Big tanks had their place and it might not have been an engine failure that put the L3 at the front of your train KotangaGirl. For Christmas 2017 Steve Banks presented a mystery photograph of Rugby in 1937 showing a 2-6-4T hauling what at first glance might have been an August Bank Holiday excursion. Over a year of research by a fellow called Darwin Smith showed it to be a scheduled Sundays Only 10:22 a.m. semi-fast passenger service from London Euston to Wolverhampton and Coventry advertised only as far as Coventry with the reporting number W21. Two portions, Coventry and Wolverhampton with the Coventry portion at the rear. The carriages were from the Monday to Fridays 11:30 a.m. Euston - Wolverhampton with the restaurant car removed. Seven coaches for the W'hampton portion, BTK, CK, CK, CK, TO, TO & BTK. PIII for BTKs and CKs, PI D1706 for one TO and PII D1721 for the other. The Coventry portion was six carriages, BCK, 4 x TO & BCK, any available stock but tending to be older carriages. After a 10 minute wait at Coventry the W'hampton portion went on as a new stopping passenger train in the public timetable with a 35 minute layover at New Street.
The large tank took over from a tender locomotive at Rugby, so was quite an elegant train for the 2-6-4T. However, as Steve descibes it "a solid operating basis" for the use of the loco.