The locomotive was built in 1857 by George England and Co. of New Cross for the Sandy and Potton Railway, at a cost of £800.

[1] The railway was promoted by Captain Sir William Peel VC, whose estate lay between those towns, and the locomotive was named after his ship, the frigate HMS Shannon.

In 1862 it was sold to the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) for shunting at Crewe Works and numbered 1104.

In 1965 it was stored on the premises of the Atomic Energy Authority, but in 1969 it was moved to the Didcot Railway Centre, where it was finally steamed and operated again in October 1969.

In 1975 it took part in the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in steam, but had to be retired soon afterwards due to a crack in the firebox tubeplate.