Rapido Trains UK has announced a fascinating new addition to its OO Gauge range – the distinctive Sentinel Steam Shunter 0-4-0, with a huge 13 variations planned across both pre-war and post-war body styles.

These unusual industrial locomotives evolved from Sentinel’s steam road vehicle technology rather than conventional railway locomotive practice, using a vertical boiler, compact mechanical arrangement and chain drive. Their short wheelbase, quick steam-raising time and impressive fuel economy made them ideal for industrial sites, where tight curves and frequent shunting were all part of the job.

Rapido’s new models will cover a wide selection of colourful industrial liveries, and we’re especially pleased to have a Rails of Sheffield Exclusive included in the range – a Sheffield Corporation example finished in olive green. With our own Sheffield roots, it’s a particularly appropriate locomotive for us to have in our EXCLUSIVE stable!

The project is already at the tooling stage, with models set to feature a smooth-running mechanism, E24 decoder socket, NEM coupler pockets and MoPower stay-alive capacitor across the range. Pre-war versions will be offered as DCC Ready or DCC Fitted, while the larger post-war versions have space for a factory speaker and will also be available DCC Sound Fitted.

With so many variations to choose from – and a particularly local Rails Exclusive among them – this is shaping up to be a really characterful new industrial locomotive range from Rapido.

We’re especially excited about one of the models in Rapido Trains UK’s newly announced OO Gauge Sentinel Steam Shunter range, as our Rails of Sheffield Exclusive recreates a locomotive with a very strong connection to the city we call home.

Our model depicts Sentinel works No.9370, one of two locomotives ordered by the Sheffield Corporation Electricity Department on 31st December 1945, shortly after the end of the Second World War. Remarkably, we’ve even been able to see the original order form, which records No.9370 for delivery to Neepsend Power Station, while sister locomotive No.9371 was destined for Blackburn Meadows Power Station — later famous for the huge Tinsley cooling towers beside the M1.

Neepsend was a major coal-fired power station supplying electricity to Sheffield from 1904 until 1976, and No.9370 would have spent its working life shunting coal wagons and carrying out other duties around the site. Coal opens and later 16-ton mineral wagons would make particularly appropriate companions for the model.

The locomotive was finished in handsome lined olive green and carried the City of Sheffield coat of arms — an especially significant local emblem also seen on Sheffield Corporation vehicles of the period. By the mid-1960s both Sentinels were working together at Neepsend, with No.9370 surviving in industrial service until the early 1970s, making it a remarkably late survivor of steam traction.

After withdrawal, the locomotive entered preservation and was initially based at the Great Central Railway at Loughborough, where it continued to carry its Sheffield colours. That makes this far more than just an attractive industrial shunter for us — it’s a genuine piece of Sheffield railway and industrial history.

Rapido’s new model will recreate No.9370 in its distinctive Sheffield Corporation Electricity Department appearance, and with its strong local connection it’s a particularly fitting Rails of Sheffield Exclusive. Available to pre-order now.

Please note our exclusives require a 10% upfront deposit.

Unlike the majority of industrial railway locomotives, the Sentinel steam shunter concept evolved from road vehicle technology rather than other railway loco designs.

Founded in 1875, Alley & MacLellan Ltd of Polmadie, Glasgow was the original trading name of what would become the Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd. This is where the roots of the Sentinel steam shunter prototype would come from.

In 1906, the company introduced its first vertical-boiler steam road waggon. This powered the wheels via a two-cylinder undertype engine and chain drive. Very reminiscent of the internal combustion engine designs that would follow, only powered by steam instead. They proved incredibly efficient and incredibly straightforward to fire and drive.

Around twenty years later, the Sentinel Waggon Works applied the same idea to its first 0-4-0 railway locomotive prototype.

Even in their earliest guises, they were well regarded by crews and businesses. Thanks to their short wheelbase, they were capable of negotiating the tighter radius of many industrial networks. When combined with their fast steam raising ability (under an hour), fantastic fuel economy and operational simplicity, they were a hit with crews and business owners alike.

The steam Sentinel would be built in a range of diverse styles, with the main two-cylinder vertical engine, known as the ‘BE’, being the most commonly produced before WW2. An example of the ‘BE’ was even built for the LMS. In the post-war years, different body types were produced and in greater numbers than their predecessors.

To the untrained eye, the ‘BE’ looks much like a domeless locomotive. However, on closer inspection you discover that in place of the chimney, the ‘BE’ has its vertical cylinders hidden by a round cover. This protrudes from the top of the loco's body at the front.

In place of what we would usually think of as a loco's boiler is a substantial water tank. Not only does this huge tank mean that the Sentinel could run for a prolonged period of time before filling up, but it also added considerable weight, which improved the adhesion of the loco.

Following World War Two, an improved design was produced. The tank and cylinders were also clad in a metal casing. These included access hatches so that repairs and servicing could be carried out.

Production of the Sentinel steam shunter continued right through until 1958. Though the end of an era for industrial railways, this was only part of the Steam shunter's story. The Sentinel would go on to adopt the internal combustion engine as its motive power, and its legacy would be continued by Rolls-Royce through the production of various Sentinel diesel locomotives. Whilst production may have finished in 1958 – many locomotives continued in industry for several decades.

Unlike most industrial prototypes, the preservation movement was very kind to the Sentinel steam shunter. Surviving examples can be found the length and breadth of the country at many preserved railways – with several in working order.