166212 Shorthampton 6 October 2012

166212 passes Shorthampton on 6 October 2012 with the 1P40 09:51 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. This is one of those unusual locations that has actually got better from a photographic point of view, although it is now already reverting to its former overgrown state. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s it was virtually impossible to take anything other than a head on shot here, but the reinstatement of double track saw a massive blitz on the lineside vegetation. Unfortunately, as gardeners know, pruning encourages growth. Compare this scene with a picture of the same unit passing the spot three years before.