The locomotive was returned to Sydney in 1912 and in 1914 moved to Goulburn, where it hauled trains on the Bombala line to Queanbeyan.

In 1932, 1210 was declared obsolete and withdrawn from service but not scrapped due to a shortage of engines and in 1935 assigned to Moree to haul local branch line trains.

In 1955 for the centenary of rail operations in New South Wales, with sister locomotive 1243 hauled the Vintage Train across the state for railway celebrations.

Bruce Macdonald and the society successfully appealed to the National Capital Development Commission and the Department of Railways to assist in the locomotive's preservation.

[5] On 27 January 1962, 1210 in company with 1243 left Sydney hauling a special service to Canberra for the formal presentation ceremony.

[12] In the early 2010s, 1210 underwent mechanical and boiler works in the hope it could be back in steam for the Centenary of Rail to Canberra in May 2014.