D2022 (03022) is pictured at Blunsdon station on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway on 2 March 1988. The loco looks smart in its lined green livery, but the surroundings are a little disorganised. Two decades later the loco is the same, and the station has been finished and the area generally tidied up, but the background has disappeared behind increasing vegetation!

2022 (03022) stands at Blunsdon station on the Swindon & Cricklade Railway on 28 September 2008 prior to working the 11:00 departure to South Meadow Lane. To do this it would simply propel the two coach train from the rear. This is the first train of the day as can be seen by the fact that the station is deserted! The early morning fog had only just cleared, hence the slight misty look in the background. 03022 was acquired by the Swindon & Cricklade Railway in 1983 direct from BR. Between 1988 and 1995 it was loaned to Coopers (Metals) Ltd at Swindon.

Still wearing its faded yellow paintwork from its previous employment with the Tees & Hartlepool Dock Authority at Middlesbrough, D2024 stands in the sunshine at Rolvenden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway on 27 May 1991. It entered BR service in 1958 and was initially allocated to Lincoln, but it became one of numerous 03s withdrawn before the introduction of TOPS number, so never acquired the 03024 number that was theoretically left vacant for it. After nine years use as a dock shunter it passed into preservation, but little work has been done on it since.

D2024 photographed in 2024! The locomotive is pictured at Tenterden, on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, on 29 August 2024. It looks to be in worse condition than when I photographed it on the same railway in 1991. The coach on the right has been specially painted by local artist Sam Cox (Mr Doodle), who has covered every inch of his Tenterden home with doodle art!

During the early years of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, the railway was not yet home to numerous mainline diesel locos, and so Diesel Galas tended to use more basic motive power. On 3 October 1992, 03069 gets its chance to traverse the whole line, as it works the 12:00 Toddington to Gretton service, seen here passing Hailes in the rain.

Early preservation days on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, and the 3 October 1992 Diesel Gala just has a Class 03 and a two car Class 108 DMU (still in undercoat) in service. 03069 detaches from its two Mk2 coaches in a weed choked platform 2, while the DMU (52062 & 51950) leaves the station, en-route to Gretton. The lack of traction variety, and the rain probably explains the limited number of prospective passengers.

I'm not sure who's doing all the work here! 03069 pilots Bagnall 0-6-0 No.2 Byfield with the 12:30 Toddington to Gretton service on 20 March 1993, seen here passing Hailes. This was during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Spring Gala. Note the recent burning of the cutting side, a traditional railway technique for keeping the lineside clear of vegetation. Sadly this is no longer done on the national network with the result that most locations are now very now overgrown.

03069 approaches Gretton with the 11:45 service from Toddington during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala on 14 November 1993. Pending the arrival of so many mainline diesel locomotives, this humble shunter was used for more passenger work than is the case now. Its 28 mph top speed is adequate for a preserved line and this three coach load is hardly going to tax its 204 hp either!

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Diesel Gala 1990s style! 03069 heads away from Gretton, en-route back to Toddington on 14 November 1993, during the line's Diesel Gala. At the time the little loco got to traverse the whole line, as there wasn't much else, apart from 50021 Rodney. With a large fleet of mainline diesels now at the line, scenes such as this are unlikely to be repeated.

03069 stands in the as yet unused up platform at Winchcombe on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway on 8 May 1994 with a couple of GWR liveried Mk1 coaches. Further coaches can be seen in the background around the former goods shed, now the line's carriage & wagon department. Note that the semaphore signals in the background have also yet to be commissioned.

03069 shunts the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Class 108 DMU (51950 & 52062) at Toddington during the line's Diesel Gala on 9 November 1996. Sine this picture was taken the 03 has been repainted into BR green livery, whilst the 108, which for a number of years in the mid 1990s working extensively on the line, has been sidelined at Winchcombe.

In dramatic lighting just after a heavy shower, 03079 leaves Murton station on the Derwent Valley Railway with the 15:30 departure on 29 June 2008. The railway only has a short section of track, and a round trip on the line only takes a few minutes, with trains working in top'n'tail mode due to the absence of any run round loops. The railway is situated adjacent to Murton Park, home of the excellent Yorkshire Museum of Farming, which is well worth a visit.

03084 stands amid the weeds in Whitemoor Yard, March on 16 August 1988 in the company of classmate 03158. Although their early careers were completely different, these two locos seem to have become inseparable since they were both withdrawn on the same day (5 July 1987). After spending a while together with all the other scarp locos at Whitemoor (mainly Class 45 'Peaks' as can be seen here), they both entered preservation with Peak Rail at Matlock, only to both move to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway!

On 1 September 2018, D2094 stands at Milton of Crathes station, on the Royal Deeside Railway, prior to propelling the 11:00 service along the one mile section of reopened line to Birkenbaud Crossing, near Banchory. D2094 (as 03094) was withdrawn from BR service in 1988, and after a few years industrial use, entered preservation, eventually arriving in Scotland in 2010.

03119 arrives at North Weald on 24 September 2017 with the 2E16 12:58 Epping Forest to Ongar service, during the Epping Ongar Railway's Diesel Gala. With just four coaches and a top speed of 28mph, on a preserved line the humble 03 is just as suitable as anything else for working passengers trains!

In addition to an extensive passenger service, that was utilising the line's capacity to the limit, the Epping Ongar Railway's 2017 Diesel Gala also featured 'Driver for a Fiver' trips using 03170, which shuttled up and down through North Weald station between trains. It is seen here returning after the 10:02 trip on 24 September 2017.

The star attraction at the Nene Valley Railway's Diesel Gala over the weekend of 1 & 2 March 2008 was 03179 Clive, which had been loaned to the railway by First Capital Connect. 03179 was the last 03 to operate over the national network. On Saturday 1 March it is pictured arriving at Yarwell Junction in superb lighting with the 1E46 10:30 Wansford to Peterborough service. I really thought that this picture was going to be ruined by the cloud that was building up rapidly, but luckily just as the train arrived the sun reappeared, leaving an impressive background of dark clouds. Definitely not your standard railway picture - a purple shunter on foreign coaching stock with a ridiculously inappropriate 'Santa Special' headboard!

On a miserably dull 15 March 1998, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's two class 03s (D2182 & 03069) make an odd sight as they are coupled back to back during the line's Diesel Gala, seen here passing Dixton as the head away from Gotherington towards Toddington. 03069 has since joined its classmate by being 'backdated' into green livery.

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's D2182 leaves Winchcombe, en-route to Toddington on 20 December 1998. I wouldn't normally bother to photograph a light engine move, but the little loco, high on the embankment, makes a striking colour contrast with the pile of whatever it is in the foreground!

D2182 trundles past the 11½ milepost between Winchcombe and Hailes on 10 July 2009 whilst working the 11:00 Winchcombe to Toddington service during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's 'Shunterfest' Diesel Gala. This superb lighting didn't last long, and as I heard the 03 approaching I just wished it could go a bit faster. Although its top speed is theoretically 28mph and therefore very speedy for a shunter, it seemed to takes ages to appear from behind the bush, although thankfully for once the sun did stay out long enough!

With the Cotswold Hills in the background, D2182 arrives at Toddington on 10 July 2009 with the 16:50 train from Winchcombe and passes Class 04 look-alike Drewry 2574 (painted as BR 11230). Both locos were taking part in the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's 'Shunterfest' Diesel Gala.

D2182, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Class 03, is pictured outside the Winchcombe carriage & wagon works on 18 June 2016, with several yet to be restored Mk1 coaches in the background. This picture was taken from the 11:16 Laverton to Winchcombe DMU.

A big journey for a little locomotive. D2192 crosses Greenway Viaduct on 20 June 1992 with the 17:20 Kingswear to Paignton service, during the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway's Diesel Gala. With a suitably small load, the loco's top speed of 28.5mph is no handicap on a 25mph restricted heritage line, but 6.7 miles is still quite an outing!

The location of this picture is obviously self explanatory! D2192 is pictured at Churston on 16 October 1993. Withdrawn from BR in 1969, it found its way to the Dart Valley Railway the following year, and then in 1977 it moved to the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway, where it has been ever since.