy. And we're finding that in collectibles in a general way. They don't need the money. They don't need to sell."

Toys of Yesterday Collectors' Association (telephone: 01 2851 308) is holding a toy fair on Sunday, between 11.30 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Sandyford Community Centre, Lamb's Cross, Co Dublin. Admission 50 pence in aid of Simon Community.

www.whytes.ie www.christies.com jmarms@irish-times.ie