Watercress Line Heritage Railway search for the missing women who built a wartime steam loco

The Watercress Line Heritage Railway is restoring a Merchant Navy Class locomotive named Canadian Pacific that was built at the Eastleigh Works in 1941. At that time, during the Second World War, women were taking the place of men who had been called up for military service. Project leader Dr Becky Peacock uncovered the names of the women who took their place at the Eastleigh Locomotive Works during the research for the National Lottery supported project. She discovered that the names of the women were marked in red so that they would be ‘let go’ at the end of the war. The Watercress Line CEO Rebecca Dalley said: “At the time and just a mile away, women building Spitfires were being photographed and promoted. Their war service was acknowledged and celebrated. The loco women have been written out of history.” The Merchant Navy steam locomotives were the only major engine class to be designed and built during the war, due to the shortage of labour and materials during that time. Wartime planners recognised the huge importance of the Southern Railway routes to the Channel ports and approved the new class of locos which were built at the Eastleigh Works, near Southampton. Locomotive 35005 Canadian Pacific has been undergoing a huge restoration which began at the Eastleigh Works, where it was originally built. It is now in the final stages of completion at the Watercress Line engineering works in Ropley, Hampshire. Rebecca Dalley said: “We are in the last stages of Canadian Pacific’s restoration, and it will be launching it in Spring 2025. “This has been a huge, nationally important project over the last decade, supported by the National Lottery and involving hundreds of people across the South of England who have volunteered for the project. “The last piece of the puzzle is the women who built these magnificent engines. It’s time to recognise the sacrifices they made to step in when they were needed. We’re asking the public to let us know if their family member was involved in building Canadian Pacific and the other Merchant Navy locos during the war. Who knows, we might find someone still with us to join us for the launch!” Boiler shop volunteer Steve Wilson, who has worked on the project for 12 years, revealed that his history with the locomotive goes back much further than its restoration. Mr Wilson’s parents both worked at the Eastleigh Works in 1940. While his father joined the war, later being held as a Prisoner of War working on the Burma Railway, his mother Pam stayed at the Eastleigh Works. The couple were happily reunited after the war and married in January 1946. Mr Wilson said: “Both my parents worked at the Eastleigh Works during the Second World War, my father was a blacksmith, and my mother worked as machinist on the capstan lathe right through the war, making parts for new locomotives. It is wonderful to think that she may well have made studs that are still in Canadian Pacific today.” If you, or your family members, have a story about building Canadian Pacific during the Second World War, The Watercress Line wants to hear from you. Please contact us at [email protected] - we can’t wait to hear your story.  To find out how you can join the launch of Canadian Pacific and support the project, sign up to The Watercress Line’s Canadian Pacific newsletter, visit The Watercress Line Facebook page or email your interest to [email protected]// You can donate to the completion of Canadian Pacific at www.watercressline.co.uk/donations