44806 was an early candidate for preservation, moving directly from BR to the "Steamtown" collection at Carnforth, where it was housed in the same locomotive depot where steam's final fires had been dropped only recently.

This meant that it was not subjected to the years of neglect and parts-stripping at Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales which was the fate of many.

Some years were spent based in Accrington, with working excursions to a planned preserved line at Helmshore.

Although these exact plans never quite came to fruition after that station's closure in 1972, most of the line survived as what is now the East Lancashire Railway.

Haverthwaite did not have the workshop facilities for an engine of this length or weight, so it was moved, this time to "Steamport" in Southport.

The work this time was less serious, being mostly wear items such as boiler tubes, firebox stays and worn tyres.

[4] 44806 emerged from the works in November 2023 following the completion of its latest overhaul and running in commenced in December 2023 with the intention of returning to full service in 2024.