Austin was built in 1944 by Baldwin and was shipped to England as a surplus engine for the war effort, and was sent back to America after WW2, where he worked on the Pennsylvania Railroad until 1956 when he was sold to the Norfolk and Western, where he worked until 1960, and he was sold to a museum. In 1979, the North Western railway was experiencing a motive power crisis, and bought Austin, restoring and modifying him with UK-spec features, but kept his cowcatcher, chime whistle, and bell
