AN ALLOA man is the proud recipient of a restoration award for rebuilding an historic motor vehicle.

Chris Hutchison received the accolade from the National Transport Trust due to his work on a 1927 Super Sentinel steam wagon.

He was honoured to receive his award from a member of the Royal Family, with Princess Anne herself presenting the keen historian with his certificate.

Chris’ work began in 2016 when he purchased the remains of a Super Sentinel steam wagon engine from the estate of the late vintage steam enthusiast John Keeley.

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From there, he set about restoring the vehicle to its full use, rebuilding the wagon from just the engine as its base.

Utilising the help of his full family, this made the Alloa man a “worthy winner” for judges at the NTT’s annual awards.

Paul Brook, NTT awards director, said: “Every effort has been made to recreate the blue steel cladding as used on the original boilers.

“The lion's share of the work has been done using original Sentinel drawings. And fabrication of the front apron cheek plates were formed by hand to match the one original sample that had survived.

“The wagon is now complete, roadworthy and registered for the road as an historic vehicle.

“It is a very worthy winner of a National Transport Trust restoration award.”

Chris started off by discovering that the engine he had purchased belonged to wagon number 6982.

From there, he used photographs and records to try and restore it as accurately as he could, roping in his son and six grandchildren to help with the finished product.

Chris was also helped by an engineer based more than 400 miles away who provided advice and support.

An emphasis was placed on passing on restoration skills and passions to the younger members of the family who helped out, in particular Chris’ grandchildren, who are all aged between 12 and 19.

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Paul added: “Two of those involved have used the project for the skills element of their Duke of Edinburgh Gold awards.

“Their work embraced acquiring both old and new skills including machining, hot riveting, welding, wood working, timber steaming and coach painting to name a few.

“The active involvement of young people and the absolutely outstanding finished product is most impressive and the attention to detail while making it safer and easier to operate are to be commended.”