31288 emerges from the fog at Wantage Road on 20 January 1979 with the 4A21 11:55 Bristol Temple Meads to Old Oak Common newspaper empties. The filthy state of the loco matches the gloomy weather. Although taken on Kodachrome 64, the poor light and the Praktica PLC2 camera have not helped the quality, however it does give a feel of the general drabness of the 1970s railway. Also, it clearly shows another aspect of railway photography in those days, as it is taken from the old platform at Wantage Road station, which was not really fenced off at all. Although perfectly safe, anybody attempting to take pictures from such locations nowadays would soon get apprehended. In the 1970s it was considered totally normal, and nobody bothered you!