Most people think of the famous Express Steam Locomotives, such as ‘Flying Scotsman’, ‘Princess Elizabeth’, ‘Mallard’ and so on when asked to describe a steam engine. However, the true backbone of the steam railwy age was the conveyance of goods traffic, for which special locomotives were required – known as freight engines.

Perhaps most special of all were the Somerset and Dorset Class 7F 2-8-0s, the subject of this dvd. Their working lives were spent entirely on the famous Somerset and Dorset Railway and such was their charisma, that two examples, 53808 and 53809, have been saved for posterity.

This dvd shows the class at work in the 1960s by means of Ivo Peters incomparable 16mm cine film and features the preserved locomotives at work.

Contents:

Freight Engines – Ivo Peters’ colour films of the S&D 7Fs at work on the Somerset and Dorset Railways in the 1960s, on freight and passenger trains.

Renaissance – Ivo Peters’ film on the return of 53808 from South Wales to Radstock and restoration work at Minehead. 53808 – The Somerset and Dorset Trust’s ’88’ at work on the West Somerset Railway, including cab sequences.

53807 Remembered – Recreating the last 7F to work on the S&D!

53809 – Based at Butterley, on the Midland Railway Trust’s line, the second preserved 7F is seen at work on the MRT and on BR main lines.

53809 Back to Bath – Footage from the 40th anniversary weekend of the closure of the Somerset and Dorset line in 2006 at Green Park, includes Ivo Peters’ Bentley and the 92203 and 9F double headed, viewed together for the first time in preservation.

Approx. 50 minutes.