Bedford J2 coach sells well
Posted by Chris Graham on 7th August 2021
We report from a recent John Goodwin sale at Malvern, at which the stars were a rare, Bedford J2 coach and stationary engines.
The star of the sale just had to be this 1968 Bedford J2 coach, which sold for £11,000.
Although it wasn’t advertised particularly well, good internet bidding helped with this sale organised by the estate agent John Goodwin of Ledbury, which also stages interesting antique auctions at the Three Counties Showground, in Malvern, Worcestershire.
A recent sale there saw the disposal of 600+ lots from the Graham Tyler’ collection. He was an early GDSF stationary engine exhibitor, and a regular at sales for many years. His collection was very diverse and, although many of the items weren’t in the best condition, demand remained high among bidders.
Nearest the camera is the Jumbo DA 5hp engine in original condition that sold for £3,700. The Ruston Hornsby AP 6hp in front sold for £800.
The auctioneer did an excellent job, and managed the whole sale with a reassuringly calm style. Some of the many highlights coming under the hammer included a trio of interesting coaches. The best among them was a 1968 Bedford J2 (chassis No. 7T103856) with Embassy bodywork and registered BKX 94F. This 20-seat coach, that was new to Bletchley Self-Drive, and then later with Ryland Coaches, in Gloucester, sold well at £11,000. Although it looked to be a straight vehicle overall, a full recommissioning was evidently required.
A similar coach – UPK 78F, chassis No. 108086 – was new to Bicknell’s of Godalming, and wasn’t in such good order. Accordingly, it sold for £6,500. The third example, which didn’t feature seats, (reg: XUS 844J, chassis No.166369) finally sold for £4,200. The commission was 18% on this sale, but at least there were 10 porters to help buyers load!
The record-breaking Lister D, which sold for £4,000 – this example was without the crankcase inspection door/plate, making it highly sought-after.
After that, the main focus switched to the hordes of stationery engines to be sold, with a very early Lister D selling for an amazing £4,000 – there were two bidders certainly desperate to buy it. A rare, Wolseley vertical could have been yours for £2,000, and a second example sold for £1,900.
An American, Emerson & Brantingham 4hp open crank engine, that was sold new in the UK and presented here in original style, fetched £3,200. Another Emerson engine – a 1.5hp model (No. 5050834) – sold for £1,200.
This was the £8,200 Foster 4in scale traction engine that was sold at the John Goodwin-organised sale.
A Lister R (No. 5521) with trolley and much more made £3,000, while a Warwick Eagle open crank 5.5hp engine went on to sell for £3,800. Another rare machine was the Nelson Brothers Little Jumbo 3hp (No. 9206) sold for £780, however, a more original example – a 5hp machine (No. 6884) did much better, at £3,700.
Finally, a Foster 4in model looked rather black and, with no boiler report, sold for a good £8,200. All-in-all, it was a most interesting sale.
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