As part of William Webb's rehabilitation of the South Australian Railways, ten 2-8-2 steam locomotives were delivered by Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1926.

[2] It was involved in a minor collision when it rear-ended a freight train in May 1926 between Upper Sturt and Mount Lofty.

[3] In June 1926, it entered regular service between Adelaide and Murray Bridge, and the 9 remaining 700s were delivered that same month.

They were also allowed to operate on the Outer Harbor, Port Dock, and Semaphore lines following platform widening to provide sufficient space for Redhen railcars.

[4] The 700s had minor modifications made early in their operational life to address excessive axle loads and hot bearings.

[4] The first two were withdrawn in June 1959 with the remainder replaced as 830 diesel locomotives entered service.

Class leader 700 was the last in service, being withdrawn after a series of farewell tours named 'Sayonara Mikado', which occurred across the weekend of 1-2 June, 1968.