THE model railway collection of a Worcester enthusiast could make around £9,000 when it comes up for auction later this month.

Going under the hammer because the owner is downsizing his home, the "00" gauge collection includes 80 Hornby Dublo and Wrenn locomotives and around 350 pieces of track from a large layout. There are several rare Wrenn locomotives, including Sir Keith Park and The Hurricane, which are valued at up to £250 apiece.

Stewart Orr, toy specialist of auctioneers Halls, said: "This is one of the best model railway collections the company has ever sold and I anticipate keen interest from collectors when the sale takes place in Shrewsbury on Wednesday, July 29." The auction also includes the first part of another large collection of Hornby ‘00’ locomotives from a Shropshire collector, which is expected to realise around £2,000.

In the diecast section, there’s a large collection of Corgi Classic trucks featuring liveries of most of the well-known UK haulage companies. Mr Orr believes the trucks, most of which have never been out of their original boxes, could make up to £2,000 at auction. Likely to interest toy collectors working to a budget are two large collections of unboxed Dinky Toys models, which are in good condition and could realise up to £3,000. The auction catalogue can be viewed online at www.hallsgb.com/fine-art