24th February 2015
Warwick and Warwick, as auctioneers of postcards, are often called on to offer cards so rare that they have not previously been seen by the valuers.
Campbeltown & Machrihanish Light Railway issued a poster style postcard advertising their passenger services around 1912 and this card is very rare. We are offering one, in very good condition, in our auction taking place on March 18.
Coal was mined in the Kintyre peninusula in Scotland and in the late 18th century a canal was excavated to transport it from the mine to the port of Campbeltown. In 1876 a narow gauge industrial tramway was constructed from Kilkivan Pit to Campbeltown, a distance of 4 1⁄2 miles, replacing the canal and partially using it for the track bed. Around the turn of the century steamships carrying tourists started to call at Campbeltown and it was decided to build a railway connecting Campbeltown with Machrihanish, on the west coast of the peninsula, mainly following the track bed of the old tramway. Construction of the Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway began in November 1905 and it was opened to passenger traffic in August 1906. Up to the First World War the railway successfully carried both coal and tourists, but road traffic eventually gained precedence and the railway ceased operating in 1934. The carriages from the railway were used as holiday homes and were not scrapped until 1958.
Three different official postcards are known, differing only in the return train times. All are extremely rare.
If you have railway official, or indeed any type of postcards for sale then feel free to contact our Postcard expert Colin Such, or alternatively visit our postcard valuation page to find out more.