TRANSPORT collectables from Cumbria made big prices in a specialist sale held by G. W. Railwayana Auctions at Pershore, Worcestershire.

A bid of £260 was needed to buy a large cast iron gate sign issued by the Furness Railway and London and North Western Railway.

The 1883 notice warns of a £2 fine for anyone not fastening the railway crossing gate correctly.

It was produced for the Furness Railway and London and North Western Railway.

Cumbria has many sections of single line working where it is vital to make sure only one trains is allowed to pass through.

At St Bees this is done with a "token" - a small bag on a hoop - which is handed by the driver to a signal box operator.

The auction had two metal keys which would have been used to lock out points and signals in favour of just one train on a single line section.

One for the line from Brigham to Cockermouth sold for £280 and the other from Penrith to Blencow sold for £150.

The sale included a 1950s British Railways "totem" type platform sign from Hellifield station in North Yorkshire.

These maroon signs could once be seen at stations throughout Cumbria.

This one made £480 in the auction but some rare examples can make thousands of pounds.

Hellifield in today served by Morecambe to Leeds trains - but until 1970 you could get a direct train from Hellifield to Carlisle.

Railway companies issued dozens of promotional signs to get travellers to visit Cumbria.

The Post Office copied their style for a poster of Bassenthwaite, with artwork by A. Rossiter, urging people to get the address correct on letters.

It found a new home for £180.

Locomotives pulling trains through Cumbria in the age of steam power all had a base to return to.

They would carry a shed plate with a code showing where home was.

The auction made £160 for an example of a Carnforth shed plate with the code "24L".

In the days when even village stations had staff, it was normal for people waiting for friends and relatives arriving by train to buy a platform ticket - usually for a penny.

An example of the one of the vending machines sold for £260.

On a similar theme a British Railways enamel sign saying “Plase Show Tickets” sold for £200.