Canadian Pacific project

‘CanPac’, as it is affectionately known, is the oldest and fastest survivor of Oliver Bulleid’s Merchant Navy class.

It spent much of its life hauling heavy express trains between London and the South Coast, including those full of holiday makers or boat trains. It was also used for troop and freight movements during the Second World War.

Built at Eastleigh in 1941 by a workforce that would have included many women, CanPac is an excellent local example of heavy engineering. It touched the lives of many throughout its working career, including those who worked on it and those who were hauled by it.

In 2015 we received £895,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.  Much work has since been done, but we still need to raise further funds to complete the restoration of Canadian Pacific and two Bulleid wooden-framed carriages and return them to the Watercres Line over the next two years.