850 Lord Nelson

850 Lord Nelson

The launch of Lord Nelson at Eastleigh in May 2006 was the culmination of ten years overhaul by the members of the Eastleigh Railway Preservation Society.  It was one of the most extensive overhauls ever taken on in railway preservation which tested the engineers to the limit. What was thought to be a usual overhaul, turned out to be far bigger due to the condition of the boiler on No. 850.
This programme tells the story of Lord Nelson from its design and construction in 1926 through to its operational years in BR service and eventual withdrawal in 1962.
Footage of its first preservation period in service in the 1980s is accompanied by recollections of firing a Nelson by Eastleigh fireman and driver Rodney Tizzard. We hear from the team overhauling No. 850 at Eastleigh in the more recent overhaul and see how the problems with the firebox and boiler were tackled at Roger Pridham’s engineering in Devon.  Unique footage of the boiler and chassis overhaul is included which lead up to the final assembly inside Eastleigh Works in 2006. The re-dedication of Lord Nelson by HRH The Princess Royal on 6th May 2006 is fully covered when the locomotive emerged from the Works into the yard in steam.
The remaining section of the programme is devoted to the main line tours it undertook in 2007 and its brief spells at the Gloucester Warwickshire Railway and Great Central Railway before departing for the Mid-Hants line. Altogether a complete story of this ‘pride of the Southern Railway’

DVD – Approximately 75 minutes duration