6000 King George V working the 'Talyllyn Railway Preservation Special' from Paddington through to Ruabon. Its return run was scheduled to take the engine running light to Shrewsbury and to work a local scheduled passenger duty from Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton from where it had been scheduled to run as a light engine back to its home shed at Old Oak Common.
Events took a different turn, however, and when 6000 arrived that evening at Wolverhampton a Western class diesel had failed there on its 6.40p.m. from Shrewsbury bound for Paddington and 6000 was coupled inside the diesel assisting it and its train back to Paddington.