31147 Floreat Salopia entered traffic on 19 November 1959 as D5565, allocated to March Shed and the locomotive remained in East Anglia until 9 October 1965 when it moved north to Tinsley.

Renumbered to 31147 under the TOPS scheme, the locomotive was one of three Class 31s fitted with Radio Electronic Token Blocks for use over the Cambrian route, also carrying BR Regional Railways branding over its ‘Dutch’ livery until it was named Floreat Salopia by John Thompson, a Shropshire Star competition winner, at Shrewsbury Cotton Hill Depot’s Open Day on 30 May 1993.