Peter Sam (RWS)/Behind the Scenes

Background Information
Peter Sam is a fictional narrow gauge tank locomotive working on the Skarloey Railway created by the Rev. W. Awdry. Before joining the Skarloey Railway, he was originally known as Stuart and worked on the Mid Sodor Railway. He carries the No. 4.

He first appeared in The Railway Series book, Four Little Engines, which was published in 1955. His last appearance was in New Little Engine, published in 1996.

Front of Peter Sam/Stuart:

Awdry's models
In 1974, Wilbert Awdry created a model of Stuart for the third revision of his Mid Sodor Railway layout. The model was built using a Peco James kit on an Arnold 0-6-0 chassis, with the coupling rods shortened to make him an 0-4-2. The smokebox and funnel were sourced from a GEM kit. Unique to this model, Stuart is fitted with buffers, unlike the rest of the engines and how the character is depicted in the books.

The model of Stuart was donated by Awdry and put on display with the rest of the layout at the Reverend Teddy Boston's Cadeby Light Railway in Cadeby, Leicestershire, before the railway finally closed in 2005. It, and the layout, are now back with the Awdry family.

Awdry also built an OO9 scale model of Peter Sam. Like Stuart, it was also made from a modified PECO James kit. The model is now on display at the Narrow Gauge Museum in Tywyn, Wales, located near the Talyllyn Railway along with the other Skarloey Railway engines and rolling stock.