One of William Stanier's earliest locomotive designs for the LMS were his '3P' 2-6-2s. They were very far from an auspicious debut, regarded widely as being under boilered and poor steamers. In spite of 'tweaking' over the years, they never proved entirely satisfactory. Nonetheless, they were not an unattractive design as here near Mobberley in Cheshire where 40203 is (smokily) in charge of its 6-coach train. Photo dated 1956.

© Ken Widd. Steve Armitage Collection