2700 was built at Horwich in 1926 at a cost of £6,070 and initially it had a crimson lake livery. It was fitted with a tender built at Derby in the same year. The tender was not however entirely new as it had been rebuilt from an underframe dating back to the 1880s. It has been deduced that the frame originated in 1881, from one of a batch of thirty Johnson 2-4-0s built by Neilson & Co via a 4-2-2 of 1899, the tender record card gives rebuilt from a vehicle of April 1899.
42700 was one of the last Hughes 2-6-0 to remain in service, until March 1966, just 3 months short of its 40th anniversary. It was based at Bury for many years but also spent time at Newton Heath before ending at Birkenhead from where it was withdrawn from service and stored at Hellafield.
BR motive power depot allocations since 1948.
| Date Arrived | Depot |
| January 1948 | Newton Heath |
| February 1949 | Mirfield |
| February 1952 | Farnley Junction |
| November 1955 | Wakefield |
| February 1956 | Bury |
| October 1964 | Gorton |
| June 1965 | Newton Heath |
| November 1965 | Birkenhead |
When it became clear that there was no chance of British Railways or anyone else housing the entire National Collection a number of locomotives were loaned to heritage railways.
As a result in 1968 it was towed to Keighley as part of a mixed freight train. Later that year after a minimal amount of work it returned to steam on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway for a brief period but does appear to have had been in good condition.
In the 1970s consideration was given to restoring 42700 to the original livery of crimson lake with its original number 13000. However, detail modifications made subsequently, most particularly the removal of the brakes on the leading pony truck and a change in the cylinder cladding would have made this invalid, and the engine was restored in black. In 2010 it was painted in LMS crimson and the original 13000 number whilst at the National Railway Museum at Shildon.
2700 was loaned to the East Lancs Railway (ELR) for a time in the 90s before it went to Barrow Hill and then up to Shildon. The ELR did a study on returning it to steam but the conclusion was that the locomotive is worn out.
As 1300 the engine is on static display at the National Railway Mesum at York and is part of the National Collection.
| Home Base | Current Status | Owner |
| National Railway Museum – York | Static display | National Railway Museum
NRM Object Number{1978-7036} |
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 