South Western Railway №512

South Western Railway №512 is the sole surviving member of the SWR D9 class 0-6-0s. She was built at the SWR's Wheaton Locomotive Works in 1899. She was painted on the SWR's Highland Green Livery and ran on the railway until August 1917 when she was temporarily used by the Railway Operating Division's 9th Railway Squadron as a training vehicle to help with the training of new recruits. 512 returned to the SWR in March 1918 where she remained until December 1918 where she is reported to have been loaned to the War Department for a 2nd time to shunt ambulance trains.

  When the Etorean National Railways was formed in 1919, №512 became 10963 under the ENR's numbering scheme. Her number was later ammended to 47382 as she was seen as being ex - military at the time of numbering. By 1929, №47382 had found herway onto the Clickett Islands Branch Line running the short mixed - traffic trains from Pickworth on the Midland Main Line to Stratton in the Argamshire Dales. She was moved again to Burston Regis in 1948 where she performed shunting duties in the goods yard until she was withdrawn in 1957.

  She was initially sent to Pickerill's Yard for scrapping as 0-6-0 tender engines were still incredibly commonplace. But for the right (or wrong) reason she wound up having enough time to be preserved as the then owner, Gordon A. Pickerill was ill with influenza. During his recovery he received a letter from the newly formed 512 preservation fund who were making an enquiery about the purchase and possible preservation of the engine.

  She was sold to the fund in 1959 for ℳ︁300 and was disassembled and shipped to the Ayles Valley Railway for preservation. Repainted into her original livery, №512 ran again on 11th May 1982 after a 23 year long overhaul. She has returned to steam in November 2023 after receiving a new boiler after cracks were found in the previous one.