The one hundred and thirty nine ex-LMS Stanier '3P' Tanks were the first but not one of Sir William Stanier's most successful designs for the LMS. Widely regarded as being under-boilered and indifferent performers, various 'tweaking' over the years did not make any radical improvement. The lesson is - build one, thoroughly test it on all types of traffic and then, only if satisfactory, build more. George Jackson Churchward of the GWR did precisely that and as an ex-Swindon man Stanier should have known better! This photograph was taken at Rhyl MPD in April 1956.

© Ken Widd. Steve Armitage Collection