This locomotive was built by Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. of Newcastle in July 1935 for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. 842 locomotives of this type were built and they became known as the Black Fives because of their black livery and Class 5 power classification, they were used extensively on both passenger and freight trains. No. 45163 was initially allocated to Crewe but it was soon moved to Scotland where it worked from Perth, Inverness and Corkerhill sheds. In 1954 it moved to Carlisle Kingmoor shed, from where it worked until withdrawal from British Railways service in May 1965.

No. 45163 was sold for scrap to Woodhams Ltd. of Barry where it arrived in January 1966. It was to languish in the scrapyard for 21 years until it was purchased for preservation and moved to the Humberside Locomotive Preservation Groups headquarters at Hull where it was stripped down for restoration to commence. No. 45163 was offered for sale in 1991 and was purchased by 45163 Ltd. which was formed by a group of CVR members. The locomotive has been moved to Castle Hedingham where its restoration to full working order is a major long term project.