203 had been a late allocation to this train and had not been fuelled. Therefore it was removed here and replaced with 31442. In a continuing theme, the 31/4 got as far as Harling Road before giving up, and 47375 had to be sent from Norwich to fetch it.
There used to be a bit of a tactic for this sort of thing.....
27s were great wee engines with top thrash value, and I held them in much higher esteem than 31s, but in their later years they were notoriously unreliable, and particularly the renumbered ex push and pull ones that had been hammered to death.
The tactic was to loiter about Waverley watching the Dundees for a rough sounding one, and then hopping on, in the hope it would expire somewhere en route and a SSC fitted 20 from Thornton would be sent to the rescue! It worked quite a few times.....and.......quite remarkably......
Friday 13th August 1982
News reached us that 27024 had expired near Kirkcaldy on its way to Dundee, and there was no stock in Dundee to form the 15.21 back to Edinburgh. A 13.56 Kirkcaldy - Dundee service was cobbled together to get the stock and passengers there, with a loco sent from TJ. A fife circle unit whisked us to Kirkcaldy, and......
2??? 13.56 Kirkcaldy - Dundee
20219 xsr HA Kirkcaldy - Dundee

{when I get home on Saturday I'll post a triumphant pic of this......it was the filthiest 20 ever!)
1G50 13.50 Aberdeen - Edinburgh
47422 xd IM Dundee - Edinburgh
2G??? 15.21 Dundee - Edinburgh
27034 xb ED Kirkcaldy - Edinburgh (20219 didn't return sadly.....it had some coal hoppers waiting at Seafield!)
1E21 17.16 Edinburgh - Newcastle
47422 xd GD Edinburgh - Dunbar
1S15 15.53 Carlisle - Edinburgh
47425 xd GD Dunbar - Edinburgh