Thomas The Bank Engine: £850 vintage train tops list of most valuable toy trains - have you got a fortune in a toy train in your attic?

A leading personal finance guidance platform has revealed the valuable toy trains that the public might unknowingly have stashed at home.

The platform, Forbes Advisor, partnered with toy expert Peter Jenkinson to create the guide, which identifies the most valuable toy trains and the prices they can command, and offers suggestions for budding collectors on what to invest in and keep an eye out for when starting a train collection.

The five valuable train sets people may have in their attic, and their values, are:

Marklin 0 Gauge Loco - £850

Bachmann Spectrum G-Gauge - £700

A complete set of station staff in the original box, including stationmaster, military policeman, guard waving flag, porters with trolleys and various pieces of luggage -  £550

Thomas the Tank engine Hornby clockwork train 1983 - £500

Bournemouth Belle made by Hornby Dublo, 1963 - £500

The five most valuable train sets ever sold or listed for sale, are:

Lionel Brute with a 213 Lift Bridge offered for sale at $1m (£754,705)

Lionel Standard Gauge Set from 1934 – a mint-in-the-box train set with a 400E Engine & State Passenger Cars - £187,000

Lionel Brass Prototype for the 700E Hudson - £58,000

A hand-made coal powered model of the Flying Scotsman circa 1930 - £30,000

Barby G-Gauger model railway - £22,000

With Brits spending an estimated £84.7 billion over the past Christmas period and train set manufacturer Hornby making a profit for the first time in more than a decade, toy expert Peter Jenkinson has provided tips for new collectors looking to invest in the toy train sector:

UK, German and American markets hold the most interest in toy trains, and are the most potential for profitable investments.