A NAMEPLATE which once adorned the name of a North East city on the side of an LNER locomotive has attracted thousands of pounds at auction.

LNER has been auctioning off three nameplates which were formerly displayed on its fleet of iconic Intercity 125 High Speed Trains.

The railway firm, which is donating the proceeds to the charity, Campaign Against Living Miserably, has raised more than £12,000 at auction this year.

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said it hoped to help the charity as its services had reached unprecedented levels of demand during the Covid pandemic.

The Northern Echo:

The nameplate from locomotive number 43274 'Spirit of Sunderland,' proved the most popular and fetched £4,600.

Meanwhile nameplates from 43208 'Lincolnshire Echo,' and 43257 'Bounds Green' fetched £4,00 and £3,700 respectively.

CALM, which works to prevent suicide - the single biggest killer in men under 45 in the UK - said it had seen demand for its helplines soar since March 2020.

Mr Horne of LNER said: “We know these pieces of railway history are sought-after and we’re delighted that they have raised so much money at auction.

"CALM’s helpline services have seen unprecedented levels of demand over the past 16 months and we are aware of just how important their work is.

"Money raised from this auction means CALM will be able to offer support to even more people who need it.”

The auction comes after seven HST nameplates and a crest celebrating the heritage of the East Coast route raised £41,000 for CALM in 2020.

In advance of the auction, LNER colleagues were pictured holding the nameplates beside the famous record-breaking Class 43 power car 43102 ’The Journey Shrinker.'

That had been donated to the National Railway Museum for its Locomotion site at Shildon in County Durham by Porterbrook.

Simon Gunning, CEO of CALM, added: “We’ve been bowled over by LNER’s generosity, and the continued success of the nameplate auction.

"Money raised will go towards supporting CALM’s life-saving helpline that since lockdown has answered over 197,000 calls and chats.

"That is a call for help every 61 seconds. We’ll continue to be there for people who might be struggling, or at the point of crisis point - no matter what.”

If you are in need of support you can contact the following:

- Samaritans are available, day or night, 365 days of the year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

- If U Care Share on 0191 387 5661 or text IUCS to 85258

- SANE on 07984 967 708, Calm on 0800 58 58 58

- Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust crisis line 0800 0516 171.

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