The Ivatt 2MT was introduced in 1946, one of the last LMS design locomotives, with building continuing into the early 1950s. The BR standard 2MT was basically a copy of the Ivatt design, but with BR standard fittings in place of the LMS equipment.
These locomotives were built specifically for branchline operations, where the LMS still operated many engines dating from the Victorian era. The 2MT was a modern, often more powerful replacement for worn out machines, with greatly improved economy in coal and water. The crews liked them, as the tenders were equipped with back cabs that provided the comfort of a tank engine but the tenders' larger water capacity gave better range.
2MTs worked on most regions of British Railways, often with small trains, so just a couple of wagons and a brake van would be a perfectly prototypical branch goods train.