They were designed as small mixed traffic locomotives, mainly used on branch lines.

[3] Of this batch 2168 (as 4507) was the last Wolverhampton-built loco to remain in service with BR, not being withdrawn until 1963.

The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway (R&SBR) had been worked by the GWR since 1 July 1906, although it was not absorbed until 1 January 1922.

[8][11] Three of the class still exist, two of them survivors from Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.

It is currently undergoing an extensive overhaul on the West Somerset Railway, having been out of service since 1998.

[13] Currently stored out of service on the Severn Valley Railway awaiting an overhaul, this locomotive left Woodham Brothers in August 1970.

It returned to service in late 2006 following an overhaul and after several years painted in Great Western green, was repainted into BR unlined black with the early crest for the first time in preservation.