BR 9F 2-10-0 No 92220 Evening Star waits to leave Cardiff General wth the up 'Red Dragon' on July 1, 1960.

Peter Kerslake says "What a magnificent sight with "Evening Star" resplendent with an immaculate Reporting Number and Headboard ready to depart from Cardiff General, Paddington bound on the Top Link "Red Dragon" just four months after being allocated to Cardiff's Canton depot from being built at Swindon in March of that year.
Whilst Canton had a fine selection of "Castles" and "Britannias" on its books regularly rostered to such duties as this, its Shedmaster has allocated 92220 to today's "Red Dragon", but sadly those in authority at Paddington took a dim view of such exploits when they discovered what was going on, and "Evening Star" was accordingly relegated to "more appropriate" freight duties upon their instructions!.
Standard "9F's" were, however, well able to handle express passenger duties, and did so in many instances throughout their working lives, an example being Old Oak Common which regularly rostered a "9F" to the "Royal Duchy" express in the 1960's, working down from Paddington to Plymouth especially on Summer Saturdays when Motive Power was often in short supply at Old Oak."

Photo: R.O. Tuck/Rail Archive Stephenson