A COLLECTION of detailed drawings of the Rocket - one of Britain's most historic locomotives - will come under the hammer next month.

The drawings are among a selection of railway-related items included in a Newcastle four-day Christmas sale by auction house Anderson Garland.

The drawings are believed to be the work of John Dobson Wardale (1833-1919), chief draughtsman of the one-time Stephenson locomotive works at Newcastle.

They show various elevations and details of the Rocket drawn from actual parts still surviving in the firm's workshop about 30 years after it was built.

John Anderson, the firm's collectables' specialist, said: "Why the five drawings were prepared and have remained in the Wardale family's possession until now is something of a mystery.

"The best we can suppose is that they were used for promotional purposes by the firm and were, perhaps, shown at exhibitions across the country.

"They are of a size, colouring and quality that would not be required simply for guidance in building the locomotive by other engineers.

"In fact, they look so attractive we've included them in our fine art sale on December 9, rather than in our collector's section later in the week."

The Rocket was built at the Stephenson Works at Forth Street, Newcastle, in 1829, and first made an impact on the budding railroad scene at the Rainhill Trials, in October of that year, by running at 30 miles per hour.

The following year it accidentally ran over a guest spectator, cabinet minister William Huskisson, earning the dubious distinction of being the first locomotive to cause a fatal accident.

Mr Anderson said: "We've shown the drawings to Beamish Museum and a representative of the York Railway Museum, who have both expressed excitement at our find.

"They have estimated to sell for up to £3,000, but they're so unique this figure could be well exceeded."