Registered Museum No. RD1433 / Amgueddfa Gofrestredig Rhif RD1433
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Sentinel Loco "Nutty"
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Sentinel loco 'Nutty'
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| Nutty in use on the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway |
"Nutty" is a 4 wheeled vertical-boiler, chain-driven locomotive, one of three built by The "Sentinel" Waggon Works Ltd. in 1927 (works number 7701) for the London Brick Company at Stewartby. Originally of 2 ft. 11 in. gauge, it was loaned as a working exhibit to the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway in 1964 and converted to 2 ft. 6 in. gauge, after which it spent a period at Whipsnade Zoo. It is currently on loan to Railworld, Peterborough and is now being put together at the Peterborough works of Midas Technologies (GB) Ltd.
Appeal Fund for Nutty
The Trust has opened an Appeal Fund for Nutty - please consider contributing to the cosmetic restoration of the locomotive.
Nutty's Dates
- 1928: Delivered to London Brick Co, Farcett, Peterborough.
- 1938 (about): Named NUTTY after the driver and fitter "Nutty" Rowell who kept the loco in service for 30 years.
- 29-9-1964: Donated to the Museum, regauged from 2'11" to 2'6" and loaned to the Welshpool & Llanfair where it worked on shunting duties for a time.
- 1970s: Withdrawn from service and moved to Tywyn where it was kept in the Gunpowder Store and brought out on occasion. At some stage a garage (now the cafe store) for it was built behind the museum.
- 1990: Decision made to seek a new home away from Tywyn.
- 1991: Lease agreed with Whipsnade Wild Animal Park for restoration for Great Whipsnade Railway; loco dismantled and boiler sent away for inspection at Wilstead.
- 1994: Work ceased at Whipsnade; arrangements made for parts to be brought together.
- 9-1996: Moved to Railworld, Peterborough by Mark Lock.
- 1-8-2001: Moved to Mark Lock's Works in Peterborough.
- 3-1-2003: Rebuilding started without restoration at this stage to establish which parts are present and can be used again and which parts are missing or need to be replaced.
The Future
Although a rebuild to working condition is unlikely as the loco could not be used without drastic modification to meet modern legislation, some people see this as a long term goal. In the meantime, cosmetic restoration is being undertaken, which will ensure that all the parts are kept together and properly conserved. It will then be possible to exhibit the loco (probably at Peterborough where it spent its working life). Nutty is an important part of our collection for, just as the vertical boilered de Winton locos represent some of the first steam locos for the narrow gauge, the vertical boilered Sentinels represent the final development of the narrow gauge steam loco.