Lord Nelson to star at Cotswold Festival of Steam!

The prototype Southern Railway Lord Nelson class 4-6-0 no 850 Lord Nelson, is to be the celebrity star at the Cotswold Festival of Steam, 24th May to 1st June.  The engine will operate every day of the Festival and over each weekend, it will work Diagram F which you can see on the working timetable which you can download here.

Lord Nelson, the first of just 16 members of the class, was completed at Eastleigh works in 1926.  The four-cylinder locomotives were at the time of introduction the most powerful 4-6-0s in the country, and with their bogie tender, were the longest 4-6-0s ever to run in the UK. Designed by R E L Maunsell, the locomotives - all named after famous British mariners - were a public relations triumph, even if the engines' performance didn't quite live up to the hype and their introduction prompted the GWR to develop the four-cylinder King class, which then took the crown as the most powerful 4-6-0.

Lord Nelson appears in its final form following modifications by Maunsell's successor, O V S Bulleid who significantly improved their performance.  However, they had a reputation for being difficult to fire effectively which meant on good days, they were more than capable of speeds in the 90s but with inexperienced firemen, struggled to keep time. Lord Nelson was reserved for the National Railway Museum after withdrawal from British Railways' service in August 1962.  It was overhauled for a ten-year spell of main line operation from 1980.

Lord Nelson is now in its second period of operation following a further extensive overhaul by the Eastleigh Railway Preservation Society (ERPS) at the locomotive's birthplace, Eastleigh. It ran a number of successful tours on the main line during 2007 before firebox problems developed, leading to the engine's withdrawal.  It moved to the National Railway Museum where repairs have just been completed the engine successfully passed its steam test at the end of April.

As widely reported in the railway media, the NRM selected the GWR as the first heritage railway on which Lord Nelson will be gently 'run in' and it will be delivered by road to Toddington on Saturday, 17th May.  The engine is expected to remain on the GWR for about two months.

Other locomotives on Cotswold Festival of Steam roster are:

• 3440 City of Truro
• Small prairie 5542 (working with Auto trailers 163 and 178)
• 5600 class 0-6-2T no. 5619
• 7903 Foremarke Hall
• 34007 Wadebridge
• 4F class 0-6-0 no. 44422
• 92220 Black Prince

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