No. 68873 was built in 1905 at Doncaster Works and entered service with the Great Northern Railway as its No. 1274, initially allocated locally at Doncaster goods yard. After becoming LNER No. 4274 in 1924, it was later renumbered as 8873 and made it into BR service in 1948 as No. 68873. It’s allocations also included King’s Cross, Hornsey and Colwick, before being condemned in September 1955.
The model is finished in plain black with BR early ‘cycling lion’ crest as applied in the 1950s, with the five-digit number on the increased-capacity bunker sides. The locomotive also has the later-type safety valves and steam injectors.