Friends of the Rail Forum

Robert wrote:I saw this item on eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111000803150? ... 1423.l2649) and thought I should put out a 'Buyer Beware' warning on it. I have consulted with Ian Pretorius, who says the originals went to the Museum at George for continued preservation, Richard Niven, who states that it is most likely a recast by Hans(?) Sturgeon, the font being too thin and the numbers on the small side and Dick Whittington, who states: it is-

"Definitely a 'recast'. I have already sent two eBay messages to the seller pointing out that what he is offering is not a genuine cabside (as produced by Henschel in 1930) and giving him a full story about the restoration of 'Theodora' as a 'Live Steam' exhibit of the Transnet Museum. He claims he was sold it 'as genuine' but then sidesteps the issue by replying with a 6-10 word message saying 'he is looking in to it' (as if the previous owner/seller would say anything different!). It does not seem possible to report the issue directly to eBay under their 'selling conditions' - as none of the drop-down options seem to cover this situation”.

The seller does not specify in the listing whether it is original or a recast, but the starting price certainly suggests he is trying to sell it as an original, so please spread the word, as I would hate someone to spend that much good money on such a plate.

Thanks for your interest. I don't know a lot about its history so I've not used the words original or antique. The guy I originally bought it from couldn't tell me much either but it could have been cast after retirement of the class in 1973 and 879's subsequent revival to steam until 1990. I've seen pics of this class and others running with all sorts of variations of cleaned brass and coloured plates towards the end of SA steam. This one has never been painted from what I can see and has certainly been well looked after. It's a lovely heavy plate, recently cleaned and polished to get the result you see. Hope that helps.