165101 passes Didcot North Junction on 20 May 1992 with the 2C68 18:01 Reading to Oxford Network SouthEast service. The unit is brand new, and had only been in traffic for a few days. The class had been introduced into passenger service just over a month earlier, initially with drafted in Class 165/0s, which would later be used on the Chiltern route out of Marylebone. Note how rural this location looks in this view, a far cry from the situation today. An industrial estate now occupies the field on the right, and a housing estate has obliterated the field in the background.

With a wave from the driver, and an unexpected and slightly distorted reflection of myself in the windscreen, 165101 leads 165103 round 'Cemetery Curve' on the approach to Oxford station with the 2C40 13:30 Reading to Oxford Network SouthEast service on 27 December 1993. The NSE livery certainly looked impressive on these units, especially in nice low winter lighting such as this. Note the dark clouds in the background, proving that this good lighting wasn't going to last. The buildings in the background occupy the site of Oxford's former railway goods depot.

Immaculately clean 165101 leaves Oxford station on 13 May 1995 with the 2A32 08:41 Oxford to Paddington service. This was during the privatisation hiatus period, when Network SouthEast had officially ceased to exist, but before Thames Trains took over the following year. After becoming progressively more choked with weeds, the sidings in the foreground would be ripped up three years after this picture was taken, and replaced by a car park.

Transition time at Oxford on 16 August 1997. Part of the former goods yard has been fenced off, and work has started on converting it to a car park. In the background 165101 leaves the station with the 10:03 Oxford to Paddington Thames Trains service. There always used to be complaints about the scrapyard that occupied the goods yard site in latter years, and how it wasn't a very good advert for Oxford for passengers arriving from London. Presumably that is why the plywood fence has been erected, to hide the equally ugly Portakabins from view!

165101 heads along the up relief line near the site of the Second World War Moreton Sidings (just east of Didcot) with the 10:21 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western 'all stations' service on 12 November 2007. There's no doubting that FGW's livery really suits these units, which are anyway one of the less atheistically challenged of the modern generation of DMUs.

Passing First Great Western Class 165 Turbo units at Hinksey Yard on 30 December 2008. 165101 heads south with the 1P47 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington  service, while in the background 165104, which had been waiting at the signal with the 12:50 Paddington to Oxford has just got the 'feathers' to cross the up line that 165101 has just traversed and enter the bi-directional line to take it into platform 1 at Oxford.

165101 slows down on the approach to Tackley station whilst working the 17:25 Paddington to Banbury First Great Western service on 21 May 2009. This low level close up view shows off the intricate wavy lines design of FGW's latest livery.

165101 gives the impression of running wrong line at Shorthampton on 3 May 2011, whilst working the 1W41 14:21 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh First Great Western service. It is as well that it is not running on the 'correct' line, as that ends just a few yards further on! The reinstalled second track on the Cotswold Line is here forming the new down line, however, just past the next bridge the new line is on the up alignment. As of May 2011 there is a gap in the doubling at this point, as the single running line will have to be split during the forthcoming shutdown.

165101 approaches Didcot North Junction on 20 October 2011 with the 1P27 09:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. The trees behind the train hide what used to be a distant view of the Appleford crossing signal box.

165101 passes Hinksey Yard on 15 February 2013 with the 1P43 11:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. On the left, the 4M66 09:32 Southampton Western Docks to Birch Coppice intermodal waits, as booked, in the down loop.

Superb spring sunshine at Ruscombe on 1 May 2013. 165101 passes through the shallow cutting with the 1P19 09:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This was my last visit to this well known location, as the Great Western Mainline electfrication programme effectively ruined it forever shortly afterwards, making return visits pointless.

165101 runs along the up relief line near Cholsey on 15 November 2013 with the 2P56 13:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. The train will shortly be calling at Cholsey station. An everyday scene that has now gone forever, with electrification masts and paraphernalia completely obliterating the view.

165101 slows down for its stop at Cholsey station on 8 July 2014, as it works the 2P22 06:25 Banbury to Paddington First Great Western service. Preparation for the forthcoming electrification can be seen, with steel piles on the trackside, some of which have not yet been fully driven home. Also, the first masts can be seen in the background.

165101 approaches Hanborough on 24 February 2015 with the 1P43 11:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. The recent tree clearance here has opened up the view considerably, and is now even better than it was in the 1980s.

165101 leaves Oxford station on 1 April 2015 with the 1P25 07:28 Banbury to Paddington First Great Western service. This location has changed markedly since I first started taking photos, and even more so since I first visited in the early 1970s.

A Class 165 & 166 combination at Culham on 30 June 2015. 165101 & 166202 head north with the 2N64 18:25 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. Every single window in the non air-conditioned Class 165 is open, but just a few of the small number of available windows in the air-con fitted Class 166 are open

165101 approaches Kings Sutton on 28 August 2015 with the 1P25 07:28 Banbury to Paddington First Great Western service. Photo taken from the public footpath crossing that links Kings Sutton village with the Twyford Wharf road.

165101 passes Hinksey Yard on 11 February 2016 with the 1P45 13:01 Oxford to Reading GWR service. Just visible underneath the footbridge in the background is 31452, which is waiting to proceed to Eastleigh as the 0Y57 09:00 Derby to Eastleigh light engine. On the left the driver of the excavator walks back, after driving his machine along the ballast from the south end of the yard.

165101 approaches Cholsey on 20 January 2017 with the 2P54 13:07 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. On the right is the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway's line, which parallels the mainline for the last few yards into Cholsey station. Note the 10mph restriction sign.

165101 passes Hinksey Yard on 7 February 2018 with the 2L37 13:37 Oxford to Didcot Parkway GWR service. The unit's green livery may be a bit dull, but the same cannot be said for the red MXA ballast wagons on the left!

Golden early morning light at Moreton-in-Marsh on 19 April 2018. 165101 is less than a minute into its journey, as it accelerates away from the station (between the two bridge in the background) with the 1P14 07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service.

As a couple of large horse boxes vie for supremacy on the M5 motorway in the background, 165101 passes Norton on 7 July 2018 with the 1Z54 17:00 Moreton-in-Marsh to Great Malvern GWR service. The Cotswold Line was closed south of Moreton-in-Marsh, as extensive engineering works was taking place at Oxford. A two week shutdown would see extensive track alterations and replacement of he 1970s signalling equipment. Network Rail, who ought to know better, claim that Oxford's signalling dates from the 1960s, when it fact it dates from 7 October 1973!

With the splitting of the Turbo fleet between Reading and Bristol, the type has become relatively common visitors to the Great Western Mainline once again. They had not been generally seen since the aborted Oxford to Bristol passenger service of the late 1990s. 165101 & 165105 slowly approach a red signal at Challow on 11 July 2018, as they prepare for a brief stop on the down relief line, whilst working the 3Z34 12:20 Reading Traincare Depot to Worcester Shrub Hill ECS.

165101 passes Chilson on 7 September 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. I almost got a Turbo passing shot here, as just 23 seconds later, 165130 passed by in the other direction with the early running 5Q66 08:20 Reading Traincare Depot to Long Marston ECS.

A frosty morning at Ascott-under-Wychwood on 4 January 2019. 165101 passes by with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. The train is passing the point where the double track section formerly ended, until the redoubling of the line from here to Charlbury in 2011. Note that there is still a slight curve, as the old section of double track was more widely spaced than the new section.

There is a lot of low cloud and fog in the background, but in the foreground the sun is out, albeit rather weakly, as 165101 passes Hungerford Common on 24 September 2021 with the 2T10 09:43 Bedwyn to Newbury GWR service.

The foreground may still be in shade, but the rest of the scene is beautifully lit, as 165101 sweeps round the curve on the approach to Hungerford on 22 November 2021 with the 2T11 09:24 Bedwyn to Newbury GWR service.

Immaculate brand new 165102 is obviously on its first day in traffic, as it passes Lower Basildon on 15 May 1992 with the 2C60 17:05 Reading to Banbury Network SouthEast service. This was the transition period, with brand new Turbo units working alongside the thirty year old Pressed Steel Class 117s.

Brand new 165102 passes South Moreton on 18 May 1992 with the 18:01 Reading to Oxford Network SouthEast service. A deliberately wide view was chosen here, in order to include the blossom covered hawthorn bush.

165102 leads an unidentified classmate through Pangbourne cutting on 28 April 1993 with the 1F66 17:38 Paddington to Didcot Parkway Network SouthEast service. The second unit was probably identified at the time, but this was shortly before I managed to loose my notebook, so several month's worth of details were lost!

165102 passes Churchill Heath on 27 June 1993 with the 1F17 14:38 Great Malvern to Paddington Network SouthEast service. At the time Class 165s were common on the Cotswold Line, having not yet been largely replaced by the then brand new Class 166s. For over two decades the Class 166s worked the majority of the unit diagrams on the route, with the exception of the daily 'all stations' service. However, the mass migration of the 166s to the Bristol area in late 2017, has seen the 165s once again become the dominant type of unit.

165102 arrives at a slightly damp Hungerford station on 9 June 2002 with the 1K35 11:03 Bedwyn to Paddington Thames Trains service. It is crossing over Station Road, which is only a little used back road, the much busier High Street passes underneath the line in the background. On the left is the distinctive tower of Hungerford's Town Hall.

In Thames Trains livery with First branding, 165102 passes the south end of Hinksey Yard with the 13:00 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western Link service on 16 October 2005. Note that the faring underneath the coupler has been shattered with a large section missing leaving a ragged edge on the left side.

A close up view of 165102 as it passes Cholsey on 6 December 2006 with the 12:38 Banbury to Paddington 'all stations' First Great Western service. This makes an interesting comparison to 166215 which passed by a little earlier with the 12:45 Oxford to Paddington. I will leave you to decide whether this former Thames Trains livery or 166215's First Great Western livery suits these Turbo units the best.

165102 ambles past a well filled Hinksey Yard on 21 April 2007 with the 16:51 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Hinksey Lake can just be seen behind the bushes, but the vegetation now obscures the view of Oxford's 'Dreaming Spires'.

165102 speeds past Didcot North Junction on 3 September 2014 with the 1P41 12:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This train is taking the Didcot avoiding line, as it is a limited stop (Reading and Slough only) service. The equivalent train 30 years ago would be ten Mk 1 coaches hauled by a Class 50. I'll leave you to consider which is the better option!

With the chimney of the disused Didcot A coal fired power station prominent in the background, 165102 runs along the up relief line at South Moreton (Didcot East) on 19 December 2014 with the 2P44 10:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Next stop Cholsey, a couple of miles away.

A fine show of catkins at Whitehill (between Finstock and Combe) on 12 February 2015. 165102 heads south with the 1P43 11:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the recent bush clearance work, and new fence on the right.

165102 crosses the bridge over the River Cherwell and Oxford Canal by the site of Bletchingdon station on 5 May 2016. It is working the 2L49 17:23 Banbury to Oxford GWR service, which has just called at Tackley station, which is just out of sight around the corner, at the end of the long straight.

Early morning at Kennington on 9 September 2017. 165102 heads south with the 2P34 08:07 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. There is not much of a colour contrast here, with virtually everything in the picture being green!

165102 passes Finstock station on 19 December 2017 with the 1P39 10:22 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. Two new stop boards have just been installed, in preparation for the introduction of the Class 800 DMUs. The 9 car, and 5/10 car boards can be seen just beyond the end of the platform, just passed the 2 car DMU stop notice. The two HST stop boards are further back, near the signal cabinet in the background.

165102 passes the pile of track panels at Wolvercote on 30 June 2018 with the 2M52 18:01 Didcot Parkway to Banbury GWR service. Green foliage, green palisade fence, and green train! The trees hide both the Oxford canal, and the houses in Wolvercote.

165102 sits in the reversing siding at Great Bedwyn on 2 July 2018 with the 5K65 16:31 Bedwyn to Bedwyn ECS. It had arrived a little earlier as the 1K18 15:06 Paddington to Bedwyn GWR service, and would soon be making the short trip back to the station to form the 2K65 16:45 Bedwyn to Reading.

165102 traverses Didcot North Junction on 9 July 2019 with the 2L47 16:07 Oxford to Reading GWR service. This was one of those situations where any chance of sunshine disappeared as soon as I arrived at the lineside!

165103 passes the completely deserted Hinksey Yard on 25 June 1993, as it approaches journey's end with the 1F50 15:48 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. This was two years after the end of Speedlink, and before the yard became a storage location for redundant stock, and then latterly a ballast stockpile, so for a while its future looked bleak.

165103 leaves Didcot station on 31 July 1992 with the 1F62 17:20 Paddington to Banbury Network SouthEast service. 18:15 should be rush hour, but the station doesn't look very busy. A single passenger walks along platform 1, and a couple more can be seen under the awning on platform 4, but that's it!

165103 arrives at Moreton-in-Marsh station on 2 July 1995 with the 10:20 Paddington to Great Malvern service. This train was booked to wait here for 17 minutes, as it couldn't access the single line to Evesham until the 1O09 10:30 Wolverhampton to Poole loco hauled service had arrived at the station.

165103 approaches Culham on 20 June 1998 with the 2C66 19:30 Reading to Oxford Thames Trains service. This location later became obstructed by lineside bushes, which were cut down in 2014 in preparation for the forthcoming electrification. Due to Network Rail's incompetence this has now been abandoned, at least temporarily!

165103 speeds through Appleford station on 2 July 2009 with the late running 2P62 15:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Although stopping at more stations than the proceeding 15:01 departure from Oxford, it still isn't one of the limited number of trains that actually call at this diminutive station.

165103 runs alongside the Kennet & Avon Canal at Little Bedwyn on 8 October 2009 with the 09:36 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service. Although I have taken various pictures over the years from the bridge in the background, looking across the lock, amazingly this is the first picture I have taken from this particular spot for over thirty years!

165103 & 165137 approach Didcot North Junction on 8 October 2010 with the 2P60 14:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Appleford church, and the Culham Science Centre are both clearly visible in the clear autumn sunshine.

165103 runs along the up relief line at Ruscombe on 22 July 2012 with the 1P26 08:50 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Twyford station (which this particular train did not call at) is just out of sight in the background.

165103 approaches Radley on 31 August 2012 with the 1P30 09:31 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This is one of the numerous 'express' services (as they used to be called), only calling at Reading and Slough, during its 59 minute journey.

165103 approaches Cholsey on 2 January 2015 with the 2P42 09:35 Banbury to Paddington First Great Western service. Piles on the right, and masts on the left herald the arrival of the massively delayed Great Western Mainline electfrication programme.

With oilseed rape dominating the foreground, and the sorry remains of the disused Didcot Power Station in the background, 165103 approaches Cholsey on 28 April 2015 with the 1P22 07:21 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service.

165103 approaches Didcot North Junction on 10 July 2015 with the 1D09 06:20 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. This would normally be a HST diagram, but due to the RMT union's 48 hour strike, most trains to Oxford were being operated by Turbo units instead of HSTs. Interestingly, this kept virtually perfect time, showing just how slack some HST times now are.

After having had some of their Class 166s in green livery for over a year, a start was made in late 2016 to paint GWR's Class 165s into the same colour scheme. 165103 passes Hinksey Yard on 2 November 2016 with the 1P45 13:01 Oxford to Paddington service.

With the last of the early morning mist from the nearby River Thames still lingering on the right, 165103 passes Kennington on 3 April 2017 with the 1P22 07:21 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. Kennington Junction, where the Morris Cowley branch diverges to the right, can just be seen in the background.

165103 approaches Didcot North Junction on 28 August 2017 with the 2P42 09:35 Banbury to Paddington GWR service. In the background are a few random masts of the abandoned Didcot to Oxford electfrication scheme.

165103 passes the south end of Hinksey Yard on 11 August 2018 with the 2V21 09:09 Banbury to Didcot Parkway GWR service. The signal gantry is a recent addition, part of the Oxford area resignalling programme.

Shortly before the class was replaced by the new Class 800 bi-mode units on these trains, 165103 approaches Hungerford Common on 15 May 2019 with the 1K18 15:06 Paddington to Bedwyn GWR service. I suppose the change from a 165 to a 800 is an upgrade, but the change from the HSTs that used to operate the long distance trains on this route, to a 800 is a definite downgrade!

165103 passes Cornbury Park on 9 May 2021, as it approaches Charlbury with the 1W39 13:14 Reading to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. An emergency timetable was in operation, with Turbo units substituting for the normal Class 800s, which had all been withdrawn due to underframe cracks being discovered on several units.

165103 passes Claydon on 11 November 2023 with the 2E55 08:38 Bristol Temple Meads to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. It will shortly be calling at Ashchurch for Tewkesbury station, situated just beyond the bridge in the background.

165104 passes the classic location of Little Bedwyn on 26 March 1999, as it nears journey's end with the 10:28 Paddington to Bedwyn Thames Trains service. Unfortunately the beech hedge that separates the railway from the Kennet & Avon Canal has grown considerably since this picture was taken, and the viewpoint is no longer as open as this.

165104 approaches Tackley station on 4 June 2001 with the 16:48 Paddington to Stratford-upon-Avon Thames Trains service. The cottage next to the bridleway crossing was demolished shortly after this picture was taken. The village residents no longer have this convenient through service to Stratford, although presumably the present Oxford to Banbury trains cater for most local needs.

Although like most photographers, I prefer to take pictures in full sun, just occasionally other conditions yield a good result. I have always wanted to try taking pictures in really heavy rain, but naturally I have never deliberately set out in such conditions just to get a picture! If I was already at a location when the weather took a turn for the worse, then that's a different story. This sudden torrential downpour at Heyford on 16 August 2001 was definitely worth recording. 165104 pulls out of the station with the 16:48 Paddington to Stratford-upon-Avon Thames Trains service, in monsoon conditions.

165104 passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 9 October 2003 with the 2F47 15:07 Paddington to Oxford Thames Trains service. The short lived Thames Trains livery perhaps wasn't the best choice of colour for a railway vehicle, with the large areas of white being difficult to keep clean. As can be seen here, they never seemed to quite manage it, although Chiltern Railways with their similar livery, seemed to be able to keep their fleet fairly clean.

165104 passes Lower Basildon on 3 February 2007 with the  13:30 Paddington to Oxford service. Note the First Great Western Link branding on the Thames Trains livery. The 'Link' name was quickly dropped, and the services were incorporated into the FGW franchise.

165104 accelerates away from Kintbury with the late running 14:18 Paddington to Bedwyn First Great Western service on 2 April 2007. This commendably clean (with the exception of the fairing underneath the coupler!) unit is still carrying Thames Trains livery with the addition of First Great Western Link branding.

165104 ambles along the up relief line at Waltham St Lawrence on 27 July 2007 with the 09:49 Reading to Paddington First Great Western service. The bridge in the background is known as Chalkpit Bridge, and carries the bridleway from Waltham St Lawrence to Knowl Hill. Old maps show a limekiln as well as a chalk pit in the trees approximately above the train, in addition there was another chalk pit on the south side of the line.

165104 & 166203 pass Hinksey Yard on 24 September 2009 with the 15:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. In three car form there is very little to distinguish Class 165s & 166s, probably the most noticeable difference being the different shape of the roof ventilators. Another clear difference here is that virtually all the hopper window ventilators are open on the leading 165, while the 166 at the rear benefits from air conditioning and appears to have only one open window.

Icicles hang from the yard lights, as 165104 passes Hinksey on 9 January 2010 with the 2P52 12:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. The lying snow reveals that several of the tracks in Hinksey Yard have not seen any movement in a while.

On 22 September 2010 at South Moreton, 165104 weaves across from the up relief to the up main line at full speed, after having bypassed Didcot on the east curve whilst working the 1P41 12:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Although of course the Class 165/1s & 166s are virtually interchangeable, it was at one time usual for these fast services (this train stops only at Reading and Slough) to be operated by the Class 166s, while the Class 165 tended to be used for the stopping services. This distinction rarely applies nowadays. Both types have a 90mph top speed, but of course the Class 165s lack air conditioning.

Most First Great Western services on the Cherwell Valley route are operated by two car Class 165 units. As the trains are primarily a local service, serving Tackley, Heyford and Kings Sutton stations, the limited capacity is adequate, as Oxford to Banbury passengers can also use the quicker CrossCountry trains. However, this train has originated from Paddington rather than Oxford and consequently a three car unit is used. 165104 accelerates away from Kings Sutton 3 June 2011 with the 2M50 15:57 Paddington to Banbury service.

With Lower Court Farm, Chadlington just visible through the trees in the background, 165104 passes Shorthampton on 6 January 2012 with the 1P37 09:51 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. The low angle of the sun highlights the remnants of medieval ridge and furrow ploughing in the foreground, a common feature around ancient village sites such as Shorthampton. Note also the small valley (dry in this case) leading down towards the River Evenlode. The existence of a reliable spring in the next such valley to the west is obviously why the site was chosen to build the village in the first place.

Just a few weeks before one set of Didcot Power Station's cooling towers was demolished as part of the site's decommissioning, 165104 approaches Cholsey on 8 July 2014 with the 1P22 07:21 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service.

165104 pulls out of Oxford station on 1 April 2015 with the 2P36 08:35 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. The 1M26 06:30 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry Voyager can be seen in the background, with 180106 just visible in the background, stabled in the down carriage sidings. The photographers on the right are presumably discussing the steam hauled special, which departed a few minutes earlier, hauled by LNER B1 61306 Mayflower.

165104 prepares to call at Culham station on 9 July 2015 with the 1D37 18:18 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. Lineside vegetation is once again becoming a problem for photographers at this location.

165104 slowly approaches Kings Sutton, as it prepares to call at the station on 10 July 2015 with the 2M50 15:57 Paddington to Banbury First Great Western service. Kings Sutton is served by both GWR and Chiltern Railways trains.

165104 arrives at Cholsey station on 20 January 2017 with the 2P50 12:07 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. Note that this unit is in plain overall green, without any GWR branding. Despite platform 2 (on the fast lines, to the left of the fence) being locked out of use, there are constant "Stand clear, through train approaching" announcements! Platform 2 is only used when the relief lines are closed for engineering works.

165104 approaches Didcot North Junction on 26 November 2017 with the 1P30 09:55 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. The electfrication masts in the background herald the imminent end of yet another well known Thames Valley photographic location.

165104 & 165135 approach Grintleyhill Bridge, Combe, on 19 January 2018 with the late running 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service, which on this occasion was terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill. The train would split at Moreton-in-Marsh, with 165135 returning as the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington. 165104 would return later as the 1P27 11:15 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington.

165104 comes off the Cotswold Line at Wolvercote Junction on 19 January 2018 with the 1P27 11:15 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. Despite sections of the Cotswold Line being redoubled in 2011, there is still a long single track section from here to Charlbury.

165104 passes Didcot North Junction on 16 February 2018 with the 2L29 11:37 Oxford to Didcot Parkway GWR service. I had been expecting to get my first picture at this location of a Class 800 bi-mode unit just before this arrived, but that working, the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington, was terminated at Oxford. This brought to an end a truly appalling week of train services over the Cotswold Line. Five trains cancelled on Monday, three on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, an unbelievable eight on Thursday, and two on Friday. Although not necessarily due to the introduction of the new Class 800s, this is a totally unacceptable level of service, and the worst I can ever remember on the Cotswold Line. Bring back Class 50s and Class 117 DMUs. I don't recall there be many cancellations in the 1980s!

A fine spring morning at Chilson on 21 March 2018 sees 165104 just dodging the early morning shadows with the 1P14 07:12 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. This was running just one minute late, but that was enough to make sure I got the picture. I didn't intend to arrive in time for this, but lack of any early morning traffic meant that I arrived earlier than anticipated, and just at the train's booked time. I could hear it approaching as soon as I got out of the car!

165104 & 165108 approach Moreton-in-Marsh on 6 August 2018 with the 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. 165108 will be detached at Moreton, and work back south again shortly afterwards as the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington service.

Evidence of some very welcome recent extensive tree clearance at Finstock station on 3 October 2018. 165104 speeds through the miniature stopping place with the 1P27 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service.

165104 passes Hungerford Common on 27 February 2019 with the 1K12 12:06 Paddington to Bedwyn GWR service. The common has always been a wide open space, but now after much vegetation clearance, the lineside is treeless as well.

165104 & 165114 pass Cornbury Park (Charlbury) on 30 April 2019 with the late running 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. This train would divide at Moreton-in-Marsh, with 165114 heading back south as the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington.

165104 passes Froxfield on 20 July 2020 with the 2K31 09:24 Bedwyn to Reading GWR service. These trains had gone over to Class 800 operation the previous year, bur the coronavirus crisis saw them revert to their former stock.

Fresh out of the box! On its first day in revenue earning service, 165105 passes South Moreton on 18 May 1992 with the 1F62 17:20 Paddington to Banbury Network SouthEast service. You can certainly tell that this is the unit's first day out, as there is hardly a spot on the largely white NSE paintwork. Even the exhaust silencer is still highly polished and gleaming. This is one of the very first outings for a Class 165/1 unit, as previously Class 165/0s had been transferred in from the Chiltern Line due to the late delivery of the Thames Valley's own units.

165105 slowly approaches Norton Junction on 7 May 1993 with the 08:36 Worcester Foregate Street to Oxford Network SouthEast service. The signalman (who is preparing to exchange tokens) has already returned the semaphore signal to danger.

165105 stands at Kingham station on 21 September 1996 with the 1A23 07:14 Hereford to Paddington service. The trees have grown up considerably since this picture was taken, giving a much less open look to the station. The footbridge has been replaced, but happily however, the GWR style running in board is still in place.

165105 has just passed under the A423 Oxford ring road (surprisingly free of traffic considering it is the rush hour) and is approaching Hinksey Yard on 2 May 2007 with the 16:00 Paddington to Banbury First Great Western service. Presumably this unit was temporarily withdrawn for repainting shortly after this picture was taken, because the next time I saw it, a few months later it was in First Great Western livery. The white notice by the bridge contains the wording 'Closure Mark', which is presumably the level the stream has to rise to for the line to be closed. Flooding is nothing new in this area, having been a problem ever since the line was built.

165105 has just passed under Weycock Bridge near Waltham St Lawrence on 27 July 2007 with the 09:55 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Although the luxuriant vegetation growth on the cutting sides does make a pleasant backdrop, it does mean that shadows ruin the viewpoint for much of the year.

165105 approaches Culham on 27 April 2011 with the late running 2P60 14:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Photo taken from a farm occupation bridge that also carries a footpath, making the sign in the foreground redundant.

165105 passes over Appleford level crossing on 9 August 2012 with the 2P46 11:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This crossing has to be activated by the road user, as the road is only for access, and the gates are normally left down.

Farewell to a classic location. My last visit to the bridge at South Moreton (Didcot East) was on 19 December 2014. Shortly afterwards the view was ruined by the installation of 25kV electfrication catenary. 165105 runs along the up relief line with the 2P46 11:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service.

The end of another Thames Valley photographic location. The electrification masts go up at Lower Basildon, as 165105 heads south on 30 March 2015 with the 2P50 12:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service.

An extremely lucky picture at Sonning cutting on 26 April 2016. Three trains, all perfectly positioned, and from three different types of train: express passenger, local passenger and freight! 165105 brings up the rear of the 2N28 10:27 Paddington to Oxford GWR service, which is being led by 165135. Approaching at high speed is 43009 with the 1A12 07:40 Paignton to Paddington GWR service, while slowly approaching in the background is 66954 with the 4L31 09:03 Bristol to Felixstowe North freightliner.

With the chimney, cooling towers and partially collapsed turbine hall of the disused Didcot Power Station dominating the background, 165105 approaches Culham on 2 July 2016 with the 2N08 05:56 Paddington to Oxford GWR service. A year earlier the turbine hall was still intact. An unexpected partial collapse happened during demolition operations in February 2016.

165105 kicks up the autumn leaves, as it speeds through Shipton station on 29 November 2017 with the 1P39 10:22 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. The portable lighting equipment on the right has been used during recent lineside vegetation clearance in the area. Just off to the left of this picture, tree trunks have been stacked up at the end of the car park.

165105 passes Shorthampton on 21 March 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. This picture clearly illustrates the result of Network Rail's total lack of lineside maintenance, with the overhanging bushes on the left now almost touching the trains. Before the line was redoubled, all the bushes were cut right back, and for a few years the open view made for excellent photography. However, as Network Rail no longer do any routine tree cutting, preferring instead to have a massive clearance session when it has got really bad, the result is massively overgrown linesides, which inventible causes leaves on the lines in the autumn - a problem which is virtually completely of Network Rail's own making!

165105 & 165116 pass evidence of recent lineside tree clearance, as they approach Moreton-in-Marsh on 5 April 2018 with the 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. The train will split at Moreton, with 165105 carrying on alone to Great Malvern. 165116 would return shortly as the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington service.

165105 approaches Tackley station on 27 June 2018 with the 2M54 17:01 Reading to Banbury GWR service. This was during a prolonged period of high pressure, with consequent high temperatures and cloudless blue skies. Unfortunately during high summer, GWR's dark green livery does not provide much of a colour contrast with the surrounding countryside.

165105 leaves Moreton-in-Marsh station on 13 September 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 GWR service to Paddington. The unit had arrived a little earlier as one half of the 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern. The front unit then detached, and carried on to Great Malvern. This explains why the train is leaving from the 'wrong' platform. This telephoto view clearly shows the newly installed semaphore signal that allows this move. The crossover just in front of the unit will allow the train to gain the correct line.

165105 approaches Didcot North Junction on 29 July 2019 with the 2L10 06:23 Reading to Oxford GWR service. With the electrification masts in the background temporarily abandoned, it is only the early morning shadows that have to be worried about at this location in 2019.

165106 accelerates away from Cholsey station on 15 June 1992 with the 2C68 18:01 Reading to Oxford service. The unusual Network SouthEast hybrid Class 104/108 unit L730 (53455 & 51571) can just be seen in the background, calling at the station with the 2C59 17:59 Banbury to Reading train.

A brief burst of autumnal sunshine amid the clouds at South Moreton (Didcot East) on 29 October 1992. 165106 runs along the down relief line with the 1F24 13:20 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. In the field on the right is a once common feature of the countryside, a windpump, along with its associated water tanks. Probably a product of Godwins Pumps of Quenington.

A close up view of 165106 as it accelerates away from the Twyford stop on 17 April 2008 with the 09:19 Reading to Paddington First Great Western service and passes through the cutting at Ruscombe. The First Great Western 'Neon' livery does suit these units very well, and although they seem incapable of actually running the trains to time, FGW do at least keep them clean. In the late 1990s it was quite common to see the white roofs of these units (then in Network SouthEast livery) badly discoloured with ground in exhaust soot. Probably not the wisest colour choice for DMU roofs, but this picture does at least prove that it is possible to keep them looking presentable.

A superb snowy winter scene at Hinksey on 9 January 2010. 165106 heads south past the yard with the 2P54 13:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service, while in the background, 166210 nears journey's end with the 2N32 11:27 Paddington to Oxford.

Another car arrives in the car park, as 165106 leaves Oxford station on 21 January 2013 with the 2P52 12:37 First Great Western service to Paddington. In the other platform, the 1M42 10:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry Voyager prepares to continue its journey northwards.

165106 passes Hinksey Yard on 15 February 2013 with the 2P50 12:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This is one of the local services, calling at most stations. Throughout the day these trains leave Oxford five minutes after the limited stop trains.

165106 approaches Culham on 18 July 2015 with the 05:25 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. Didcot's disused power station forms the melancholy backdrop, its demolition, along with the line's eventual electrification, will change this view forever.

165106 & 165125 run through Sonning cutting on 26 April 2016 with the 2P34 08:34 Didcot Parkway to Paddington GWR service. The 1B15 08:45 Paddington to Swansea HST can just be seen disappearing into the distance, with green liveried 43187 on the rear. The whole of Sonning cutting has been cleared of trees, opening up the view enormously. Unfortunately, this is in preparation for the hugely delayed Great Western Mainline electrification scheme, which will completely ruin this world famous location forever.

165106 & 166203 approach Radley on 5 May 2016 with the 2P46 11:07 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. A little strange that two three car sets are being provided for surely what is an off peak service, especially when most of the rush hour trains are only thee coaches!

165106 passes the worksite at Wolvercote on 12 July 2016 with the 2M50 15:57 Paddington to Banbury GWR service. The track on the right is the reinstatement of the former down relief line. It didn't get a chance to have the surface rust removed, as it was lifted again shortly after this picture was taken!

165106 passes Combe on 7 January 2018 with the 1P45 11:14 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. This is one of the few Cotswold Line locations that has improved enormously in recent years. In the 1980s, when Class 50s worked the line, this view was spoiled by scattered lineside trees and bushes.

165106 approaches Didcot North Junction on 16 February 2018 with the 1P21 09:31 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. Judging by the background, it won't be long before I can tick this location off my photographic list!

Just as the torrential rain gives way to light drizzle, 165106 passes Dorn on 12 March 2018 with the 1P27 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. This was running nine minutes late, which in early 2018 counts as good service on the Cotswold Line. On this day, as usual, there were several cancellations. Local MPs have been petitioned to get something done, and get the problem sorted out. In the 40 years that I have been taking photos on the line, this is by far the most protracted period of unreliability. GWR needs to stop placing adverts in the local press saying how great their new trains are, and actually get the trains running properly!

165106 & 165113 pass Grove on 12 July 2018 with the 3Z34 12:20 Reading Traincare Depot to Worcester Shrub Hill ECS. The bridge almost hidden amongst the catenary in the background is the recently reconstructed Hanney Bridge.

A going away shot of 165106, as it speeds past Grove on 22 October 2018 with the 5Z81 10:13 Reading Traincare Depot to Swindon crew training run. It would be back shortly with the 5Z84 11:19 Swindon to Didcot Parkway. Note that there seems to be a loose bit of trim flapping about in the slipstream.

Until the introduction of the Class 800s, DMUs were infrequent visitors the Great Western Mainline between Swindon and Didcot. However, the splitting up of the Class 165 & 166 allocation between London and Bristol has seen increased visits in 2018. 165106 passes Grove on 22 October 2018 with the 5Z84 11:19 Swindon to Didcot Parkway crew training run. The unit had only just gone the other way as the 5Z81 10:13 Reading Traincare Depot to Swindon. 

165106 passes Ebley on 2 June 2023 with the 3G99 12:00 Reading Traincare Depot to Gloucester Carriage Sidings GWR ECS. To demonstrate how close together the Great Western Railway's halts were in the Stroud Valley, just behind me is the site of Ebley Crossing Halt, whilst the bridge in the background is the site of Cashes Green Halt.

With Didcot Power Station doing its bit for the National Grid in the background, 165107 passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 21 December 1992 with the 2C31 11:15 Banbury to Reading Network SouthEast service. 165107 had been in service for just five months when this picture was taken.

Later Network SouthEast days at Culham, with the distinctive red lamp posts obviously just having had a repaint. 165107 is working the 2C31 10:58 Oxford to Reading service on 28 April 1993. 165107 was less than a year old at this time, and the class had just taken over from the venerable Pressed Steel Class 117s on these workings.

165107 climbs Campden Bank near Mickleton with the 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service on 6 March 2009. While waiting for this train the sun was out fully which was causing a slight problem with the dappled shade. However, as the train could be heard approaching the sun went in which looked very drab, but fortunately just as it came into view the sun came out very weakly, creating the perfect soft lighting for the location! Note the new signal troughing on the right which has just been installed to replace that on the left, which due to lack of foresight when the line was singled, was laid too close to the track for any future redoubling, which is now about to take place.

165107 ambles along the down relief line at Moulsford on 27 April 2011 with the late running 2M56 17:25 Paddington to Banbury First Great Western service. Next stop Cholsey station, a short distance up the line. This is nearly an 'all stations' service, although for some reason it misses out Culham.

On 14 May 2011, 165107 passes under the recently completed Abingdon Road Bridge in Oxford with the 2P72 17:07 Oxford to Paddington 'all stations' First Great Western service. The old bridge was always known as 'Redbridge', giving its name to the nearby park and ride. It looks like its replacement can also carry that title.

165107 passes Didcot North Junction on 25 April 2017 with the 1P25 07:28 Banbury to Paddington GWR service. Although still fairly shadowy at 08:14, the removal of the trees on the right has made a big difference to photography at this location. What a pity the forthcoming electfrication will spoil it all!

Viewed from Dunstall Bridge, 165107 accelerates away from Moreton-in-Marsh station on 2 May 2018 with the 1P44 18:31 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. This view has been considerably improved by the removal of various trees next to the bridge.

165107 pulls away from Tackley station on 9 June 2017 with the 2P82 18:37 Banbury to Paddington GWR service. The rural location of the station is evident here, and although the village's houses start on the left, there is nothing but open fields on the other side of the line.

165107 pulls away from Tackley station on 14 June 2017 with the 2P42 09:35 Banbury to Paddington GWR service. On the left is the recently installed shelter on the down platform, which previously had no covered protection. However, unlike the shelter on the up platform (just visible amid the lamp posts), the new one is a bit minimalist, and wouldn't offer much protection from the rain if there was a strong easterly wind!

Surrounded by superb autumn foliage, 165107 rounds the curve on the approach to Hungerford on 13 November 2018 with the 1K13 09:41 Bedwyn to Paddington GWR service. The railings on the right mark a public footpath crossing, those in the centre of the picture, the bridge over the River Dun, and those in the background, the Kennet & Avon Canal.

Plenty of evidence of recent lineside vegetation clearance at Hungerford Common on 17 January 2019. 165107 gets into its stride again, after calling at Hungerford station with the 1K15 10:41 Bedwyn to Paddington GWR service.

165107 passes Yarnton shortly before sunset on 31 August 2019 with the 2V61 19:08 Banbury to Didcot Parkway GWR service. It is just approaching Wolvercote Junction, the green banner repeater signal for which can be seen in the distance.

Photographer's self portrait! A slightly different view of 165108 as it arrives at Radley station on 18 May 1995 with the 2C49 16:04 Oxford to Reading service. This is basically an all stations service, but omits the two least important stations on the route - Culham and Appleford.

165108 passes White Waltham on 7 March 1998 with the 1K38 13:28 Paddington to Bedwyn Thames Trains service. This picture was taken from Breadcroft Lane bridge, a popular photographic location, as due the road being blocked for vehicular access, it is only bike riders you have to watch out for when crossing from one side of the bridge to the other!

165108 approaches Culham on 30 May 1998 with the late running 15:45 Oxford to Paddington Thames Trains service. Photo taken from an occupation bridge, which contains a fine selection of immaculately carved Victorian graffiti!

165108 heads along the up relief line at Lower Basildon on 3 February 2007 with the 14:21 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Such is the pace of change on the privatised railway that both the Thames Trains livery and the First Great Western Link logo on the side of the coaches were by this time obsolete!

A pair of Class 165 Turbo units pass each other in a brief spell of superb lighting at Hinksey on 19 October 2011. 165108 is just a couple of minutes into its journey with the 2P56 13:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service, which runs non-stop to Didcot, and then becomes an 'all stations' service onwards to the capital. Heading off into the distance, but being checked by an amber signal, is 165110 working the 2N34 11:57 Paddington to Oxford service.

165108 passes Hinksey Yard on 2 November 2012 with the 1D27 10:40 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. I would normally wait for a DMU to come from the other direction before taking a photo, bit on this occasion a going away picture was all I could get before the clouds in the background put the lights out!

The crude wire netting footbridge in the foreground will be familiar to generation's of Oxford railway enthusiasts. The soon to be replaced footbridge across Hinksey Yard is pictured on 11 February 2016, with 165108 passing by in the background with the 2P56 13:36 Oxford to Paddington GWR service.

165108 runs through Sonning cutting on 16 August 2016 with the 2R37 12:42 Paddington to Reading GWR service. By the summer of 2016 it was noticeable that the Class 165/1 fleet was looking very tired and shabby, in contrast to the Class 166s, all of which have been repainted either in GWR's simpler blue livery. or their dark green colour scheme. Note the faded yellow front end of 165108, in contrast to the darker colour around the light clusters. The dreaded march of the electrification masts has reached the bridge in the background.

165108 approaches Culham in the drizzle on 28 March 2018 with the 1D26 12:50 Paddington to Oxford GWR service. Remnants of Didcot Power Station's disused coal fired power station dominate the background. The turbine hall and half the cooling towers have gone, but the tall chimney is still a landmark for miles around.

Splitting one train into two at Moreton-in-Marsh on 18 May 2018. 165108 & 165106 had arrived a few minutes earlier with the 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service, and now 165106 is continuing on its way on its own, leaving 165108 to form the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington service. This was busier than usual on this particular morning, as the earlier 1P22 08:25 Worcester to Paddington had been cancelled.

GWR ancient and modern. 165108 stands at Moreton-in-Marsh station on 18 May 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 GWR service to Paddington service. Note the difference between the original GWR's classic Art Deco insignia, and the modern franchise's reworking.

165108 passes Kings Sutton on 11 June 2018 with the late running 2M54 17:01 Reading to Banbury GWR service. The bright green summer foliage only serves to emphasise how dark the livery chosen by GWR for their new corporate identity really is.

165108 heads south from Moreton-in-Marsh on 6 August 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. The farm occupation and bridleway bridge in the background is the recently rebuilt Dunstall Bridge.

During late 2017, the Cotswold Line lineside clearance work reached Chilson, opening up this trackside view. 165108 heads towards Charlbury on 8 January 2019 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. I couldn't resist another shot, as the train passed underneath the roadbridge.

165108 passes underneath the road bridge at Chilson on 8 January 2019 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. A going away shot, but the LED lights give nothing away. The bridge seems to have quite a pronounced sag in the middle, so I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't get rebuilt in the near future, like Dunstall Bridge, near Moreton-in-Marsh.

Brand new 165109 approaches Wolvercote Junction on 11 June 1992 with the 2C70 19:26 Oxford o Banbury Network SouthEast service. The unit had only just entered traffic, which explains the spotless white roof. The ex-works condition even extends to the shiny silencers on the side of each vehicle.

165109 has just passed Wolvercote Junction on 17 August 1993, and is about to pass underneath the A34 Oxford bypass with the 2C65 18:38 Banbury to Oxford Network SouthEast service. In the background is 47579 James Nightall GC, having come to a stand whilst hauling withdrawn Class 413 4-CAP EMUs 3311, 3302 & 3322 from Eastleigh to MC Metals at St Rollox. There was a problem with one of the units (probably a hot box or dragging brakes), and a fitter can just be seen inspecting the wheels. The train had already been there for half an hour, and it would be another half an hour before the cavalcade moved off at walking speed, ultimately being terminated just up the line at Banbury.

Dramatic winter lighting at Oxford on 27 December 1993. 165109 pulls out of the station with the 2C43 14:04 Network SouthEast departure to Reading. The large area of waste ground behind the train was formerly a scrapyard. Since this picture was taken it has become Oxford station's main car park.

Unusually running as a two car unit, 165109 arrives at Islip station on 29 December 1994 with the 2C28 11:17 Oxford to Bicester Town service. This location is unrecognisable now, after Chiltern Railway's massive upgrading of the line, which involved redoubling the track, and completely rebuilding the station.

165109 takes the station line at Didcot North Junction with the 14:55 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service on 12 November 2007. This unit appears to have sustained some front end damage, with various marks and cracks visible. A slightly diffuse sun was welcome here to soften the encroaching shadows a little.

165109 passes the signal protecting Didcot North Junction, as it heads south on 20 October 2011 with the 2P38 09:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Luckily the cloud visible in the background kept well away from the sun, on what turned out to be a completely sunny morning.

165109 speeds past Ruscombe on the up main line on 22 July 2012 with the 2K41 09:05 Newbury to Paddington First Great Western service. 2012 marks twenty years since these units were introduced onto the route, replacing the venerable Class 117s.

165109 passes Lock Wood, near Culham on 10 December 2012 with the 1P43 11:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. The line of the trees in the background is just a small part of Lock Wood, which runs down the steep escarpment on the south side of the River Thames. Ironically, there hasn't been a lock at this location since the eighteenth century.

165109 approaches Hinksey in a brief burst of sunshine on 12 April 2013, as it nears its destination with the 2N32 11:27 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. The bridge In the background is the A423 Oxford southern by-pass.

165109 passes Didcot North Junction on 3 September 2014 with the 2P50 12:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This used to be quite a rural spot, and thanks to uncontrolled lineside vegetation still looks that way in the picture, when it fact the location is surrounding by industrial estates and new housing developments.

With the clouds gathering in the background, 165109 passes Kennington on 9 September 2017 with the 2P42 10:07 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. I'm not sure what the odd reflection in the right windscreen is. It doesn't appear in any other pictures.

Wouldn't this look a lot better if the DMU was in the old First Great Western blue, rather than GWR's drab dark green livery? Unfortunately, with all the three car Class 165/1s now in this poor livery, that wasn't going to be an option. 165109 passes Lyneham on 18 April 2018 with the 1W31 15:22 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service, running 25 minutes late, ironically at exactly the same time that the cancelled 1W32 15:52 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh was due. That was terminated at Oxford.

165109 passes Stonesfield on 30 April 2018 with the 1W36 17:52 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill GWR service. Note the recent lineside vegetation clearance in the background. This has opened up the view considerably, but unfortunately as this is on the north side of the line, only really useful photographically, either very late in the day, or on a dull day, as here.

Viewed from the recently rebuilt Dunstall Bridge, just to the south of Moreton-in-Marsh, 165109 heads north along the Cotswold Line in fine evening light on 2 May 2018 with the 1W36 17:52 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill GWR service.

165109 passes Hungerford Common on 27 September 2018 with the 1K16 14:06 Paddington to Bedwyn GWR service. In the background, the 7A77 11:41 Merehead Quarry to Theale Mendip Rail stone train can be seen waiting in the loop. It already been there for nearly an hour, and would be there for a lot longer, eventually leaving at 17:04, 153 minutes late!

When the local trains between Oxford and Didcot were downgraded to a basic shuttle service, most of the trains were operated by two car Class 165s, although three car units do appear, as here. 165019 passes Didcot North Junction on 21 April 2022 with the 2L33 11:37 Oxford to Didcot Parkway GWR service.

165109 heads north at Wolvercote Junction on 23 November 2022 with the 2M30 12:04 Didcot Parkway to Banbury GWR service, just as 60046 William Wilberforce approaches from the opposite direction with the 0Z60 09:51 Chaddesden Sidings to Appleford Sidings light engine.

A damp day at Didcot North Junction on 26 September 2023. 165109 slows for the junction, as it nears journey's end with the 2L17 09:34 Oxford to Didcot Parkway GWR service. Several units spend all day shuttling between the two towns.

165109 passes Hungerford Common on 12 February 2024 with the 2T10 09:54 Bedwyn to Newbury GWR service. This was exactly on time here, but due to problems in the Newbury area, it was 11 minutes late arriving at its destination.

One of my favourite Thames Valley photographic locations, now gone forever under a sea of 25kV electfrication wires. In the good old days, 165110 passes South Moreton with the 2F43 14:07 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service on 30 April 1994.

A Cotswold Line viewpoint that is sadly no longer accessible. 165110 approaches Kingham station on 25 June 1995 with the 15:22 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington service. This picture is taken from the former Banbury to Cheltenham direct line embankment. Nowadays photographers have to be content with visiting the footpath crossing that the unit is passing over.

Glimpsed through the trees, and between the parked track machines and the largely empty sidings, 165110 rounds the curve on the approach to Didcot Parkway station on 24 January 1998 with the 2A57 14:36 Oxford to Paddington Thames Trains service.

165110 passes the newly installed crossover at South Marston on 5 May 2000 with the 17:58 Oxford to Bristol Temple Meads First Great Western service. The crossover is for access to the new railfreight terminal, but at this time the trackwork within the depot was still incomplete. A two car Class 165 was the standard rostered stock for these unsuccessful Oxford to Bristol trains, but things are not quite all they seem here. 165110 is in fact one of the three car batch of 165/1 units (165101 - 165117), and is therefore running here without its centre coach.

165110 runs along the up relief line near Cholsey on 12 November 2007 with the 1P47 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington  First Great Western service. The small group of trees marks the summit of Cholsey Hill, allegedly he site of a prehistoric hill fort.

The relatively modern (by Oxford's standards) spire of Nuffield College can be seen on the other side of Hinksey Lake as 165110 heads south with the 13:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service on 30 December 2008. One passenger certainly has paid for his ride - note the bird (probably a pheasant) wedged in the gap next to the coupler.

165110 approaches Didcot North Junction on 26 September 2009 with the 09:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western 'all stations' service. There used to be a clear view here all the way to Appleford Crossing over a mile distant, but not since the row of trees came to dominate the scene!

165110 passes Hinksey Yard on 9 January 2010 with the 2P52 12:37 Oxford Paddington First Great Western service. In the background, 165106 is heading in the opposite direction with the 2N30 10:57 Paddington to Oxford.

Plenty of fresh spring growth at Shorthampton on 12 May 2010 as 165110 passes by with the 1P37 08:58 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. Unfortunately all this exuberant plant growth obviously means that this recently cleared section of line is soon going to revert back to the tunnel of vegetation that it used to be.

Hungerford Common used to be an excellent photographic location, with clear views in both directions. However, during the 1990s it gradually became more overgrown, culminating in the situation seen here. With the town of Hungerford still shrouded in fog in the background, 165110 passes by with the 1K45 09:36 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service on 31 August 2010.

165110 passes Hinksey Yard under stormy skies on 19 October 2011 with the 2P58 14:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Compare this view with one taken from the same spot a few years earlier.

The 'dreaming spires' of Oxford are complimented by the not quite so dreaming construction cranes on 22 July 2012, as 165110 heads north from the city and passes Wolvercote with the 1W59 18:42 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill First Great Western service.

165110 speeds through Culham station on 9 August 2012 with the 1P30 09:31 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the partially staggered platforms. This is the result of the active part of the up platform being shifted northwards, away from the station building.

165110 weaves across from the up relief to the up main line at South Moreton (Didcot East) on 13 September 2012 with the 1P41 12:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This well known photographic location would change completely shortly afterwards, with the removal of Didcot Power Station, and the installation of overhead electfrication catenary.

Having just called at Twyford station (just out of sight in the distance), 165110 ambles along the up relief line at Ruscombe in perfect spring sunshine on 1 May 2013 with the 2P28 09:48 Reading to Paddington First Great Western service.

In superb early morning light on 3 July 2014, 165110 slowly gathers speed after its stop at Tackley station, as it works the 2L36 05:54 Reading to Banbury First Great Western service. Next stop is Heyford, a little over a mile to the north. The grass bank in the background is Crecy Hill Nature Reserve.

Very early morning at Cholsey on 8 July 2014. 165110 accelerates away from Cholsey station (just visible in the background) with the 2L36 05:54 Reading to Banbury First Great Western service. Note the bases for the forthcoming electfrication masts in the foreground, and on the right.

165110 passes Wolvercote on 19 January 2015 with the 2L45 12:42 Banbury to Oxford First Great Western service. The trailing point has been installed, but little other work has been carried out recently to bring this section of line back to four tracks. The trees on the extreme left mark the edge of the Wolvercote Lakes Nature Reserve, a former gravel pit, which after many decades in private ownership, has now been opened up to the public courtesy of the Oxfordshire Preservation Trust.

With a cheery wave from the driver, 165110 passes Hinksey Yard on 20 January 2016 with the 1P45 13:01 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. The crane in the background is being used for the redevelopment of Oxford's Westgate Shopping Centre.

165110 is completely dwarfed by its surroundings, as it passes through Sonning cutting on 26 April 2016 with the 2P36 08:35 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. Much tree clearance work has been done here in preparation for electrification.

A busy moment at Hinksey Yard, near Oxford, on 2 November 2016. 165110 heads for London with the 2P50 12:07 Oxford to Paddington GWR service, passing an unusual visitor to this location - Chiltern Railways 168323, which has just arrived in the yard with the 5Z61 11:17 Oxford Up Carriage Sidings to Oxford Up Carriage Sidings ECS. This was a crew training run running via Hinksey (twice) and Oxford North Junction. Next to it is 70806 waiting to proceed with the single wagon 6M50 07:55 Westbury to Bescot engineers train. To complete the hectic scene, the 1E40 11:45 Reading to Newcastle CrossCountry Voyager can be seen disappearing into the distance. Due to all this action happening some distance from where I was, a very long lens has had to be used.

Which livery do you prefer? 165110 in the dark green livery that everyone I have spoken to thinks is awful, passes 165131 in the earlier First Great Western blue livery, which although not widely liked when introduced a decade earlier, looks a hell of lot better than its replacement! 165110 is working the  2L33 12:37 Oxford to Didcot Parkway GWR service, and 165131 is working the 2L34 12:30 Didcot Parkway to Oxford. 7 February 2018.

165110 passes Shipton during a break between the showers on 29 March 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. The recently cleared flat area on the right marks the site of Shipton station's former cattle dock.

165110 passes Lyneham on 14 May 2018 with the 1W36 17:52 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill First GWR service. The timetable change a few week later would see this upgraded to a HST, although that is only a temporary increase in their duties, pending the arrival of more Class 800s.

165111 passes the site of Bletchingdon station on 11 May 1994 with the 2C65 18:38 Banbury to Oxford Network SouthEast service. Before the vegetation grew up near the bridge, this used to be an excellent viewpoint for southbound trains in the evening, although the main road traffic directly behind you wasn't particularly pleasant!

165111 passes Hungerford Common in the rain on 5 May 1997 with the 16:24 Bedwyn to Paddington Thames Trains service. This would normally only run on a Saturday, but as this was Bank Holiday Monday, a revised Saturday timetable was in force.

A close up view of 165111, as it passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 4 December 1999 with the 2A49 13:37 Oxford to Paddington Thames Trains service. This just emphasises how much better the Network SouthEast livery suited these units, compared with the dark GWR green that the ended up in two decades later.

165111 and an unidentified two car classmate approach Taplow at speed on 26 January 2000 with the 09:28 Reading to Paddington service. Although both units retain Network SouthEast livery, these Thames Valley local services were by this time operated by Thames Trains, which later got swallowed up into the First Great Western franchise.

165111 passes through the lush spring landscape at Yarnton on 24 May 2007, as it heads northwards with the 16:00 Paddington to Banbury First Great Western service. Photo taken from a little used footbridge, which replaces a little used foot crossing!

165111 approaches Kings Sutton in nice late afternoon light on 14 November 2007 with the 15:02 Banbury to Oxford First Great Western service. However, if this lighting looks good, then it got even better half an hour later when similarly numbered 168111 passed by with the 14:12 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone service.

A line of Railtrack branded ballast hoppers make an interesting foreground to this view of 165111 passing Hinksey Yard on 2 January 2008 with the 13:55 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Formerly a Second World War marshalling yard, Hinksey mow has a second life as a 'Virtual Quarry' ballast dump.

165111 speeds through Aldermaston station on 8 May 2008 with the 1K49 10:37 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service. This is one of the semi-fast trains, and local residents would need to catch the preceding 10:13 from Newbury in order to get to Reading, where they would have to use a connecting service to travel on the capital.

165111 arrives at Charlbury on 12 February 2011 with the 1P43 10:32 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. A line of freshly laid concrete sleepers wait to receive their new rails during another overnight possession. This is part of the plan to reinstate double track on the Cotswold Line, with this section extending from Ascott-under-Wychwood (the end of the present double track section) to just the other side of Charlbury station.

165111 is viewed from the A423 Oxford ring road, as it passes the southern end of Hinksey Yard with the 2P38 09:07 Oxford to Paddington 'all stations' (except Appleford!) First Great Western service on 7 April 2011. Note the new road bridge nearing completion in the background.

The majority of Cotswold Line services are now either worked by Class 180s or HSTs. However, Turbo units still put in regular appearances, either as Class 180 replacements, or as in this case on the local trains to Moreton-in-Marsh. On 20 February 2013, a brief burst of sunshine illuminates 165111 as it passes Shorthampton with the 1W33 13:21 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh First Great Western service. The farm occupation bridge in the background has served no practical purpose for decades, as it is completely impassable due to bushes and brambles.

With most of its number apparently obliterated with black tape, 165111 accelerates away from Kingham station on 7 June 2014 with the 1W45 15:22 Paddington to Great Malvern First Great Western service. I'm not quite sure what the driver's gesture means - is he praying for better traction, like the loco that was following behind him? Photo taken from a public footpath crossing.

165111 & 165125 run along the up relief line at Cholsey on 2 January 2015 with the 2P44 10:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. They will shortly be calling at Cholsey station. Very convenient (for photography) that the masts on the left stop well short of the bridge!

165111 accelerates away from Oxford station on 1 April 2015 with the 2P38 09:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Luckily the station's footbridge mostly hides the eyesore that is the modern Castle Mills student's flats!

165111 approaches Didcot North Junction on 10 July 2015 with the 2N14 07:27 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. Note the different shade of yellow on the headlight inserts, compared with the rest of the front end.

A last look at one of my former favourite photographic locations, before the electfrication scheme ruins it completely. 165111 passes South Moreton on 10 September 2015 with the 2N42 13:57 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service.

165111 passes Shipton on 7 February 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. The short platforms of Shipton's diminutive station can just be seen behind the rear of the train. I wonder how long this rustic fence will survive, bearing in mind how close the car park is to the track, and Network Rail's paranoia about such situations.

165111 passes Hinksey Yard on 7 February 2018 with the 1P28 13:01 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. Even in low winter light the dark green livery does not show up well. Brunswick green from the real Great Western Railway would have been a much better choice!

165111 is just a few yards into its journey, as it pulls away from Bedwyn station on 14 July 2018 with the 1K45 09:41 Bedwyn to Paddington GWR service. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing which leads from Great Bedwyn village to the Kennet & Avon Canal.

165111 passes Standish Junction on 24 January 2023 with the 2O76 10:40 Gloucester to Weymouth GWR service. There were formerly four tracks here (LMS & GWR), which explains the wide area on the right, now used by Network Rail road vehicles.

Two things are immediately apparent about this Class 165 Turbo unit approach Wolvercote Junction on 11 June 1992. Firstly how startlingly clean they looked when first introduced, and secondly that this unit is not carrying any set numbers on the front end. Although anonymous, it is in fact 165112 working a (presumably) Reading to Banbury crew familiarisation trip. Also of note is how open the location used to be at this spot, with St Peter's church at Wolvercote visible above the A34 Oxford ring road on the left of the picture.

165112 emerges from the shade at Yarnton on 27 July 2006 as it heads south with the 17:30 Banbury to Paddington First Great Western service. The bridge in the background carries the A44 Oxford to Chipping Norton road over the railway. Photo taken from a public footpath footbridge.

165112 scuttles along the up relief line near Cholsey on 6 December 2006 with the 11:06 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western 'all stations' service. Both relief lines are clear, as is the up main, but the down main is cluttered with lengths of rail, which although presumably safe, doesn't really seem the best thing to be lying around next to a 125mph line!

Although booked for a Class 180 Adelante unit, on 21 October 2007 the 11:14 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service turned out to be a Class 165 Sprinter. 165112 is pictured having just passed through Shipton station and is viewed from the FWP Matthews flour mills car park. Shipton station originally served a wide rural area, and as late as the 1970s the 'Shipton for Burford' sign on the platform indicated this role.

165112 arrives at Bedwyn station on 24 July 2008 with the 09:18 First Great Western service from Paddington. It will reverse in the siding to the west of the station, and then return to pick up the passengers seen here waiting on the other platform, departing as the to 10:37 to Paddington.

On 24 July 2008, 165112 has just pulled out of the short siding visible in the background and is moving slowly forward into Bedwyn station, where it will form the 10:37 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service. It had working in as the 09:18 Paddington to Bedwyn, and then used the crossover to access the siding. Bedwyn station is in the village of Great Bedwyn, and the tower of St Mary's church can just be seen on the right. No doubt not helped by the popularity of the station, the village's narrow streets can easily get choked with cars.

165112 approaches Kintbury on 31 August 2010 with the 1K49 10:36 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service. Just behind the train is a bridge over one of the many waterways in the locality. This one is a connecting stream between the River Kennett and the Kennett & Avon Canal.

165112 approaches Culham on 27 April 2011 with the 14:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Just behind the train is a rather dangerous footpath crossing, which, due to the lineside bushes, has very limited views of approaching trains.

165112 passes Kennington in a brief patch of sunshine on 28 July 2014 with the 2P56 13:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Hidden from view behind the bushes is the freight only branch line to Morris Cowley.

165112 slowly approaches Culham station on 11 June 2015 with the 2N62 18:16 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. Although recently cleared of decades worth of lineside vegetation, the Cow Parsley has already to started the recolonise the trackside, to say nothing of the rather scrappy crop of oilseed rape in the field!

The classic location of Sonning Cutting, shortly before it was disfigured by the installation of overhead electfrication catenary. 165112 runs along the up relief line on 16 August 2016 with the 2P45 12:33 Didcot Parkway to Paddington GWR service.

A delightful scene that is no more, ruined forever by the intrusive catenary of the Great Western Mainline electfrication programme. 165112 passes Sonning on 16 August 2016 with the 2R42 14:12 Paddington to Reading GWR service.

165112 calls at Cholsey station on 20 January 2017 with the 2P52 12:37 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. Cholsey's picturesque Great Western Railway brick station buildings are now surrounded by ugly electrification infrastructure.

165112 arrives at Charlbury station on 30 January 2018 with the 1P27 11:15 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. This train would normally start from Great Malvern at 10:59, but a delay with the earlier northbound service caused this revision, a situation which seems to happen quite frequently in recent times. Until late 2017, Class 166s worked the majority of the Turbo DMU diagrams on the Cotswold Line, but with members of the class migrating to the Bristol area, following electfrication of the Paddington to Didcot line, Class 165s have become more common on the route. Note that this unit does not carry any GWR branding.

165112 arrives at Evesham on 12 February 2018 with the 1P27 11:22 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. This train had already been altered to start from Worcester rather than the booked Great Malvern, but in the event didn't even leave Worcester on time. The reason for the alteration according to Realtime Trains was: 'A problem with the overhead line power collection equipment'. This is clearly nonsense, as there isn't any! This was on a day of quite appalling service on the Cotswold Line, with five trains cancelled for various reasons.

GWR's dark green livery looks very drab, especially when devoid of any branding, as seen here. 165112 calls at Honeybourne station on 24 February 2018 with the 1P43 10:45 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service.

165112 weaves across from the down to the up line at Moreton-in-Marsh on 19 April 2018, as it leaves the station with the 1P23 09:50 GWR service to Paddington. It had arrived a little earlier with 165109, as part of the 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern service.

165112 & 165105 arrive at Charlbury station on 20 June 2018 with the 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. Although this was running ten minutes late, that is pretty much 'on time' by Cotswold Line standards now! This is the train that will spilt at Moreton-in-Marsh, with 165105 returning south as the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington.

A wave from the driver of 165112, as it approaches Didcot North Junction on 2 August 2018 with the late running 2L10 06:23 Reading to Oxford GWR service. Note the electfrication masts in the background. Although at this time the scheme is on hold, eventually they will extend northwards, completely ruining this view.

165112 leaves Oxford station on 2 February 2019 with the 2V37 13:08 Banbury to Didcot Parkway GWR service. Parking in this car park is an outrageous £29 per day (before 10:00), and that's after you've negotiated the virtually always congested Botley Road, to get there!

165112 moves across from the down to the up line at Moreton-in-Marsh on 13 September 2019, as it leaves the station with the 1P23 09:50 GWR service to Paddington. The train had arrived a little earlier as the 2E20 08:19 Reading to Moreton-in-Marsh service.

The mass withdrawal of GWR's Class 800 fleet due to underframe cracks led to an emergency timetable being put into use on the Cotswold Line on Sunday 9 May 2021, using Class 165 & 166 units. 165112 is pictured arriving at Charlbury station with the 1W02 12:18 Reading to Worcester Shrub Hill service. Note the slightly ironic 'HST Stop' sign on the left. If GWR hadn't stopped using HSTs in favour of the clearly poorly built Class 800 DMUs, they wouldn't be in this mess now!

165112 accelerates away from Heyford station on 11 June 2022 with the 2V13 09:09 Banbury to Didcot Parkway GWR service. This location is just a short walk along the Oxford Canal towpath, to the south of Heyford station.

Spotlessly clean 165113 passes South Moreton on 7 June 1993 with the 1F66 17:38 Paddington to Didcot Parkway Network SouthEast service. Slightly less than a year old when this picture was taken, the class would prove to be one of the most reliable of the second generation DMU fleet, with the whole class (except for accident damaged 165115) still in service over three decades later.

165113 approaches Radley station at speed on 18 May 1995 with the 2A61 15:37 Oxford to Paddington service. Just a few seconds after this picture was taken the sun disappeared, hardly surprising judging by the dark clouds in the background!

Only the rail tail lights and the lack of a destination indication give away the fact that this is a going away shot. 165113 has just left Charlbury station with the 13:25 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill First Great Western service on 11 September 2006. The unit still carries Thames Trains livery, albeit with the addition of First brandings. The limitations of the single line are apparent here, as the 1Z14 Ultrasonic Test Train was being held at Ascott-under-Wychwood, waiting for this unit to clear the single line.

165113 gives the appearance of running wrong line, as it passes Shorthampton on 3 May 2011 with the 1W33 13:21 Paddington to Great Malvern First Great Western service. In fact, the heavily ballasted line in the foreground has yet to be commissioned, as part of the Cotswold Line redoubling programme.

A close up view of 165113 & 165122, as they run along the up relief line at Cholsey on 2 January 2015 with the 2P50 12:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service These stopping trains run every half hour.

Watched by a local resident on his evening walk, 165113 approaches Tackley station on 6 June 2016 with the late running 2M50 15:57 Paddington to Banbury GWR service. The front vehicle seems to have sustained some minor accident damage, and part of the front trim is being held on with several strips of black insulation tape!

165113 passes Hinksey Yard on 7 February 2018 with the 1P27 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Note the new signal gantry and footbridge in the background, and the new trackside fittings in the foreground.

The driver of 165113 washes the windscreen, as the unit passes Hungerford Common on 21 September 2018 with the 1K09 08:41 Bedwyn to Paddington GWR service. It is accelerating away from Hungerford station, the footbridge of which can just be seen in the background. Also just visible in the background, between the unit and the station, is the buffer stop and the long disused down refuge siding, which was due to be removed the following evening.

165113 approaches Hungerford on 1 October 2018 with the 1K15 10:41 Bedwyn to Paddington GWR service. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing. Not a particularly inspiring location, but it does quite suit a three car DMU.

With the open grassland of the common on left, and the town's sewage works on the right, 165113 passes Hungerford Common on 17 January 2019 with the 1K13 09:41 Bedwyn to Paddington GWR service. Just visible in the background is the Second World War FW3/28 anti-tank pillbox guarding the bridge over the railway.

Still accelerating away from Hungerford station (which can just be seen in the far distance), 165113 passes Hungerford Common on 28 May 2020 with the 2K35 11:41 Bedwyn to Reading GWR service. These local trains had switched to being worked by Class 800s in 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic saw the return of Class 165s.

165114 rounds the curve just to the north of the Tackley on 25 June 2012 with the 2M04 05:40 Oxford to Banbury First Great Western service. I bet the driver didn't expect to see anyone on this remote farm bridge in the middle of nowhere at that time of the morning!

165114 accelerates away from Twyford station (just beyond the bridge in the background), and passes Ruscombe on 22 July 2012 with the 2P28 08:22 Reading to Paddington First Great Western service. Photo taken from a very quiet no through road bridge next to Ruscombe church.

165114 finds a little weak autumnal sun as it passes Hinksey on 30 November 2012 with the 1P41 12:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the remains of the floods under the bridge in the background, which had a few days earlier been across all running lines. This is a regular winter occurrence caused by the Hinksey Stream (just visible above the cab of 165114) bursting its banks after heavy rainfall.

There are more people in the rear cab of this unit heading away from the camera at Wolvercote Junction on 6 February 2015, than you normally see when one is approaching! 165114 passes the junction with the 1W23 09:50 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh First Great Western service.

No wonder the local residents are complaining! 165114 passes the hideously over the top electrification ironmongery near Goring, as it works the 1W14 06:48 Paddington to Great Malvern First Great Western service on 6 July 2015.

The sunlit chimney and cooling towers of the doomed Didcot Power Station rise eerily out of the early morning fog on 26 September 2015. In the foreground, 165114 approaches Culham with the 1D09 06:51 Paddington to Oxford GWR service. Just visible beneath the chimney is the top of the power station's turbine hall. Just over an hour after this picture was taken the coal bunkers attached to this were blown up, as part of the station's clearance programme.

165114 passes Upper Moor on 25 November 2017 with the 1W29 11:17 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. The houses of Lower Moor can be seen in the background, with the tower of Fladbury church just visible above the trees in the distance.

A meeting of new and old liveried Class 165s at Didcot North Junction on 2 August 2018. 165114 has just come round Didcot's east curve with the late running 1D15 07:21 Paddington to Oxford GWR service, while 165136 approaches the signal in the background with the 2L14 07:39 Reading to Oxford.

165114 approaches Hungerford Common on 27 February 2019 with the 1K16 14:06 Paddington to Bedwyn GWR service. The trees growing on the site of a former gravel pit (presumably in use during the construction of the line), along with the rustic fence in the foreground, make an excellent frame for this picture.

165114 & 165104 pass Cornbury Park (Charlbury) on 30 April 2019 with the late running 1W16 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. The train is just entering the double track section, which was extended from Ascott-under-Wychwood to here in 2011.

With the white painted Fairfield Crossing Cottage visible in the background, 165114 approaches Little Bedwyn on 30 July 2020 with the 2T50 17:05 Newbury to Bedwyn GWR service. This is just an 18 minute journey, with intermediate stops at Kintbury and Hungerford.

A 29 year old DMU substituting for a supposedly state of the art ultra modern design! 165114 passes Cornbury Park on 9 May 2021, as it accelerates away from Charlbury station with the 1P55 13:13 Worcester Foregate Street to Reading GWR service. The Class 800s that normally work virtually all Cotswold Line services had been withdrawn en-masse due to the discovery of bogie cracks on several units. This not only effected GWR, but all the other operators that use units of the 80x series.

165114 just dodges the shadows, as it passes the recently cleared location of Little Bedwyn on 21 July 2021 with the late running 2T23 16:15 Newbury to Bedwyn GWR service. Bedwyn station is in the neighbouring village of Great Bedwyn.

With the introduction of the summer 1993 timetable on the Cotswold Line, a new Birmingham to Paddington service was introduced. On the first day, 17 May 1993, 165115 passes Evesham signal box under threatening skies with the inaugural run of the 09:15 Birmingham New Street to Paddington. 165115 was destroyed in the Ladbroke Grove accident in 1999, becoming the first Turbo unit to be withdrawn.

The ill fated 165115 passes Hinksey Yard on 19 February 1994 with the 2A57 14:38 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. This unit was destroyed in the Ladbroke Grove accident five years later. This panoramic view of the Oxford skyline show the modern masts of Oxford Ice Rink, with Jericho's St Barnabas church behind. The Morrells brewery chimney is in the centre of the picture, and on the right is the tower of Oxford Castle.

165115 passes Kings Sutton on 28 July 1994 with the 16:15 Paddington to Stratford-upon-Avon Network SouthEast service. This is not quite the ordinary picture that it appears to be at first glance, as 165115 was the unit that was destroyed in the Ladbroke Grove accident in 1999, and therefore there are far fewer pictures of it use, compared to all its classmates. In fact, no other Class 165 or 166 vehicle has so far been withdrawn, and whereas both fleets have now put in over a quarter if a century of service, this unit only lasted seven years.

165116 passes through Culham station on 28 April 1993 with the 1F39 11:15 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. One of the second generation DMU's most successful designs, the Class 165 fleet soldiers on nearly three decades after this picture was taken, with no immediate signs of retirement.

A pair of local trains call at Radley station on 11 July 1997. 165116 arrives with the 1F64 17:23 Paddington to Oxford service, while 165134 waits at the other platform with the 2A78 18:35 Oxford to Paddington. Despite the Network SouthEast colour scheme, by this date these services were being operated by Thames Trains.

165116 passes the overgrown sidings at Lower Padworth on 28 July 2001 with the 2K47 10:11 Newbury to Reading 'all stations' Thames Trains service. These rusting lines are in fact loop lines once used to connect into the Atomic Weapons Establishment at nearby Aldermaston. Photo taken from a public footpath.

165116 passes Hinksey Yard with the 13:21 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service on 2 January 2008. 221123 has just received an amber signal in the background, after being held for several minutes whilst working the 11:45 Bournemouth to Glasgow Arriva Cross Country service. As the lighting was so good, the opportunity was taken to place the 'Voyager' between the poles, and include the Railtrack wagons in the foreground to frame the picture. Note the spire of Nuffield College in the background.

165116 speeds towards Appleford station with an unidentified classmate on 2 July 2009, as they head towards the capital with the 2P64 15:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. The extremely weathered brickwork of the bridge makes an excellent frame for the photo.

165116 pulls away from Radley station on 8 October 2009 with the 15:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western 'all stations' service. While the limited stop trains do this journey in less than an hour, this one takes nearly two! Radley station has seen a phenomenal growth in passenger numbers in recent years, and much work has been spent on improvements, with special attention paid to the car park to reflect this. I counted fifty cars (admittedly one was mine!) in the car park, whereas in the 1980s it was usually less than ten. Looks like it might be a bit cloudy in Oxford!

Obviously nothing has moved in Hinksey Yard during the last few days and the snow lays undisturbed as 165116 passes by in the background with the 12:07 Oxford to Paddington 'all stations' First Great Western service on 9 January 2010. The high fence is a noise screen separating the residents of South Oxford from the noisy goings on in the yard, which was in use before most of them were born!

165116 runs alongside the Kennet & Avon Canal at Little Bedwyn on 25 June 2010 with the 08:40 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service. For once the weather forecasters got it wrong in my favour. Supposedly the morning was going to be mainly cloudy, with the odd sunny spell. Can you spot the clouds?

165116 negotiates Didcot North Junction on 8 October 2010 with the 2P62 15:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. The lines to the right avoid Didcot station entirely, while the line the unit is taking can also access the Swindon Line (not used for regular passenger services at the moment).

165116 leaves Oxford station on 16 January 2012 with the 2P54 13:07 'all stations' First Great Western service to Paddington. The station in the background looks remarkably quiet, with hardy any people in view. Also, there are no stabled trains in the sidings beyond.

There is at least one passenger for the 1P61 15:53 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service on 28 May 2012, as 165116 calls at Kingham station. Note the lush green vegetation growing in the 'four foot' - typical Network Rail neglect.

Superb winter photographic conditions at Hinksey on 4 December 2012, as 165116 heads south with the 1P41 12:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. It looks like a solitary telegraph pole has survived from the steam age (just visible behind the last coach).

With the now lifted 'West Midlands' sidings in the foreground, 165116 leaves Oxford station on 24 January 2013 with the 1P43 11:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the way that the snow has disappeared from the main lines, but persists in the disused sidings

165116 arrives at Charlbury station on 10 November 2013 with the 1P45 11:15 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the new footbridge, with massive disabled friendly approach ramps, which now partly obscures the view of the Great Western Railway brick roadbridge. On the plus side, until the reinstatement of the second platform, it would theoretically not be possible to take a picture from this angle. As the single track section starts just to the south of here, there is the very possibility of this view being blocked by a down train, especially if an up train is held in the station. It should have been no problem here, as up and down train were supposed to be 16 minutes apart. Unfortunately the 1W02 10:42 Paddington to Hereford was running late, but luckily had just disappeared from sight when 165116 came into view.

Port Meadow is nearly completely covered by flood water, as 165116 passes Wolvercote on 9 February 2014 with the 1W04 14:42 Paddington to Hereford First Great Western service. Note the work to reinstate the former wartime down relief line.

165116 pulls out of Oxford station on 30 January 2015 with the 1P30 09:31 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This picture is taken from the Osney Lane footbridge, which was reconstructed a few years ago, and most surprisingly was not replaced by a typical modern high sided monstrosity, but with a very photographer friendly low sided structure. Unfortunately the car park now rather spoils the picture, and of course the forthcoming electrification will ruin the viewpoint forever.

The onward march of the Great Western Mainline electfrication ruins yet another location! 165116 passes South Moreton on 10 September 2015 with the 2N46 14:57 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. Not much more troublesome than the shadows at the moment, but once the cross pieces go up it will be game over for photography here.

With the recently rebuilt Dunstall Bridge in the background, 165116 is just a short distance into its journey on 5 April 2018 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. There is plenty of evidence of recent vegetation clearance, including some fairly substantial trees. The trunk of the tree in the middle distance was well over a foot in diameter, yet none of the these trees were more than small bushes in the 1980s!

After decades of total neglect, the Cotswold Line has been subject to a massive tree clearance programme during 2018. This is the view at Chilson on 14 December 2018. A much wider view than has been possible for years is now available here. 165116 heads towards Oxford with the 1P27 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service.

165116 passes the site of Yarnton Junction station (which closed, along with the passenger service on the Fairford Branch, in 1962). It is working the 1P27 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service on 28 January 2019. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing.

Catching a fleeting burst of sunshine, 165117 passes Didcot North Junction on 24 April 1994 with the 10:40 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. Note the Great Western Society's broad gauge transfer shed in the background on the left. The route to the left is the Didcot station avoider lines.

165117 passes Waltham St Lawrence on 27 July 2007 with the 12:45 Paddington to Reading First Great Western service. I often visited the roadbridge seen in the far distance, but this was the only occasion that I visited the various footbridges to the north of Waltham St Lawrence village. No point in going back for a second visit, as you would hardly see a thing through the 25kV wires!

165117 runs along the up relief line at South Moreton (Didcot East) on 22 September 2010 with the 2P50 12:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great western service. Note the short sections of Armco barrier on the right, presumably for the benefit of Network Rail vans!

A picture that I have been meaning to take for some time, but that requires the addition of some other interesting working in order to justify getting up at such a ridiculous time! 165117 & 165104 pass Tackley shortly after sunrise on 25 June 2012 with the 5P20 05:12 Oxford Up Carriage Sidings to Banbury ECS. This is the empty stock for the 2P20 06:07 Banbury to Paddington First Great Western service. During the day a two car Class 165/1 suffices for this route, but a pair of three car units are rostered for this peak working, with the added bonus photographically that the sun is on the front for the ECS. Once at Paddington the units will split to form the 2R21 08:47 to Reading and 2N22 08:55 to Oxford.

A Class 165 & 166 passing picture at Radley on 17 December 2012. 165117 calls at the station with the late running 2P46 11:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service, while 166202 rushes through non-stop with the 2N26 09:57 Paddington to Oxford train.

165117 pulls away from a very snowy Oxford station on 21 January 2013 with the 2P44 10:36 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service, while 66039 coasts up to a red signal on the centre through line, prior to a long wait for several passing passenger services.

165117 passes Wolvercote on 19 January 2015 with the 1P43 11:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. In the background is the recently rebuilt A34 Oxford bypass bridge, while in the foreground the as yet unconnected exit from the reinstated down relief line takes shape.

Shortly after sunrise on 1 April 2015, with the low sun only just beginning to light up the buildings beside the track, 165117 leaves Oxford station with the 1P22 07:21 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service.

165117 & 166221 Reading Traincare Depot approach Culham on 11 June 2015 with the 1D37 18:18 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. Note the difference between the Class 165's 'wavy lines' livery, and the Class 166's later simplified colour scheme.

165117 passes Hinksey Yard on 11 February 2016 with the 2P54 13:07 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. This well known vantage point, familiar to generations of Oxford railway enthusiasts, will be completely ruined by the planned electrification of the route.

165117 leaves Oxford station on 12 December 2017 with the 1P21 09:31 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. The ideal combination of sun and snow, although certainly not ideal walking conditions, with the local pavements being covered in very slippery compacted snow and ice.

165117 approaches the footbridge in the fields near Yarnton on 4 April 2018 with the 2M40 14:09 Didcot Parkway to Banbury GWR service. This was in an unexpected break between the showers, with the sun almost coming out. However, the dark clouds in the background indicates that the next lot of rain wasn't very far away!

165117 heads north along the Cotswold Line near Cassington on 11 May 2018. This is not quite the normal scene that it appears to be, as it is in fact the 5W11 07:20 Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh ECS. This started out as the 1W11 05:12 Paddington to Oxford GWR service, but at Oxford there was apparently an issue with the train crew (presumably the lack of a guard), and so it carried on as empty stock. As the unit also came back from Moreton-in-Marsh as empty stock, the whole trip north of Oxford seems to have been a complete waste of time!

165117 passes underneath the roadbridge at Cassington on 11 May 2018 with the 5P14 07:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford ECS. This was in place of the 1P14 07:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service, but as the earlier northbound train to Moreton-in-Marsh was also empty stock, it begs the question, who was this actually run for?

Autumn fungi are sprouting amid the tree stumps in the foreground, as 165117 passes Hungerford Common on 21 September 2018 with the 1K13 09:41 Bedwyn to Paddington GWR service. Numerous trees and bushes have been cleared from the lineside, creating a whole series of photographic opportunities, unavailable since the 1980s.

165117 is dwarfed by the surrounding landscape, as it heads down the Evenlode Valley on 11 December 2018 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. This is the view from the very tall Grintleyhill Bridge, near Combe. Viewed through a very long lens, Whitehill Bridge is clearly visible in the background, with Wychwood Forest in the distance. Note how railings have been added to the low parapet of the River Evenlode bridge to the left of the DMU, as after well over a century, apparently rail workers cannot now be trusted not to fall in the river!

165117 passes Stoulton on 24 January 2019 with the 1P27 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Like most Cotswold Line locations, this spot has been recently cleared of vegetation, after decades of no maintenance whatsoever by Network Rail.

After decades of total neglect, Network Rail have finally cleared away the vegetation that was actually touching the trains at Chilson, allowing this view of 165117 speeding underneath the roadbridge on 15 February 2019 with the 1P23 09:50 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. Although it's an improvement, the view is still nothing like as open as it was in the 1980s.

165117 approaches Didcot North Junction on 20 July 2021 with the 2L08 06:22 Reading to Oxford GWR service. You wouldn't want Network Rail doing any building work on your house, as virtually every structure of theirs in this picture is leaning one way or the other! At least the houses and the spire of All Saints church in the background are level.