2885 cost £4,285 to build, which included £1,147 for the boiler and took seven weeks to construct at the Swindon Locomotive and Carriage Works. The tender cost an extra £1,503 It was generally used for freight and coal transport use, but it sometimes pulled a rake of passenger stock during busy holiday periods.
It was first used at Pontypool Road depot and continued its working life in Banbury, Swindon, Stourbridge, Tyseley, Newport and finally Severn Tunnel Junction. Total mileage covered was 728,395 miles when records ceased during December 1963.
BR motive power depot allocations since 1948.
| Date Arrived | Depot |
| January 1948 | Banbury |
| April 1948 | Stourbridge |
| April 1958 | Tyseley |
| March 1959 | Stourbridge |
| September 1962 | Ebbw Junction |
| June 1963 | Severn Tunnel Junction |
It was withdrawn from service in January 1964 only two years after having an overhaul (including new tyres) at Wolverhampton Stafford Road in 1962.
The locomotive was connected to fourteen tenders during its life until it was withdrawn from service on 22nd January 1964 and sold to Woodham Brothers for scrap.
Great Western Railway Preservation Group based at Southall purchased it in March 1981 with a view to full restoration. From 2003 it stood at Moor Street Station Birmingham, cosmetically restored, as an exhibit at an unused platform for the general public to see until June 2013 when it was lifted out of the station and moved to Tyseley.
After being offered for sale in 2011 it has been purchased by Practical GW Steam Ltd.
During 2016 the locomotive was dismantled at Tyseley , with the boiler lifted and the frames cleaned and repainted. As a result of being overhauled at Wolverhampton Stafford Road in 1962 (less than two years before withdrawal from service) and leaving Barry scrapyard as early as 1981 the engine remained largely complete and in good condition.
Restoration is being undertaken by its owners at Tyseley. By May 2019 it was reported that the work on the bottom end was largely complete.
The boiler and tender remain in store whilst other work is completed.
| Home Base | Current Status | Owner |
| Tyseley | Under restoration | Practical GW Steam Ltd |
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 