For a period after its introduction to the Southern Railway network, the Lord Nelson class held the title of "most powerful locomotive in Britain" – a claim based on its tractive effort. The advanced design of the locomotive led to the GWR introducing the GWR 6000 Class in order to regain the title lost by their GWR 4073 Class locomotives when the Lord Nelsons were constructed. The planned 500-ton trains never materialised, but the class was regularly used on 460 ton trains such as the Golden Arrow. After the Second World War they were also frequently used on heavily laden Boat Trains between London Waterloo station and Southampton docks. The Lord Nelsons were notoriously difficult for inexperienced crews to fire properly, due to their long firebox, and specific crews who had proven experience in firing the locomotives were therefore allocated to them. This was due to the relatively few locomotives in the class for crews to train on. The LMS Royal Scot Class was loosely based on this design. Accidents and incidents One member of the Lord Nelson class was involved in what could have been a major accident on 23 January 1930. This entailed the leading driving wheels jumping off the track, though the locomotive ran for many yards before they re-railed themselves over a set of points. No. 860 Lord Hawke was derailed at , Hampshire on 14 August 1940 due to enemy action. A bomb fell on the track ahead of the train, which was unable to stop in time. No. 852 Sir Walter Raleigh received a direct hit from an enemy bomb on 18 April 1941, and was so severely damaged that it was not returned to service until June 1942. No. 854 Howard of Effingham suffered a firebox failure due to lack of water on 23 April 1945, killing the fireman and injuring the driver. No. 851 Sir Francis Drake was involved in a serious derailment at Byfleet on 27 December 1946, due to the poor condition of the permanent way. On 26 November 1947, No. 860 Lord Hawke was hauling a passenger train that was run into by another at , Hampshire due to a signalman's error. Two people were killed. No. 30854 Howard of Effingham was hauling a passenger train that overran signals and was derailed by trap points at , Hampshire on 20 July 1952. Withdrawal The class was gradually superseded on