Penzance - Manchester express approaching Brent viewed westward, towards Plymouth and The 7.30am from Penzance will run via Bristol, the Severn Tunnel, Hereford, Shrewsbury and Crewe, due Manchester London Road at 7.38pm - some journey! The locomotive - surprisingly without a pilot over the South Devon banks - is Collett 4-6-0 No. 4944 'Middleton Hall' (built 7/29, withdrawn 9/62).

Peter Kerslake says "Skirting the southern edges of Dartmoor here at South Brent, the junction for the Kingsbridge branch, 4944 "Middleton Hall" looks to have been through Swindon Works judging by her freshly repainted smokebox.
Yes, the load is one which would be expected to require a pilot engine to Newton Abbot, there being nine coaches visible in this view, the maximum for an unasssited four cylinder "King" being just one more at ten .
What is of interest is the neatly chalked "273" Reporting Number and my information is that a series of stencilled numbers were kept at Laira Depot for such use, and some fine fellow has taken the time and trouble to use them today and I have seen a number of other photographs which also show their use during this period in time.
One of these "West to North" early morning workings, possibly this one, conveyed a through coach for Glasgow, which was detached at Crewe and added to the northbound "Midday Scot" making it the longest through coach working in the country, namely from Penzance to Glasgow."