On the 8.15am Perranporth-Paddington
6004, " King George III " came to Laira shed in March 1954 in an exchange with Wolverhampton Stafford Road shed which took Laira's 6014 in its place.
6014 had just undergone a heavy overhaul at Swindon Works and was required for use in water softening tests on the Birmingham main line as the Company which manufactured the softening equipment was located in the North, where water was harder than that in the far West.
This train is of interest in that it is a Summer Services Saturdays only which started at Perranporth and was as far as I can recall the only scheduled working which did not stop at Plymouth North Road on its journey to Paddington.
That being the case, the locomotive which worked up from Cornwall was not, as was the usual custom, replaced at Plymouth North Road, but the train was brought to a halt on the main line opposite Laira shed between Lipson and Laira junctions and the fresh engines were run out from the adjacent stock sidings and coupled up on the main line after the Cornish engine had come off and crossed over to Laira shed...quite an exercise, all on the main line !