6695 was completed at Armstrong Whitworth’s Newcastle works in October 1928 and was given works number 983. 6695 was originally deployed to Tyseley and then in April 1929 to Leamington hauling outer suburban passenger services In September 1934, 6695 was transferred to freight work at Oxley near Wolverhampton and then to Wolverhampton Stafford Road in February 1938 but returned to Oxley in January 1939.
Motive power depot allocations.
| Date Arrived | Depot |
| October 1928 | Tyseley |
| April 1929 | Leamington |
| September 1934 | Oxley (Wolverhampton) |
| February 1938 | Stafford Road (Wolverhampton) |
| January 1939 | Oxley (Wolverhampton) |
| September 1939 | Swansea East Dock |
| June 1947 | Landore |
| June 1961 | Neath |
| October 1963 | Radyr (Cardiff) |
During its time at Tyseley and Leamington it has been employed on suburban passenger services from Birmingham’s Snow Hill station to Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington. Whilst based at other depots it was used to haul freight and passenger trains.
With the closure of Landore in May 1961 6695 moved to Neath from where it was deployed in November 1961 on the last scheduled through passenger train from Neath General to Treherbert.
6695 was withdrawn from service in July 1964, after completing more than 620,000 miles, and sold to Woodham’s Scrapyard at Barry Island in South Wales.
The locomotive left the Barry scrapyard in May 1979 following its purchase by the 56XX Tank Group (From 1995 called the 6695 Locomotive Group) and was then dismantled at Swanage. By 2006 the restoration work was completed at Herston Works.
In 2015 it was damaged whilst being transported on a low-loader and subsequently dismantled and prepared for a full overhaul. The overhaul has since started on the West Somerset Railway with the locomotive expected to steam again in 2018 or 2019.
In 2017 discussions between the locomotive owners (the 6695 Locomotive Group) and the Swanage Railway resulted in an agreement for 6695 to stay on the West Somerset Railway for a 25 year period following the completion of the overhaul at Williton.
It had been hoped to have the locomotive back in steam in time for the 2019 season but during 2017 it became clear that it would be late 2019 or more likely 2020 before it was operational again.
In January 2018 the boiler was transported to the Flour Mill for overhaul.
By mid 2018 the forecast was that the locomotive would return to steam in late 2019 or 2020 depending on funds available.
In December 2019 in was announced that the locomotive would be based on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway following agreement between the locomotive owners and the Swindon & Cricklade Railway. The overhaul of the locomotive will now be completed at its new base where it is scheduled to return to steam. The return to steam was scheduled for 2020 but was later amended to 2021 but this was also sooner than achieved.
In April 2022 it was reported that the boiler had been refitted to the frames of the locomotive at Blunsdon on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway. This followed the boiler being overhauled and tested at the Flour Mill. At this time it was hoped to have the locomotive in service during the summer of 2022.
In July 2022 the locomotive had a fire lit in its boiler in July 2022 with the hope that it would be in traffic in September of that year.
The locomotive was returned to steam in September 2022 and an official launch into traffic was planned for 2023.
| Home Base | Current Status | Owner |
| Swindon & Cricklade Railway | Operational | 6695 Locomotive Group |
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 