They were designed for mixed traffic use on secondary routes where the otherwise ubiquitous BR Standard Class 5 and their predecessors, the Black Fives, would be too heavy.

Two were purchased directly from BR (75027 & 75029); the remaining four were rescued from Woodham Brothers' scrapyard at Barry Island.

75029 was passed to work on the main line between Grosmont and Whitby with occasional visits to Battersby during galas.

Mainline Railways also released a OO gauge model of the Standard Class 4MT 4-6-0 in the 1970s, although this is no longer in production.

In 1983, Mainline's model was reintroduced to their catalogue as locomotive 75033 in BR lined black.