Auction Hunters

While taking part in a silent auction in Alaska, Allen Haff and Ton Jones come across a railway maintenance carriage. Among the items they find is also a pre‑World War I Japanese pistol. The discovery of these historic pieces sparks their curiosity.

Choo‑Choo, Cha‑Ching! is a television programme presented as a single episode. The show follows a light‑hearted format, focusing on unusual finds and the stories behind them. It’s positioned as an episode‑type entry within the broader series, offering viewers a compact, self‑contained adventure. The episode runs as a segment, keeping the focus tight. In this instalment, the duo of Allen Haff and Ton Jones travel to Alaska for a silent auction. While there, they stumble upon two unexpected items: a railroad maintenance carriage and a Japanese pistol that dates back to before the First World War. Because the auction is silent, the items are shown without public bidding, adding intrigue. Their curiosity drives the narrative forward. The railway carriage, a piece of historic infrastructure, hints at the rugged transport history of the region. Meanwhile, the Japanese pistol, crafted prior to 1914, adds an international military flavour to the find. Both pieces belong to the early twentieth century; the pistol is pre‑First World War, while the carriage reflects railway engineering of the era. Both objects are highlighted for their rarity and the stories they might tell about early‑20th‑century technology. As Haff and Jones inspect the artefacts, they discuss the possible origins and the journey that brought them to the Alaskan auction floor. Their banter and observations give the episode a relaxed, inquisitive tone, inviting the audience to share in the surprise of uncovering such distinctive relics. They note how rare it is to see such disparate artefacts together at an Alaskan auction.