5699 was built at Crewe in April 1936 and named Galatea after HMS Galatea, which in turn was named after the Galatea of mythology. After nationalisation in 1948, it was renumbered 45699 by British Railways.
On 16 August 1953, Galatea was derailed whilst hauling a passenger train at Wilnecote. The derailment was caused by a combination of defects on the locomotive itself, and the condition of the track. Despite the locomotive ending up on its side, only 2 people were reported injured and it was hardly damaged.
BR motive power depot allocations since 1948.
| Date Arrived | Depot |
| January 1948 | Leeds Holbeck |
| May 1948 | Bristol Barrow Road |
| September 1961 | Shrewsbury |
After being withdrawn in November 1964 it was stored at Eastleigh Works in December 1964 and remained there until January of the following year when it was moved by rail to Barry Scrapyard.
At some time around 1970/71 the centre driving wheel was partly cut up which was thought at the time to be to stop it being preserved.
It was taken from Woodham Brothers scrapyard in 1980 when purchased by the late Brian Oliver and was originally acquired to provide a spare boiler for preserved class mate 45690 Leander which was owned by Leander Locomotive Limited.
The tender previously attached to 45699 was purchased from Barry by the group who bought 45491 for preservation.
Galatea was purchased by SVR(H) in November 1983 as part of the deal to acquire Leander. At that time Galatea was stored at Carnforth in ex-Barry condition, having been acquired by former owners Leander Locomotive Limited as a source of spare parts for Leander. In April 1987 space was no longer available at Carnforth and Galatea was moved to the Severn Valley Railway, still being regarded as no more than a source of parts.
In winter of 1994 the SVR(H) Board announced the sale of 45690 Leander and 45699 Galatea to the family of Dr. Peter Beet. 45699 was still in ex-Barry condition when it left the Severn Valley Railway in 1994.
45699 was at Tyseley until 2002 when it was sold to the West Coast Railway Company and moved to Steamtown Carnforth where it was given a complete rebuild. This also included the manufacturing of a new middle driving wheel after the original was cut through after a shunting accident at Barry Island.
Gallatrea returned to steam in April 2013 and operates on the main line as part of the West Coast Railway fleet. Its mainline ticket is valid until 2020.
In November 2019 the locomotive was repainted from its non-authentic Crimson Lake livery into Brunswick Green and ran as 45562 Alberta. Interestingly most of the motion and many of the fittings on 45699 came from 45562. This follows the initial acquisition of parts from 45562 as spares for 45593 Kolhapur.
45562 Alberta had the distingtion of being the last of the Jubilee class in service but was moved from Tyseley to Cashmore’s Great Bridge scrapyard after 45593 Kolhapur had been chosen for preservation at Tyseley.
The locomotive was taken out of service in March 2022 for an overhaul.
| Home Base | Current Status | Owner |
| West Coast Railway Company – Carnforth | Awaiting overhaul | North of England Historic Railway Trust |
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 