Entering traffic in May 1959 as D212 she was allocated to Willesden. Various moves followed with the longest home depot being Carlisle Kingmoor. 212 became 40012 in February 1974 whilst allocated to Manchester's Longsight depot. 40012 later gained the departmental number 97407 and worked, along with almost all of the now preserved examples, on the resignalling of Crewe. 97407 was finally withdrawn in April 1986 and returned to Carlisle with 97408 (40118). Both locos being used as a source of spares for D200 (40122) which had many railtour commitments at the time.

Purchased by the Class 40 Appeal in May 1988, after asbestos removal at Vic Berry's in Leicester, 40012 arrived at the Midland Railway Centre on the 3rd March 1989. There was however a long road ahead and the loco was successfully started in late 1992, working its first passenger trains on the 17th July 1993. 40012 visited the ELR for the 40s at 60 Event 13th to 15th of April 2018, joining D200, D213, 40106, 40135 and 40145 at the gathering.

See the Class 40 Appeal Website for much more infomation on D212's history including Photo Galleries of the loco over the years.

In 2023 Aureol relocated from the Midland Railway Centre to the East Lancashire Railway, arriving at Bury on Thursday 20th July, fittingly towed by classmate 40145. 40012 has been a regular and popular perfomer since arrival at the ELR having worked service and works trains along with taking part in Diesel and DMU events.

As with all preserved traction, a small team are working to keep the loco running and make improvements. Recently this has included a turbo swap and progress continues at a steady pace.

Please visit the Class 40 Appeal Website for more