Mortehoe Station was at the summit of severe climbs from Braunton at the south and Ilfracombe from the north. The 1 in 36 from Ilfracombe required all the Taunton trains, usually loaded to 5 coaches, to be double headed, but with the WR 2-6-0 coupled inside the pilot engine which could then be easily detached at Barnstaple. Here, the combination is reversed, with a ‘lame’ 6346 piloting a SR ‘N’ Class 2-6-0 which appears to be doing most of the work.
