My understanding is that this auction was pretty much one collection. It gives one pause. Someone spends the better part of a lifetime collecting these pieces. When they pass away, you and I come and each take a small part and put it with the others already in our train rooms. ...
collecting has certainly taken on a different aspect with the internet, though. i'd imagine this collection was compiled over a matter of years if not decades visiting train show and communicating between collector's organizations. ie: ...old school.
these days you don't need to belong to any organizations, you don't need to travel to train shows or even succumb to the mystique of York. all you need is a desire, a computer and money.
Here is a link to the collection I believe the owner is alive and well, And the bulk of this collection was bought from the Ray Korte collection. the whole collection was forsale last year for somewhere around half million. A friend of mine was looking at it but did not see that much money in trains.
