Thursday, October 2025 — Auction Overview
Rail & Road Auctions is proud to present the first session of our October two-day railroadiana sale. This catalog offers a wide selection of historic material, highlighted by china, lanterns, employee paper, signage, timetables, photographs, locks, passes, and much more. Collectors will find a strong mix of both individual rarities and group lots, making this a diverse day of offerings.
Highlighted Lots Include:
Lot 6199: Norfolk & Western Railroad Centennial Service Plate
Lot 6104: Seven Toledo Terminal Cast Iron Marker Lamp/Flag Holder Brackets
Lot 6292: Fifty Northeast Railroad Timetables and Paper (1897–1986)
Lot 6294: Twenty-Two Pennsylvania Railroad World’s Fair & Exhibition Brochures
Lot 6070: National Malleable Casting Co. “The Tower” Demonstration Coupler
Lot 6269: Three Tuckerton Railroad Annual Passes (1876, 1879, 1880)
Lot 6280: Thirteen Pennsylvania Railroad Dining Car Menus, including 1940 World’s Fair
Lot 6183: Ten Pieces of Western Railroad China (Western Pacific, Southern Pacific, Great Northern, Union Pacific)
Lot 6167: Five Pieces of New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad China
Lot 6260: Railroad Lantern / Lamp Parts Lot – 18 Burner Pots
Beyond these features, Thursday’s catalog contains extensive selections of Western and New Haven railroad china, original photographs, lantern parts, signal hardware, menus, conductors’ caps, service pins, telegraph equipment, and more. With material ranging from the 19th century into the Amtrak era, this session presents a rich overview of American railroad history.
Friday, October 2025 — Auction Overview
Our second day offers one of the strongest selections of railroadiana of the year, led by original artwork, builders plates, porcelain signage, and rare presentation pieces. Friday’s session balances major single-item highlights with a continued breadth of collectible categories.
Highlighted Lots Include:
Lot 6546: Canadian Pacific Railroad Die-Cut Porcelain Beaver Shield Sign
Lot 6580: Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 Electric Locomotive Aluminum Builders Plate
Lot 6581: Pennsylvania Railroad Brass Altoona GG1 Locomotive Bell
Lot 6658: ORIGINAL Howard Fogg “Blast Furnaces at Aliquippa Works” Watercolor Painting for the P&LE
Lot 6573: ORIGINAL Griff Teller Painting of the “Broadway Limited”
Lot 6579: ORIGINAL 1982 Griff Teller Painting of a Pennsylvania Railroad K4 Steam Locomotive
Lot 6583: Santa Fe Railroad El Capitan Fred Harvey Dining Car Zuni Figure Interior Trim
Lot 6554: Pennsylvania Railroad K4 Steam Locomotive Number Plate #8373
Lot 6568: Dietz No. 8 Silver Presentation Lantern, Presented to J.C. Keech
Lot 6531: Pennsylvania Railroad Club Car Smoking / Cocktail Drink Stand with Herald Base
Lot 6650L: Four 1938 Budd Company New York Central “Empire State Express” Drawings
Lot 6650T: Five 1941 Budd Company New York Central “Empire State Express” Drawings
Lot 6588: Missouri Pacific Freight Transport Die-Cut Porcelain Sign
Lot 6542: Erie Railroad Porcelain Diamond Logo Sign
Lot 6562: Pennsylvania Railroad Double-Sided “New York Local” Passenger Train Gate Sign
Lot 6566: Pennsylvania Railroad “Mid-Day Keystone” Passenger Train Steel Gate Sign
Lot 6576: Pennsylvania Railroad Double-Sided “Atlantic City” Passenger Train Gate Sign
The Friday session also features an extraordinary group of Budd Company archival drawings and photographs preserved in the 6650-series lots. Chief among these are Lot 6650L, a set of four original 1938 Budd Company drawings for the Empire State Express, and Lot 6650T, a group of five drawings produced in 1941 for the same train. These important renderings capture the streamlined design and presentation of one of New York Central’s most iconic passenger services.
Other highlights from this archive include a 1936 drawing for a proposed streamlined passenger car (Lot 6650B), two 1939 renderings prepared for the New York World’s Fair (Lot 6650D), and Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central passenger car drawings from the 1940s (Lots 6650F, 6650J, 6650R). Collectors will also find groups of original Budd Company passenger car photographs (Lots 6650H, 6650P). Complementing these design archives are extensive railroad wreck files spanning the New York Central, Santa Fe, Pennsylvania, Southern Pacific, Boston & Maine, and others (Lots 6650A, 6650E, 6650G, 6650I, 6650K).
Together, these drawings, photographs, and files present a rare window into both the engineering triumphs and operational challenges of America’s passenger railroads during the 1930s and 1940s.
Gaithersburg Show Delivery and Transportation
Since the founding of Rail & Road Auctions, we have offered buyers the ability to collect their October Auction purchases at the Gaithersburg, Maryland Railroad Show. This tradition continues in 2025, with just a few minor updates.
We will arrive in the Gaithersburg area on Friday evening, October 31st. This year, all pickups will be scheduled through Shipping Saint’s pickup scheduler, which will allow us to keep track of who is picking up and at what time. Buyers will collect their purchases directly from our trailer parked outside the show during their chosen time slot.
To receive Gaithersburg delivery:
Pay your invoice as soon as you receive it after the auction.
Use the Shipping Saint pickup scheduler to select a pickup time on Saturday, November 1st or Sunday, November 2nd.
Orders larger than an 18″ × 18″ × 18″ box will have a $25 delivery fee. This fee helps offset the additional time required to pack the trailer and increased fuel cost of traveling with a larger setup this year. Payment should be made at the time of pickup.
Consignment Transportation
We are also pleased to offer free transportation of consignments from the Gaithersburg Show back to Indiana for future auctions. This service helps consignors save on shipping costs and allows us to bring back larger items at no cost.
If you are interested in sending consignments with us, please email Derek at info@RARauctions.com and we will provide you with the necessary paperwork and make arrangements.
If you have any questions, we welcome you to contact us by email at info@RARauctions.com or by phone at 765-412-7926.
