The 5” gauge Sweet Pea design by Jack Buckler really has a lot going for it. It is a simple, well-proven design and it can readily be altered to suit the builder’s own taste and ideas. The Metre Maid variant has an 0-6-0 rather than 0-4-0 wheel arrangement, giving added stability. The photo is from the MEWS archive and was taken at a Harrogate exhibition.

The simplicity of the Sweet Pea design has made it a favourite with beginners. The boiler is a simple as can be, of a marine-type - also favoured for Toby, Steve Eaton’s brilliant little engine in 2.5” gauge.

The Sweet Pea valve gear is also simple to make.

As a variant of Sweet Pea, castings are readily available for Metre Maid, as are drawings. Jack Bucker described Sweet Pea in Engineering in Miniature some years back, and TEE re-published the articles in a best-selling book, Build Your Own Steam Locomotive.