30587 was designed by Beattie and built for the London & South Western Railway by Beyer Peacock in 1874 at a cost of £2,400.
Originally numbered 298, the locomotive initially worked at Nine Elms in London, the class having proved itself capable of handling the heavy loads and high speeds demanded of them. However, with the arrival of larger locomotives, the class members were transferred to sheds outside the London area.
30587 was originally scheduled for scrapping in the early 1890s as part of the LSWRs modernisation of London and suburban services but it was transferred to the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway in June 1895 where it arrived at by sea as at that time the line had no connection to the LSWR.
It was fitted with a new boiler and square cab in 1889. In 1921 it was fitted with another new boiler and in 1933 it had a new front end and chimney.
It was withdrawn from service in December 1962 after completing 1,289,348 miles whilst running.
The locomotive was selected for preservation by the National Railway Museum and was observed in store at Fratton shed, Portsmouth in July 1963. It was towed from there in September 1964 and went on shed at Basingstoke for a few days before proceeding to Woking where it developed a hot-box and remained at the station for a while before proceeding to Stratford Works for storage arriving in late September. It was later towed to Brighton and placed inside the Pullman Works at Preston Park as part of the Reserve Collection.
It arrived, on loan, at the Dart Valley Railway at Buckfastleigh as Southern Railway 3298 in April 1978.
It was removed in December 2001 and taken to the Flour Mill Workshops in the Forest of Dean for restoration to working order and arrived at Bodmin numbered 30587 in November 2002.
The overhaul of this locomotive was sponsored by Bodmin’s Alan Moore, who very generously also decided to sponsor the completion of 30585 restoration at the Flour Mill. As part of the restoration agreement, Quainton’s 30585 will spend some time operating at the Bodmin & Wenford Railway.
In February 2012 30587 hauled a test train on the London Underground through Earls Court, then on to Paddington via the District Line after which it travelled on the Circle Line to Baker Street. It then ran back to Edgeware Road. This was all done in great secrecy in the early hours of the morning to see if a steam train could operate on the line. Later that year some scheduled steam hauled trains operated on the line.
In 2012 the locomotive was withdrawn for its 10 year overhaul, which saw the locomotive return to the workshops at the Flour mill for the work to be carried out. The engine returned to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway in Southern livery, numbered 3298 in 2013.
In 2017 the locomotive left the Bodmin & Wenford Railway. In 2019 it is was one of a group of five engines that had been identified to provide passenger train lines at the museums at York, Shildon and Manchester. The National Railway Museum did not rule out the possibility of the locomotive returning to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway at some time in the future.
In August 2019 the locomotive was out of service at Locomotion due as its boiler tubes need attention following at failure whilst at the Bluebell Railway five months earlier.
The locomotive was moved to the National Railway Museum at York in 2022.
| Home Base | Current Status | Owner |
| NRM York | Out of Service | National Railway Museum
NRM Object Number{1978-7018} |
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 