Completely devoid of any Virgin Trains branding, with even the badge below the windscreen removed, the pioneer 'Voyager' unit 220001 moves from the up relief to the up main line just to the east of Didcot at South Moreton with the 07:24 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth service on 12 November 2007. The franchise had been taken over by Arriva the previous day, but most of the 'Voyagers' seen during the day still carried some Virgin branding. Arriva are retaining the Cross Country name for the route with a new livery to follow shortly.

Pioneer 'Voyager' unit 220001 speeds through Dean with the diverted 10:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly Cross Country service on 21 March 2009. After a dreary start, the sun was finally starting to burn off the low cloud leading to yet another day of hazy sunshine - the final day of a spell of settled high pressure weather conditions.

220001 & 220024 join forces to form the 1M58 14:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service on 16 August 2010, seen here passing through the cutting at South Moreton. This used to be a well frequented photographic spot, due to its clear view in both directions and lack of traffic (being a farm occupation bridge). However, bridge rebuilding has made the location now very hard work, the same applying to the bridge in the village of South Moreton, seen in the background.

220001 speeds past Yarnton on 14 September 2017 with the 1O22 14:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The train is just a few hundred yards from Wolvercote Junction, where the Cotswold Line joins the Banbury to Oxford route. This low level viewpoint was deliberately selected to show off the dramatic cloud formation.

220001 passes milepost 106, near Gossington, on 17 December 2018 with the 1M33 10:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Even something as mundane as a Voyager is worth photographing in excellent winter light like this!

220002 Forth Voyager passes the remnants of Severn Tunnel Junction depot on 14 August 2004 with the 07:25 Swansea to Newcastle Virgin Trains service. Not only is the Severn Tunnel rescue DMU (Class 121) visible in the background of this view, but also a Network Rail Incident Command Vehicle has just backed up to the compound on the right.

The first northbound Voyager of the day at Tackley on 9 May 2009. 220002 just manages to avoid the shadows in the cutting, as it works the 1M18 05:09 Southampton Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service.

The first two Voyager units (albeit in reverse order) pass Bredon on 10 July 2019 with the 1V46 06:45 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service. 220002 & 220001 may be a mundane subject, but the superb lighting, complete with dark sky, makes an excellent picture. Definitely preferable to yet another picture of a DB Cargo Class 66 in poor light!

220002 & 221141 pass Stoke Orchard on 27 September 2020 with the 1V60 12:20 Morpeth to Plymouth CrossCountry service. This would ordinarily be the 1V60 11:40 Newcastle to Plymouth, but was amended due to Sunday engineering works.

220002 & 221140 pass Standish Junction in lovely spring light on 22 March 2022 with the late running 1V46 06:45 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Just visible in the background is the farm occupation bridge at Little Haresfield.

220003 Solent Voyager approaches Wolvercote Junction on 13 August 2003 with the 16:27 Redhill to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service. The CrossCountry franchise has shrunk considerably since this picture was taken, Redhill being one of the casualties.

220003 passes Abbotswood on 20 March 2009 with the 1V57 13:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Note the extremley low and dilapidated field fence in the foreground (since replaced) and the vintage cast iron milepost.

220003 & 220022 speed past Gossington on 17 September 2020 with the 1V54 09:41 Newcastle to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Note the evidence of some very welcome recent lineside vegetation clearance in the foreground.

220004 catches the last rays of the setting sun, as it passes Spetchley on 16 June 2004 with the 18:24 Manchester Piccadilly to Plymouth Virgin CrossCountry service. This was formerly the site of both up and down loops, but the southbound loop was removed in the late 1990s.

220004 finds a brief patch of sunshine at Tackley on 8 March 2007 as it heads down the Cherwell Valley with the 08:52 Edinburgh to Bournemouth Virgin Cross Country service . Note the flooded fields in the background, a common feature of this location in the winter and early spring.

220004 just manages to stay ahead of the advancing cloud, as it passes Oxford North Junction on 4 July 2015 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The line to Bicester (closed for upgrading at this time) can be seen branching off to the right, while on the left is the temporarily abandoned earthworks for the reinstatement of the down relief line.

It won't be long before this view disappears behind the vegetation again. The ragwort isn't the problem, it's the bushes next to the track! 220004 & 220019 pass Tumpy Green on 2 August 2024 with the 1S43 06:28 Penzance to Edinburgh CrossCountry service.

220005 passes Little Haresfield on 30 May 2009 with the 09:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads Cross Country service, while 60074 Teenage Spirit sits patiently in the loop with the late running 6B13 05:10 Robeston to Westerleigh Murco oil tanks. As 6B13 had lost its path, instead of waiting in the loop for just one train to pass, it waited for 40 minutes while 3 trains passed!

220005 approaches Hinksey Yard on 12 April 2013 with the 1M46 11:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. In the background, 47790 Galloway Princess waits to follow it with the 0Z30 11:23 Eastleigh to Crewe Gresty Bridge light engine move.

The northern end of the partially reconstructed former down relief line at Wolvercote is seen in the drizzle on 10 May 2014, as 220005 passes by with the 1O80 06:33 Birmingham New Street to Southampton CrossCountry service. Although the exit point has already been installed, at this time there was still only a short section of track heading southwards.

With the buildings of Oxford still obscured by fog in the background, 220005 emerges into the weak early morning sunshine, as it approaches Oxford North Junction on 12 July 2014 with the 1E79 06:09 Guildford to Newcastle CrossCountry service.

220005 passes Souldern Wharf on 21 April 2015 with the 1V89 12:35 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. The Chiltern Line's Souldern No.2 Viaduct can be seen in the background. The two lines merge a little further north, at Aynho Junction.

Soft evening light at Wolvercote on 21 June 2017. 220005 heads north with the late running 1M70 17:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. The fresh ballast in the foreground is for the soon to be reinstated down relief line.

220005 passes the south end of Eckington loop on 8 June 2023 with the 1M65 18:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Birmingham New Street CrossCountry service. This photo is taken from a farm occupation crossing.

Under a clear blue sky, 220005 speeds past Blanchworth (between Gloucester and Bristol) on 16 August 2023 with the 1V46 06:45 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Photo taken from a little used public footpath crossing.

Pride liveried 220005 passes Claydon (near Banbury) on 19 July 2024 with the 1V87 10:35 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. This was running 37 minutes late, after encountering a delay in the York area.

A photographer friendly sized hole in the hedge at Fiddington! 220006 & 220009 head south on 26 October 2020 with the 1V46 06:45 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service. The bridge is on a very rough track that just provides access to field on either side of the line.

A more artistic type picture at Spetchley on 8 October 2008. With an impressive cloud formation adding interest to the picture, 220007 heads northwards with the 13:25 Plymouth to Manchester Piccadilly Arriva Cross Country service. A public footpath leads across this field to a footbridge over the railway.

Golden evening light at Wolvercote on 22 July 2012, as 220007 passes the Rosebay Willowherb growing on the party cleared trackbed of the soon to be reinstated down relief line. The train is the 1M68 18:41 Reading to Birmingham New Street CrossCountry service.

220007 approaches Didcot North Junction on 28 August 2017 with the 1O08 07:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. After recent clearance work, the buddleia is already starting to take hold again in the foreground.

220008 Welsh Dragon passes Alstone (Cheltenham) on 14 April 2007 with the 06:48 Leeds to Plymouth Virgin Trains service. A slightly misty morning, but the clean unit with its bright red and silver livery still shows up well.

220008 emerges from the shadows, and into the afternoon light, as it passes Yarnton on 14 September 2017 with the 1V89 12:34 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. Although a footbridge replaced a foot crossing here some time ago, the lineside growth has subsequently rendered that photographic improvement largely redundant!

220008 passes Wolvercote Junction on 29 January 2020 with the 1O84 07:25 Newcastle to Southampton Central CrossCountry service. Quite a bit of lineside tree clearance has taken place here, and also safety barriers on the bridge make it a slightly more pleasant place to stand.

220008 & 221140 pass Yarnton on 21 July 2020 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. As can be guessed from the mass of dark clouds in the background, this was just a few seconds before the sun disappeared for the rest of the afternoon. Normally this train would just comprise a single unit, but to enable social distancing during the coronavirus crisis, most CrossCountry trains are now formed from two units.

The driver of 220009 gives the windscreen a good wash as he approaches Kings Sutton on 24 November 2010 with the 1V87 10:25 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. This picture is taken from the footpath that leads from the village of Kings Sutton to Twyford Mill, and is one of the few locations in the vicinity that is not shaded by lineside bushes during the winter.

220009 passes Oxford North Junction on 12 July 2014 with the 1O04 05:11 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The line of fresh ballast above the unit marks the course of the former down freight loop, being reinstated to ease congestion in the Oxford area.

Shortly after sunrise on 4 May 2016, 220009 approaches Culham with the 1M18 05:15 Southampton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Dominating the background is the sad remains of Didcot Power Station, with the partially collapsed turbine hall on the left. Whilst being prepared fro demolition in February 2016, half of the building collapsed without warning, killing four people. Unbelievably, over ten weeks later three of the men are still buried underneath the rubble. The steam rising from behind the cooling towers is from the still working Didcot B gas fired plant.

220009 passes Badgeworth on the very cold morning of 30 January 2019 with the 1M29 07:01 Paignton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Both the signal and the radio mast get in the way of a perfect picture here.

220009 passes Eckington on 18 September 2019 with the 1V59 14:05 Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton CrossCountry service. In the foreground is Eckington Loop. There is no corresponding loop for the other direction.

220009 & 221134 pass Thrupp on 8 September 2020 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Note the logo on the side of the lead vehicle, which promotes a safer railway in partnership with The Scouts Association.

220009 passes the duplicate mileposts at Wormleighton Crossing on 7 February 2023 with the 1V85 08:35 Newcastle to Banbury CrossCountry service. This is one of only two daily CrossCountry trains that terminate at Banbury.

220010 Ribble Voyager runs through the reverse curves at Greenholme on 19 June 2006 with the 1M56 12:52 Edinburgh to Bournemouth Virgin CrossCountry service. Classmate 220022 would shortly appear from the opposite direction.

220010 speeds past Tredington on 13 February 2008 with the 11:25 Newcastle to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. The unit retains the original Virgin Trains livery, but with suitable rebranding, and removal of the badge under the windscreen.

220010 approaches Kennington on 6 June 2014 with the 1M70 17:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. The field that I am standing in has now been swallowed up by yet another housing estate.

Electrification is coming! 220010 heads north near Goring on 6 July 2015 with the 1E79 06:02 Guildford to Newcastle CrossCountry service. With no opportunity for a trackside picture, this location will become impossible once the wires go up.

220010 passes Wolvercote on 25 March 2017 with the 1O16 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. I chose this slightly unusual framing to show off the lineside trees, which always look so much more photogenic before the leaves come out.

Its back again! After being laid in 2016, and then taken up again in 2017, the reinstated down relief line at Wolvercote returns in 2018! 220010 passes by the worksite on 12 June 2018 with the 1M46 11:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. A new signal gantry has also appeared in the background of this view since my last visit.

220010 & 220018 pass over frost covered tracks at Ashchurch on 19 January 2023, as they head south with the 1V46 06:45 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service. There had been cloudy conditions early on, and it looks like those conditions persist further north.

Superb early morning light at the recently cleared site of  Stonehouse (Bristol Road) station on 29 July 2024. 220010 & 221133 head north with the 1S35 06:36 Bristol Temple Meads to Edinburgh CrossCountry service.

220011 passes Spetchley on 16 June 2004 with the 19:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service. Not really an adequate substitute for the former Class 47 hauled train it replaced, either photographically, or in passenger comfort!

I wouldn't normally take a going away shot of a unit, and certainly not on a dull day, but look what's on the front of this one! 47197 drags 220011 past Croome en-route from Bristol Barton Hill to Central Rivers depot on 31 July 2005. This was due to the unavailability of Virgin's own Class 57 locos.

There are dark clouds in the Oxford direction, as 220011 speeds northwards at Tackley on 16 June 2011 with the 1E68 17:46 Southampton Central to York CrossCountry service. Note the condensation in the headlight clusters.

No, I have not just completed a massive lineside vegetation clearance operation, just to get an uninterrupted view of a Voyager! Network Rail have had a welcome blitz on the trackside bushes and trees near Little Haresfield, opening up the view of northbound trains considerably from the public footpath crossing. 220011 speeds past on 6 April 2012 with the 1M25 07:00 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service.

220011 approaches Ashchurch on 30 November 2018 with the 1V47 08:05 Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton CrossCountry service. The bridge in the background is a very well known local photographic spot, which probably explains why this is the first time that I have ventured off the bridge, and down into this field!

After a bright start, the clouds are building up at Sandy Lane, Kidlington on 22 September 2012, as 220012 speeds southwards with the 1O10 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Sandy Level Crossing can just be seen behind the rear of the train.

With Appleford church visible in the background, 220012 approaches Culham on 11 June 2015 with the late running 1E68 17:46 Southampton to York CrossCountry service. Once again, after years of uncontrolled lineside growth, it is now once again possible to get uninterrupted views of northbound trains at this location.

220012 passes Spetchley on 13 September 2023 with the 1V47 08:03 Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton CrossCountry service. There are two closely spaced bridges in the background, carrying the A44 and A4538 roads. 

220013 South Wales Voyager speeds past Battledown Flyover on 30 March 2003 with the 1O10 09:40 Wolverhampton to Bournemouth Virgin CrossCountry service. With all of the Class 220 fleet having lost this livery in favour of CrossCountry's brown colour scheme, this image already looks historic!

On 14 March 2011, the site of Bletchingdon station is completely dominated by black plastic shrink wrapped pallets, seemingly squeezed into every available inch of space on the small industrial estate. 220013 passes by with the 1O18 12:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service.

220013 passes Spetchley on 25 March 2011 with the late running 1V39 06:44 Newcastle to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Ideal lighting, apart from the slightly misty look in the background, the result of settled high pressure.

220013 races through Tackley station on 3 October 2011. First Great Western operates the stopping trains on the stations between Banbury and Oxford, leaving CrossCountry services to pass through non-stop. This is the 1V87 10:35 Newcastle to Reading service.

220013 leaves Oxford station on 1 April 2015 with the late running 1V81 06:01 Sheffield to Reading CrossCountry service. Although still a reasonable spot, the cars, fences and lampposts mean this is nothing like as good as it was three decades earlier!

220013 speeds through Heyford station on 9 March 2017 with the 1O18 12:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Plenty of boats on the canal, but not much movement, as only the hardy go for boating holidays in March!

220013 passes Tredington on 10 October 2018 with the 1V48 06:45 Newcastle to Plymouth CrossCountry service. In the background is the farm occupation bridge at Fiddington, which is accessed down a very muddy track.

The low late afternoon sun provides ideal illumination for 220013, as it passes Yarnton on 15 March 2021 with the 1O22 14:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Luckily the new fence in the foreground is not of the normal metal palisade type!

Looking absolutely immaculate, 220014 & 220010 head south from Banbury, and pass Overthorpe on 22 December 2001 with the 1O71 07:28 Blackpool North to Portsmouth Virgin CrossCountry service. Both units had only just been accepted into traffic, and judging by their spotless condition, this may very well be their first train. The Portsmouth and Brighton trains were the first Virgin services to go over to DMU operation. At this time these units were hailed as a massive improvement over the loco hauled trains that they replaced. Unfortunately these noisy, claustrophobic and badly designed trains have proved exceedingly unpopular with the travelling public, and not just with the enthusiast fraternity!

220014 leads an unidentified classmate past Rousham on 16 February 2008 with the 06:01 Sheffield to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Some recent bush pruning (not by me!) has opened up this view, which on this occasion looks even more impressive with the frost covered grass in the foreground.

Although for some odd reason during the whole time I was on the footbridge at Hinksey Yard in ideal photographic conditions on 9 January 2010 not a single railway photographer joined me, there was a constant procession of 'normal' passers by obviously testing their Christmas present cameras in the snowy conditions! Here the driver of 220014 gives a cheery wave to a couple of girls who are taking his picture, as he passes by with the 10:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service.

A frosty morning at Yarnton on 14 January 2012. 220014 heads south with the 1O82 06:15 Leeds to Southampton Central CrossCountry service. Already the sun has melted the frost on the east side of the hedge, and it wouldn't be long before it all disappeared.

220015 speeds round the curve near Rousham on 18 April 2010 with the 1V82 13:33 Birmingham New Street to Reading CrossCountry service. 1V82 would normally start from Newcastle, but this is a Sunday, so consequently it starts from Birmingham. I particularly like the composition of this picture, with the train leaning into the curve and the rails lying in the ballast adding some foreground interest. Even the tree on the right is positioned in just the right place to aid the composition. Of course I would say this, because its a bloody long walk to get to this spot!

Only early afternoon, but already the winter shadows are lengthening at Lock Wood, Culham on 10 December 2012, as 220015 heads southwards with the 1O14 10:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service.

220015 passes the down relief line reinstatement work site at Wolvercote on 9 February 2014 with the 1M54 13:40 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. What appears to be a lake on the right is in fact Port Meadow. The low lying meadow is very prone to flooding, but this amount of water is unusual.

One of each of the two Bombardier built Voyager DEMU classes at Wolvercote Junction on 19 January 2018. Four car 220015 & five car 221134 head south with the 1O12 09:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service.

Dramatic lighting at Thrupp on 9 January 2019, as 220015 heads south with the 1O16 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Having not visited this location for several years, I was surprised that there had been virtually no increase in lineside vegetation, a most unusual occurrence!

Two contrasting forms of transport at Heyford on 27 February 2022. Oxfordshire Narrowboat's fleet is moored up in the foreground, as 220015 & 221132 pass by in the background with the 1O08 09:04 Birmingham New Street to Reading CrossCountry service.

220015 passes Gossington on 2 August 2024 with the 1M33 10:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. This would only get as far as Birmingham New Street, where it was cancelled due to an 'issue with the crew'.

220016 Midland Voyager leads an unidentified Class 221 unit past Spetchley on 29 April 2006 with the 06:15 Bristol Temple Meads to Edinburgh Virgin CrossCountry service. Although obviously making a nine coach train, having no corridor connection between the units makes it extremely awkward for revenue protection and catering. Not exactly the most efficient way of doing things!

220016 races through Heyford station on 20 June 2010 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Anyone taking notice of the sign on the left is in for a long walk to either Steeple Aston or Rousham Gardens!

220016 speeds past Thrupp on 7 March 2011 with the 1O18 12:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Luckily the gap in the bushes is just right the size for a four car Class 220. A five car Class 221 wouldn't look quite so good with the back end obstructed by the signal!

220017 pulls out of Oxford station on 13 July 2002 with the 05:16 Manchester Piccadilly to Poole Virgin CrossCountry service. Until the late 1990s the classic view of trains leaving Oxford was from the Osney Lane footbridge. However, the car park seen here now ruins the picture. So here is the next best viewpoint, unfortunately including the ever present palisade fencing.

A fine colourful autumn scene near Tackley on 19 November 2010. 220017 heads southwards past the bushes laden with hawthorn berries. It is working the 1O86 09:35 Newcastle to Southampton Central CrossCountry service.

220017 passes the abundant blackthorn blossom at Stoke Orchard on 6 May 2013 with the 1V55 12:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Exeter St Davids CrossCountry service. Because of the very cold weather earlier in the year, the blackthorn blossom was very late. By this date the hawthorn blossom should normally be out. They are the green bushes in this view.

With Bredon Hill visible in the background, 220017 passes Tredington on 2 January 2014 with the 1V54 06:32 Dundee to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Nice lighting, but I much prefer it when this train is worked by a HST!

220017 accelerates away from Oxford station on 30 January 2015 with the 1O06 06:37 Nottingham to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The very next day this train would have had to have started from Banbury, as the line was blocked by a landslide at Harbury Tunnel. Over a decade earlier I had also photographed 220017 leaving Oxford, only on that occasion by standing on the Armco barrier in the car park. The 1W00 08:22 Paddington to Hereford First Great Western HST can be seen in the background.

220017 passes Gossington on 17 December 2018 with the 1V48 06:45 Newcastle to Plymouth CrossCountry service. The train had just passed under its transport rival - the M5 motorway from the Midlands to the West Country.

Running as the 1Z88 14:33 Birmingham New Street to Southampton Central CrossCountry service, in place of the 1O88 07:48 Glasgow Central to York, which was terminated at York due to a fatality, 220017 approaches Tackley on 15 February 2019.

220017 & 221139 pass Bredon's Norton on 21 October 2021 with the 1V46 06:45 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service, which on this occasion was terminated at Bristol Temple Meads for some unexplained reason. The clump of nettles in the foreground may be an indication of some buried archeology, as the plants often grow where there has previously been human activity.

220018 & 221131 race through Tackley station on 8 September 2021 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The new green palisade fence in the foreground has not improved this viewpoint!

Passing Voyagers at Claydon on 20 January 2023. 220018 & 220003 head south with the 1V54 08:06 Edinburgh to Plymouth CrossCountry service. 220003 would be detached at Bristol, leaving 220018 to carry on alone. In the background, 221126 is disappearing into the distance with the 1E44 13:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle train.

222018 passes Croome on 9 January 2014 with the 1V53 11:03 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. These Voyagers and the Class 170s are Cross Country's only presence on this line, now that their HSTs have been withdrawn.

220019 passes Gossington on 8 April 2010 with the 1V52 06:01 Glasgow Central to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Locations with a low fence and not many lineside bushes are getting harder to find, especially in the Gloucester area.

220019 passes Little Haresfield on 9 April 2016 with the 1V56 07:48 Glasgow Central to Exeter St Davids CrossCountry service. In the background, 47830 Beeching's Legacy waits to follow it with the 5Z56 06:00 Kilmarnock Barclay Sidings to Laira ECS, conveying a freshly refurbished set of HST Mk3 coaches

220019 approaches Radley on 5 May 2016 with the 1V83 06:25 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. The flowering oilseed rape certainly improves this picture, giving the whole image a brown/silver, then green, then yellow split.

220019 approaches Defford in perfect winter light on 15 January 2024 with the 1V54 08:05 Edinburgh to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Shadow free locations are at a premium at this time of year, and it is a surprise that this is the first time I have visited this spot.

The recently laid track in both the loops at Charfield is much in evidence in this view taken on 2 March 2010. 220020 rounds the curve with the late running 1V49 09:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service.

220020 & 221129 pass Yarnton on 15 April 2022 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. It's always worth taking pictures of humble units when the lighting is as good as this.

220021 is pictured just north of Heyford station on the Banbury to Oxford line on 18 April 2009. It is working the 06:55 Edinburgh to Reading Cross Country service. Probably not a location that is visited very often, as it requires a lengthy walk from the nearest road, something which puts off the majority of photographers!

Snow lays thickly on the ground and provides a 'load' for the Network Rail spoil wagons in the foreground, as 220021 passes Hinksey Yard on 9 January 2010 with the 1O30 09:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The footbridge in the background always used to be a popular photographic spot, but the nearby trees are now so tall that a patch of shade covers the tracks at this time of year, as can be clearly seen here.

220021 heads northwards past Somerton on 10 April 2012 with the 1M22 06:15 Southampton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Just behind the trees on the right is an earlier form of transport - the Oxford Canal, opened in 1790.

Hazy early morning light at Frocester on 9 June 2012. 220021 heads north with the 1M25 07:00 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Photo taken from the public footpath linking Eastington to Leonard Stanley.

220021 approaches Goring on 1 May 2013 with the 1V89 12:35 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. The bridge from which this picture was taken provides access to some presumably very expensive riverside properties.

220021 passes South Moreton on 7 May 2013 with the 1M54 13:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. A taller stepladder would have been an advantage here, to get a bit more height!

Dark skies over Bredon on 2 May 2019, as 220021 & 220017 head north through the last of the rain with the 1S55 14:25 Plymouth to Edinburgh CrossCountry service. This train is sometimes worked by a HST, rather than a pair of DMUs, and I bet I know which the passengers would prefer!

220021 & 220016 pass Gossington on 17 September 2021 with the 1S41 07:25 Plymouth to Newcastle CrossCountry service. After nearly two decades of customers having to put up with these claustrophobic units, isn't it about time they were replaced by something better?

A brief sunny spell at Greenholme on 19 June 2006, as 220022 Brighton Voyager heads north with the 9S62 10:46 Bournemouth to Edinburgh Virgin CrossCountry service on 19 June 2006. Note how dark the fells in the background near Tebay are!

Palindromic 220022 passes the Woodbury Lane Industrial Estate near Norton with the 10:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads Cross Country service on 20 March 2009. I had not previously used this location for a southbound train and the convenient tree next to the footpath crossing has made an interesting picture from a mundane subject.

220022 passes Wolvercote on 10 April 2010 with the 1O06 06:37 Nottingham to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Clearly this is not a good location to photograph southbound freight trains in the morning, as if they are booked to use the relief line, the shot is somewhat head on!

220022 speeds past Upper Heyford on 23 March 2011 with the 1O14 10:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. I haven't seen this location used by other photographers, but then it is a fair walk from the nearest road, which inevitably puts most people off!

220022 sweeps round the curve at Croome on 25 March 2011 with the 1V52 06:01 Glasgow Central to Plymouth CrossCountry service. In perfect spring light such as this, even the humble Voyager looks photogenic!

220022 approaches Culham on 18 July 2015 with the 1E82 06:25 Bournemouth to Newcastle CrossCountry service. Didcot Power Station's turbine hall and chimney, along with its three remaining cooling towers will shortly be history, so this is one for the archives. In addition, the railway will soon be electrified, therefore completely altering this view.

220022 & 220001 pass Stanley Downton on 2 January 2019 with the late running 1V46 06:45 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service. This was the picture I had in mind when I first arrived at this location, but had to wait for this later train, as when I arrived the fence and gate were still in shade.

A CrossCountry service running early? Well not quite, as this in fact the 5M64 19:18 Gloucester to Barton-under-Needwood ECS, which had left Gloucester on 6 June 2018 seven minutes early. 220023 is seen here passing Tredington.

220023 & 220020 sweep round the curve to the north of Tackley on 5 May 2021, as they head down the Cherwell Valley with the 1O08 09:04 Birmingham New Street to Reading CrossCountry service. I had photographed this same train at this location a month earlier, during which time there has been a dramatic change in the lineside vegetation.

220023 speeds past Bredon on 10 July 2019 with the 1V45 07:05 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. This is the farm occupation and footbridge just to the north of the site of Bredon station.

The local coal merchant on the site of Bletchingdon station is obviously building up some good stocks for the forthcoming winter. 220024 passes by on 2 September 2010 with the 1V88 11:27 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service.

220024 passes Hinksey Yard on 30 March 2017 with the late running 1O14 10:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Spring is early this year, with plenty of signs of new growth on the trees and bushes.

220024 & 221139 pass Worting Junction on 12 August 2024 with the 1M30 07:31 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Surprisingly, this location has changed very little over the years, and still offers an excellent vantage point.

220025 passes Tackley on 7 December 2021 with the 1O10 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Reading CrossCountry service. The rear of the 6M26 08:50 Eastleigh East Yard to Mountsorrel ballast empties can just be seen disappearing round the corner in the distance.

220025 & 220009 pass the floods at Kings Sutton on 16 January 2023 with the 1M42 12:40 Oxford to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. This would normally start from Reading at 12:16, but when running as the earlier 1O10 08:25 Manchester Piccadilly to Reading train, it suffered a delay in the Birmingham area, and was nearly an hour late at Oxford, so the train was turned around there.

220026 passes Wolvercote Junction on 22 August 2011 with the 1O16 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Despite long sections of the Cotswold Line having been redoubled shortly before this picture was taken, the southern section, from Charlbury to this point, still retains single track.

A stowaway on board! A wood pigeon has managed to get itself wedged into the Dellner coupler of 220026, seen here passing Souldern Wharf on 24 August 2016 with the 1O18 12:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Wood pigeons often seen to come to sudden end on the front of trains, as famously photographed by numerous people on the front of 37607, as it travelled the length of the country in company with 37608 on 2 September 2011.

Dramatic lighting at Tredington on 4 November 2020, as 220026 & 220034 head south with the 1V54 09:40 Newcastle to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. After a largely sunny day, a massive bank of dark clouds was rolling in from the north.

A perfect spring morning in the Cherwell Valley on 4 April 2021. 220026 & 220025 sweep round the curve near Tackley with the 1O08 09:04 Birmingham New Street to Reading CrossCountry service. This is not a very well known location, as it requires a lengthy walk from the nearest road.

220026 passes Gossington on 15 September 2023 with the 1M29 09:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. The sun in the foreground, and dark sky in the background conditions luckily persisted for some time.

In nice evening light, with a dark threatening sky in the background, 220027 passes Bishop Wood with the 15:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle Cross Country service on 26 July 2008. Despite being repainted into Cross Country's new livery, the shadow of the former Virgin Railways shield can still plainly be seen on the nose! Overhead electrified lines are particularly difficult for photography, with most viewpoints from bridges being ruined by the wires getting in the way. I am particularly pleased with this location, as not only does the low angle suit the catenary, but the farm track running parallel with the line makes a particularly attractive composition.

Wrong line working at Ashchurch on 4 May 2010. 220027 & 220033 have just used the crossover at Ashchurch station, and are pictured proceeding cautiously northwards up the wrong line during an engineer's possession, resulting in single line working. They are working the 05:20 Plymouth to Edinburgh CrossCountry service.

220027 passes Wolvercote Junction on 6 February 2015. Due to a severe landslip at Harbury, which has closed the line between Banbury and Leamington Spa, this CrossCountry service is running as the 1Z10 10:55 Banbury to Bournemouth, rather than the more normal 1O10 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth.

220027 catches the evening light, as it speeds northwards past Tackley on 20 July 2016 with the 1M70 17:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. An ideal evening photographic location, and one that doesn't require a long walk from the car!

With the steam from the Müller dairy at Stonehouse providing the slightly unusual background, 220027 passes Stanley Downton on 2 January 2019 with the 1V45 07:05 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Obviously there has previously been some extensive bank slippage here, necessitating the steel piling.

220027 & 221132 pass Wolvercote on 11 August 2020 with the 1O16 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Once relatively unusual, the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 has resulted in pairs of Voyagers being the norm.

220027 & 221123 pass Yarnton on 15 March 2021 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The bridge for the A44 Oxford to Woodstock road can be seen in the background.

Passenger meets freight at Oxford on 8 May 2024. 220027 leaves the station with the 1O20 13:25 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service, just as the 4M65 13:12 Southampton Maritime to Lawley Street freightliner passes by in the opposite direction. I wasn't going to take this, but the missing boxes opened up a convenient gap.

Shortly after emerging from Patchway Tunnel, 220028 passes Cattybrook on 3 June 2007 with an unidentified, presumably diverted, Wales bound train. Note the difference in level of the two lines here, and the twin single bore tunnels.

220028 rounds the curve at Rousham on 16 February 2008 with the 09:33 Birmingham New Street to Reading Virgin CrossCountry service. Despite appearances, I hadn't cut down all the lineside bushes just to get this picture!

As 23 March 2011 was a more or less completely sunny day, I ventured out to a location near Upper Heyford that I had not previously visited. It looked OK on Google Earth and so it proved to be, although there is a very long walk from Upper Heyford village. The location ideally suits a short train such as this. 220028 heads south with the 1O18 12:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service.

Just after sunrise on Saturday 26 September 2015, 220028 approaches Culham with the 1M22 06:15 Southampton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. With the weak early morning sun lighting up the train, and Didcot Power Station's remaining cooling towers and chimney, but with a band of fog between the two, an atmospheric picture has resulted. This was pure luck, as had the fog been any nearer it would have been a completely different story! Not one for the 'Full Sun' brigade, but then I do like unusual lighting effects.

A frosty morning at Ashchurch, showing a view that has recently been cleared of trees, revealing the old water tower amid all the new buildings. 220028 heads north on 17 November 2017 with the 1M25 07:00 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. This train didn't get much further, as it was terminated at Bromsgrove, as 66206 working the late running 6M60 01:48 Exeter Riverside to Bescot china clay tanks, had managed to run out fuel climbing the Lickey Incline, and was blocking the line!

220028 & 221137 pass Standish Junction on 1 September 2020 with the 1V46 06:45 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Doubling up of Voyagers has become commonplace in 2020, due to the effects of the coronavirus crisis.

The weak winter sun glints off the silver bodyside of 220029 as it heads northwards near Yarnton on 2 February 2008 with the 07:45 Bournemouth to Aberdeen CrossCountry service. I certainly wouldn't want to travel from one end of the United Kingdom to the other in one of these units!

220029 crosses over the River Cherwell, as it heads south through the picturesque Oxfordshire countryside near Tackley on 19 March 2009 with the late running 1V83 09:33 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service.

The Cow Parsley is in full flower, as 220029 passes Defford on 2 June 2009 with the 18:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. This is always an excellent photographic location, especially in such superb evening light

220029 heads south at Lower Wick on 25 September 2010 with the 1V47 07:58 Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton CrossCountry service. The bridge in the background carries the Middle Wick to Lower Wick road (yes, there is an Upper Wick as well!), while partly hidden by that, in the far distance is the M5 motorway bridge.

220029 catches the last rays of the setting sun, as it crosses the M5 motorway near Churchdown on 17 June 2017 with the late running 1E73 I7:25 Plymouth to Leeds CrossCountry service. This view is looking south from an adjacent footbridge.

220029 passes Stoke Prior on 12 February 2018 with the 1M25 07:00 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Despite the sunshine, this was a bitterly cold day, which explains why that even over an hour after sunrise, there is still no sign of the frost on the relief line's wooden sleepers melting.

220029 passes Wolvercote Junction on 31 October 2018 with the 1V85 07:00 Edinburgh to Reading CrossCountry service. The Cotswold Line diverges to the left, and despite recent upgrades, is still a single track line as far as Charlbury.

220029 passes Stoke Orchard on 4 April 2023 with the 1V45 07:05 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Only a Voyager, but it is in clean condition, and in perfect spring sunshine.

With the unmistakable backdrop of Banbury's rail served stone terminal, 220030 arrives at the north Oxfordshire town on 3 July 2010 with the 05:42 Sheffield to Reading CrossCountry service. The traction was much more interesting when I first visited this location 26 years earlier!

220030 catches the late evening sun, as it heads north at Tackley on 18 June 2015 with the late running 1M71 19:45 Reading to Birmingham New Street CrossCountry service. Note the damage to the unit's front valance.

220030 approaches the farm occupation crossing just south of Eckington on 17 August 2017, as it heads north with the 1M93 14:04 Paignton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Note the redundant lengths of rail slowly being swallowed up by the grass in the field.

220030 passes Eckington on 19 March 2022 with the 1V56 07:48 Glasgow Central to Plymouth CrossCountry service. This was running 18 minutes late, after encountering a delay in the York area. Eckington church can just be seen in the distance.

220030 & 221130 head north through Ashchurch on 2 June 2022 with the 1S35 06:34 Bristol Temple Meads to Edinburgh CrossCountry service, just as 165132 calls at the station with the 2O72 06:52 Worcester Foregate Street to Weymouth GWR train. Note the vegetation growing on the loop line. Clearly it hasn't seen a weedkilling train for quite a while!

220030 passes Fiddington at little more than walking speed on 27 May 2023 with the 1V47 08:05 Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton CrossCountry service. There were problems with a level crossing near Cheltenham, which meant that all trains were stopping at a red signal just south of this spot. Because of the resultant late running, this train was cancelled at Exeter St Davids.

220031 passes the stone terminal at Banbury on 21 September 2009 with the 06:21 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. A surprisingly rural location (apart, obviously from the stone depot), and although surrounded by roads and industrial units, this view gives the impression of being in the countryside.

220031 approaches Wychnor Junction on 3 June 2015 with the 1V91 14:35 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. Trees now mostly hide the (formerly rail connected) quarry, which is such a feature of this location.

A CrossCountry meeting at Hinksey on 7 February 2018. 220031 heads south with the 1O86 09:35 Newcastle to Southampton Central service, passing 221144, which is working the 1M46 11:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly. This was running 9 minutes late. The trains should have passed each other just north of Oxford station.

Crisp winter morning light at Badgeworth on 4 December 2018. 220031 heads for Cheltenham with the 1M29 07:01 Paignton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. The solitary tree in the background adds to the picture, but the radio mast and associated box certainly do not!

I doubt if the farm bridge at Fiddington has a seen a load anything like 3 tonnes in a long time, in fact nothing has ever crossed it while I have been there. 220031 heads north on 24 August 2019 with the 1M33 10:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service.

Superb low evening lighting, with a fantastic cloud formation, makes even a Voyager worth photographing! 220031 is pictured passing Yarnton on 31 August 2019. This is not quite what it seems, as instead of being the 1E68 17:47 Southampton Central to York CrossCountry service, this is in fact the 5E68 17:47 Southampton Central to Birmingham New Street ECS, which then became the 1E68 20:30 Birmingham New Street to York. The fact that this ran between Southampton and Birmingham without any passengers was apparently due to a crewing issue. Probably little comfort for prospective passengers at Southampton, Winchester, Basingstoke, Reading, Oxford, Banbury and Leamington Spa, who saw their train whiz straight through without stopping!

220031 approaches Didcot North Junction on 12 February 2020 with what would normally be the 1O08 07:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. On this occasion however that train was cancelled after it arrived at Birmingham 25 minutes late, allegedly with a problem with the doors. While that train was still between Wolverhampton and Tipton, 220031 was found from somewhere to form the train seen here - the 1Z08 09:04 Birmingham New Street to Bournemouth. This is not the kind of thing that usually happens on today's railway, being more reminiscent of the more customer focused approach in the days when the entire network was unified.

220032 sweeps round the curve at Bishops Itchington on 15 April 2008 with the 08:54 Manchester Piccadilly to Reading CrossCountry service. Arriva CrossCountry had just taken over from Virgin, and the branding had been changed accordingly, although still for the moment retaining Virgin's red livery.

220032 speeds through Mottisfont & Dunbridge station with the diverted 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth Cross County service on 21 March 2009. The shutter was deliberately pressed a little early so that the train would not obscure the view of the station building (now a private house). The passengers are waiting for the following South West Trains service, which on this day were having to share capacity on the line with both diverted passenger and freight services.

220032 passes the partially completed vegetation clearance at Wolvercote on 27 May 2012, as it heads northwards with the 1M68 18:41 Reading to Birmingham New Street CrossCountry service. At the moment there is just the right size gap for a four car unit!

220032 passes Wolvercote on 15 December 2012 with the late running 1V83 06:22 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. It had started out bang on time, but delays at York cost it 20 minutes, which by the time Derby was reached had increased to 36 minutes. Here it was a mere 30 minutes behind time, but it did mean that the following 1O10 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth (220002) was running right behind it.

220032 passes Rousham on 13 April 2013 with the 1O06 06:37 Nottingham to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Not a location n that many photographers would have visited, as it requires a very long walk from the nearest road.

220032 passes Fiddington in a brief path of weak sunshine on 16 July 2018, as it heads north with the late running 1M25 07:00 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. The Cotswold Hills in the background are almost hidden by the hazy conditions.

Running three minutes early, 220032 passes Wolvercote Junction in lovely spring light on 27 March 2019 with the 1O86 09:35 Newcastle to Southampton Central CrossCountry service. The early running didn't really help, as it just meant a longer stop at Oxford!

220033 passes Hatton North Junction with the 14:40 Reading to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service on 19 February 2008. The line to the right leads to Stratford-upon-Avon, but sees virtually no traffic. The footbridge here is a pleasant spot for railway photography, well away from any road, although the ever present hum of the M40 motorway rather detracts from the rural atmosphere. The nearest other means of transport is the nearby Grand Union Canal.

220033 passes Hinksey Yard on 9 December 2019 with the late running 1O84 07:25 Newcastle to Southampton Central CrossCountry service. What makes this picture particularly noteworthy is the Rail Head Treatment Train tanks tacked on the back of the 6M50 07:49 Westbury to Bescot engineers train on the left. The local RHTT season has obviously finished, and the tanks are making their way back up north. As the train was only stopped in this position for a few minutes, after moving forward from the yard after its booked layover, this was a very lucky shot.

Brand new 220034 Yorkshire Voyager leads an unidentified classmate past Tupton on 7 April 2002 with the 13:43 Newcastle to Exeter St Davids Virgin CrossCountry service. 220034 had been delivered two months earlier, completing the class, before production moved on to the tilting version - the Class 221.

220034 Yorkshire Voyager passes through Church Fenton station on 31 March 2004 with the 12:10 Dundee to Cardiff Central Virgin CrossCountry service. The station has two platforms on the Leeds line and two on the Castleford route, although clearly this train is not using any of them.

220034 speeds past the footpath crossing at Gossington on 5 March 2010 with the 1V57 13:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Gossington Hall is situated just to left of this picture, a name which will be familiar to readers of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple crime novels.

The Lickey Incline is no problem for 220034, as it heads up the 1 in 37 bank on Sunday 12 April 2015 with the 1S41 09:15 Bristol Temple Meads to Edinburgh CrossCountry service. This location is approximately half way up the famous bank, which was such an operational headache in steam days.

220034 passes Badgeworth on 2 February 2018 with the 1V51 10:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Recent vegetation clearance here has once again restored the former excellent viewpoint.

220034 & 220015 pass Yarnton on 16 April 2022 with the 1O10 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Reading CrossCountry service. Some tree clearance work has taken place here, but clearly the trees on the private land to the right have not been touched, so it takes until April before a reasonably shadow free picture can be taken here.

A meeting of two different types of DMU at Standish Junction on 24 April 2022, both of which replaced more comfortable types of rolling stock! 220034 heads south with the 1V58 10:39 Newcastle to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service (which should have started from Edinburgh at 09:08), while 800321 waits at the signal protecting the junction with the 2G09 15:30 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa GWR service.

Straight out of the box! Brand new 221102 passes Engine Common on 29 March 2002 with a southbound test run. With not a mark on the immaculate paintwork, it seems likely that this is its first outing on the mainline. Although the similar Class 220s had been in service for a few months when this picture was taken, the first Class 221 didn't enter passenger service until a few weeks later.

221103 Christopher Columbus & 221131 Edgar Evans climb the Lickey Incline on 26 July 2003 with the 1V39 07:11 Bristol Temple Meads to Glasgow Central Virgin Trains service. At the time the only reason for taking this picture was the superb early morning light. However, a pair of immaculate named Class 221s in their original livery, ascending the gradient without any overhead wires in the way, now makes the scene definitely worth recording.

221104 Sir John Franklin passes Metal Bridge (between Gretna and Carlisle) with the 1V52 11:20 Glasgow Central to Penzance Virgin CrossCountry service on 17 May 2002. The name Metal Bridge does not refer to the bridge the train is crossing, which apart from the ironmongery above rail level, is mainly concrete. It refers to the bridge that Thomas Telford built over the River Esk just to the east of this spot in 1820. This was replaced by a concrete structure during the First World War, which was itself replaced by a wider bridge in 1970.

221104 Sir John Franklin speeds past Fenwick on 13 September 2003 with the 1V67 14:21 Newcastle to Cardiff Central Virgin Trains service. There is certainly no need to use the tilting mechanism on this section of track, it being dead straight from Temple Hirst Junction to Doncaster, a distance of over ten miles.

221104 Sir John Franklin passes Hinksey on 2 May 2007 with the 14:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin Trains service. The bridge in the background is the A423 Oxford southern bypass, and just visible in the distance is Kennington Junction.

221104 & 221117 pass Ledburn on 19 April 2017 with the 1R03 06:20 Rugby to Euston Virgin Trains service. The train will shortly be passing the site of the 1963 Great Train Robbery, first where the mail train was stopped at Sears Crossing, and a little further south, where the mailbags were unloaded, at Bridego Bridge.

221104 & 221107 pass Banbury Lane on 27 February 2022 with the 1B08 10:05 Wolverhampton to Euston Avanti West Coast service. In addition to the normal yellow stripe, note the extremely large first class markings between the windows of the leading vehicle.

Virgin Train's 221106 William Barents & 221112 Ferdinand Magellan were hired to Arriva CrossCountry over the 2017 August Bank Holiday, to strengthen services to compensate for the closure of Euston station for engineering works. Bringing a touch of recent livery nostalgia to the Banbury area, the duo are pictured passing Kings Sutton on 27 August 2017 with the 1M58 14:40 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly service. Note 221106's 'Festival No.6 Portmeirion' revised livery.

221109 & 221108 pass Banbury Lane on 7 August 2020 with the 9M48 08:17 Preston to Euston Avanti West Coast service. This is the view from the relatively new road, that replaced the former level crossing, the remnants of which can be seen in the centre of the picture.

Shiny new train, same old poor timekeeping! Brand new 221111 passes Great Bourton on 26 June 2002 with the 16:46 Gatwick Airport to Birmingham New Street Virgin CrossCountry service. This was running half an hour late.

221111 passes Brock on 6 May 2008 with the 16:10 Glasgow Central To Birmingham New Street Virgin West Coast service. Perfectly capable of being worked by an EMU, but like all overhead electrified lines in the UK, vastly underutilised, with lots of diesel worked services.

221111 is in desperate need of a wash, as it passes the uninterested sheep ay Gayton on 19 March 2018 with the 1D89 15:10 Euston to Chester Virgin Trains service. As the unit's number is covered with mud, this has had to be identified by reference to other pictures.

221113 passes Cockwood Harbour on 22 May 2004 with the 16:17 Paignton to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service. Valerian is flourishing on the bank, seemingly not put off by the dry salty atmosphere. I know how tough it is from my own garden!

221114 passes Aynho Junction in the rain on 7 May 2007 with the 06:15 Southampton to Edinburgh Virgin CrossCountry service. What was once a good location for photography has now been slightly swamped by hawthorn bushes!

There's certainly no doubt that the Virgin CrossCountry red and silver livery stood out well against a winter landscape, especially when clean, as here. 221115 speeds past Badgeworth on 6 March 2007 with the 10:24 Manchester Piccadilly to Plymouth service.

Atmospheric (in other words, wet!) conditions at Up Hatherley on 10 September 2005. 221116 approaches Cheltenham through the rain with the 06:10 Exeter St Davids to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin Cross Country service. The beam of light from the headlight gives an indication as to how dull it was!

221116 speeds past Ledburn on 25 November 2016 with the 1A28 11:35 Chester to Euston Virgin Trains service. Luckily there is only an old style fence on this side of the line, but it can't be long before an intrusive palisade fence, like the one on the other side, replaces it.

221116 City of Bangor/Dinas Bangor passes Tackley on 25 June 2024 with the 1M26 06:30 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. The unit was formerly part of the Avanti West Coast fleet, which explains the slightly non-standard livery.

221117 Sir Henry Morton Stanley sweeps round the curve to the north of Tackley on 20 July 2002 with the 1O09 08:19 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth 'Pines Express'. This is a historic picture, not only because the red and silver Virgin Trains livery has long since been replaced by the drab brown CrossCountry colour scheme, after the franchise change in 2007, but because it shows 221117 running as a four car set. Along with a number of five coach Class 221s, 221117 entered service with just four vehicles. 221117 is just three months old in this picture, which explains its clean appearance. The fifth coach was added in November, meaning it ran in this configuration for just seven months.

Modern history at South Moreton (Didcot East) on 28 October 2003. The then relatively new 221118 runs along the up relief line with the 08:04 Liverpool Lime Street to Portsmouth Harbour Virgin CrossCountry service. The cooling towers, the gas holder, and even the view itself have all disappeared, but unfortunately the Voyager is still with us. Heralded as a big step forward when they were introduced, these DMUs were not an adequate substitute for the loco hauled trains that they replaced, and are now regarded as only marginally better than the Pacers by the travelling public!

Fine autumn lighting at Tredington on 10 October 2008, as 221118 heads south with the 1V55 11:25 Newcastle to Bristol Temple Meads service. This is a totally unbranded set, with no evidence of either the old (Virgin) or new (CrossCountry) operators.

221119 speeds past Claydon on 15 April 2008 with the 1O06 06:00 Leeds to Bournemouth CrossCounty service. The outline of the former Virgin Trains logo is visible on the front end, as was usual at this time, but there appears to be another mark as well. Possibly caused by the plaque's removal?

A fine display of blackthorn blossom at Up Hatherley on 6 April 2009, as 221119 heads northwards with the late running 1S43 06:28 Penzance to Edinburgh CrossCountry service. Typical of settled high pressure, the sun was struggling to break through the thin high cloud.

221119 passes Little Haresfield on 19 January 2011 with the 1V49 09:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. The photographers on the bridge (and the small group of us stood at the footpath crossing) are waiting for the bright red apparition that can be seen in the loop in the background. Freshly painted 60011 is working the 6B13 05:05 Robeston to Westerleigh Murco oil tanks, just a matter of days after being returned to service in its new colour scheme.

A pair of dumper trucks shift soil on the site of the new down relief line at Wolvercote on 19 July 2013. 221119 heads north past the work site with the 1M58 14:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service.

221119 speeds past Fiddington on 10 September 2018 with the 1V45 07:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Extensive lineside vegetation clearance has recently opened up this view considerably.

221119 & 221139 pass Fiddington on 22 August 2024 with the 1V60 10:07 Edinburgh to Penzance CrossCountry service. The 5Q88 15:35 Long Marston to Wimbledon Park Depot Sidings EMU drag should have followed about a quarter of an hour after this, but in the event it ran over two hours late, by which time this superb light had completely vanished

221120 rounds the curve at Claydon (Oxfordshire) on 22 April 2009 with the 1O38 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Note the line of rook's nests in the trees in the background.

The course of the old wartime down goods loop comes into view after extensive vegetation clearance at Wolvercote. This 27 May 2012 view shows work underway to reinstate the additional line from Oxford to Wolvercote. 221120 passes by with the 1M66 16:40 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service.

221120 passes Bredicot on 18 June 2015 with the 1V61 15:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. With the whole landscape various shades of green, at least the silver and brown livery of the unit provides some colour contrast.

Running 25 minutes late, 221120 speeds past Eckington on 17 August 2017 with the 1V60 08:20 Aberdeen to Penzance CrossCountry service. The impressive cloud formation really makes this picture, and counteracts the dullness of the train!

221120 catches the last of the sunshine, as the clouds roll in from the west at Up Hatherley on 29 August 2019. It is working the 1S47 08:37 Penzance to Glasgow Central CrossCountry service. Cornwall to Scotland on a Voyager - that must be a test of endurance!

221120 passes the site of Stonehouse (Bristol Road) station on 29 July 2024 with the 1M21 07:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. The station here closed in 1966. The former Great Western station on the nearby line to Swindon is still open.

221121 passes Sandy Lane level crossing (by the house in the background), near Kidlington, on 22 September 2012 with the 1O08 07:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The crossing has been the subject of much concern amongst locals, due its poor reliability record.

Not long after sunrise on 12 February 2018, 221121 passes Stoke Prior with the 1M21 07:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. This is definitely the kind of location you need for photography in these conditions, with nothing anywhere on the lineside (or in the adjacent field!) that will cast a shadow.

50 years to the day since the last steam train on British Railways (the famous 1T57 'Fifteen Guinea Special'), there is not much sign of the old steam age railway in this view of the south end of Hinksey Yard, Oxford on 11 August 2018. 221121 passes underneath the new signal gantry with the 1O06 06:37 Nottingham to Bournemouth CrossCountry service, while 66567 waits to follow it, running as the 0W26 09:20 Hinksey to Eastleigh light engine.

221121 passes Defford on 3 September 2023 with the late running 1M93 16:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Just behind the train the railway crosses over the River Avon.

Palindromic Virgin CrossCountry Voyager 221122 passes Ebbw Junction on 15 February 2003 with the 11:58 Derby to Cardiff Central service. Although there was no chance of a picture of anything coming the other way, due to the close proximity of the A48 road bridge, this was always a popular Newport area photographic location, now of course ruined by the line's electfrication.

Palindromic 221122 passes Fiddington (near Ashchurch) with the 14:24 Derby to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service on 18 February 2008. This unit, in common with most of the fleet at this time has CrossCountry branding applied to the bodyside and the shadow of the former Virgin badge just visible on the front end. The low winter sun certainly accentuates this livery.

221122 passes milepost 106, near Gossington, on 8 April 2010 with the 1M33 10:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Photo taken from a very convenient public footpath crossing stile.

221122 emerges from the fog at Oxford North Junction, as it starts to slow down for the Oxford stop on 12 July 2014, whilst working the 1O02 06:14 Birmingham New Street to Bournemouth service. This was the first southbound CrossCountry train of the day.

221122 passes the site of Churchdown station (closed in 1964) with the late running 1V64 13:07 Edinburgh to Plymouth CrossCountry service on 17 June 2017. There has been some recent vegetation clearance on the right, but there is still a large tree on the left casting a shadow!

Palindromic Voyager 221122 passes Bredon on 18 September 2019 with the 1V58 09:00 Glasgow Central to Penzance CrossCountry service. Although recent vegetation clearance has opened up this view, the foliage is already increasing again, and even at 15:50, the shadows are getting too close for comfort.

Superb early morning light at Standish Junction on 15 May 2023. 221122 heads north with the 1S37 05:25 Plymouth to Edinburgh CrossCountry service. Although there is an earlier train from Bristol, this is the first northbound train of the day from Devon.

Dramatic lighting at Fiddington on 22 August 2024, with the Cotswold Hills in the background under cloud, and the foreground fields in full sun. 221122 heads north with the 1M61 17:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service.

Running 25 minutes late due to a delay between Stafford and Birmingham, 221122 passes Stoke Orchard on 11 October 2024 with the 1V45 07:03 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service.

Passing Voyagers at Kings Sutton on 20 June 2003. 221123 heads north with the 16:38 Poole to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service, while an unidentified unit disappears into the distance with the 14:45 Newcastle to Poole service.

221123 passes Gossington on a brilliantly sunny 8 April 2010 with the 1M37 11:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Note that the gap in the bushes is exactly the right size for a five coach train!

221123 passes milepost 99½ near Little Haresfield on 18 April 2017 with the 1V46 06:40 York to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Because this was running a few minutes late, the 2G82 09:36 Swindon to Cheltenham GWR DMU had been allowed to cross over from the Golden Valley Line in front of it, consequently it was just picking up speed again, after receiving a signal check.

221124 passes Tackley in superb evening light on 23 May 2009 with the 1E68 18:40 Reading to York CrossCountry service. This a very pleasant location to spend a summer evening, although really only usable from May to August, at least in order to get the sun on the front of the train.

221124 passes Badgeworth just after sunrise on 28 October 2014 with the 1M21 07:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Despite the radio mast spoiling the location in recent years, it is still one of the few spots in the Cheltenham area that is suitable for an early morning northbound photo.

221125 speeds past Dunston on 29 January 2011 with the 1M22 06:15 Southampton Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Does that glimmer of weak early morning light catching the side of the train mean things are going to improve by the time the Class 31 hauled railtour appears? No of course it doesn't, it just got worse!

221125 passes Rousham on 13 April 2013 with the 1O04 05:11 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. I particularly like this location, as the tussocky grass in the field makes an interesting foreground, which shows up well in the early morning light.

Signalling problems at West Hewish on 22 August 2023. The signal seen in the background was stuck on red, and so presumably was the one in the far distance, as 221125 had been stationary in the background for a while. It is seen here moving off at low speed with the 1V60 08:20 Aberdeen to Penzance CrossCountry service, while 802013 waits at the signal, before moving off (with the signal still at red) with the 2U26 17:11 Taunton to Cardiff Central train. There was no mention of this delay on the GWR website, which puts some doubt on their published punctuality figures.

221126 passes Wolvercote on 16 December 2014 with the 1O12 09:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. New fencing is going up on the left, although I'm not quite sure why, when there is only a nature reserve and lake next to the line.

221126 races through Culham station on 25 February 2018. This is not quite the mundane passenger service that it appears to be, but is in fact the 5O16 15:15 Oxford to Bournemouth ECS. This was a VSTP (Very Short Term Planning) substitute for the cancelled 1O16 14:16 Oxford to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The line north of Oxford was closed for engineering works, but that still does not explain the cancellation.

After travelling to the line at Bredon's Norton on the morning of 16 September 2023, the mostly sunny conditions promptly changed to full cloud! The only train that passed in weak sun was the 1S37 05:27 Plymouth to Newcastle CrossCountry Voyager. Purely for the record, 221126 is pictured here, heading north.

221126 pass Fiddington on 26 January 2024 with the 1V55 12:03 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. 220018 can just be seen disappearing into the distance with the 1S49 08:37 Penzance to Edinburgh train.

221127 glints in the low winter sun as it passes Kilnhurst on 27 December 2003 with the 06:03 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle Virgin Trains service. The railway at the bottom of the garden is either a railway enthusiast's dream or a bloody nuisance, depending on these householder's views!

221127 rounds the curve at Bishops Itchington on 23 June 2009 with the 1O08 07:26 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. It's a good job this was taken very near the longest day, otherwise the shadows from the bushes on the right would certainly be a problem.

221127 passes Yarnton on 16 May 2010 with the 18:40 Reading to Birmingham New Street CrossCountry service. On the plus side this location now has a footbridge instead of a foot crossing. On the minus side the lineside bushes are rapidly taking away the improved view!

A perfect fit! 221127 neatly fits the gap in the bushes at Damery on 7 September 2013, as it speeds southwards with the 1V45 07:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. The unit's livery contrasts nicely with the recently harvested fields.

Bonfire time! The owner of the land near the Badgeworth Road bridge starts a fire on 7 July 2017, which for a few minutes engulfed the railway line in smoke. Just before it got really bad, 221127 passes Up Hatherley with the 1S45 09:25 Plymouth to Aberdeen CrossCountry service.

221128 passes through Croome Perry Wood on 16 August 2006 with the 09:00 Glasgow Central to Penzance Virgin CrossCountry service. What an ordeal it must be for anyone travelling the whole way on this uncomfortable modern unit, especially after the relative luxury of the loco-hauled stock of yesteryear!

221128 passes Ashchurch on 4 May 2010 with the 07:06 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Single line working was in force here, which explain the track worker stood on the level crossing in the background, with lamps positioned on the other line.

221128 passes Croome on 12 February 2018 with the 1V53 11:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. After a brilliant sunny start, by the afternoon the sun was starting to fade out into thin high cloud.

221128 leaves Oxford station on 2 February 2019 with the 1V85 07:00 Edinburgh to Reading CrossCountry service. It's debatable whether the car park is a better background to this view compared to the former scrapyard!

Fine early morning light at Stoke Orchard on 12 August 2020, and even a humble Voyager is worth a picture. 221128 heads south with the 1V42 06:10 Derby to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Vegetation clearance has opened up this viewpoint considerably.

221128 & 220029 pass Hinksey Yard on 6 May 2021 with the 1O16 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. As can be guessed d from the clouds in the background, this was by no means a totally sunny day, but at least most trains passed by in the sunny spells!

Voyagers are not an everyday sight on the Swindon to Cheltenham line, so this was worth recording, despite the awful weather. 221128 emerges from Kemble Tunnel at speed on 30 December 2021 with the 5S45 10:30 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester ECS. This was the unit allocated to the 1S45 10:39 Bristol Temple Meads to Aberdeen CrossCountry service, but due to severe flooding between Bristol and Gloucester, it started from Gloucester. As the unit ran empty from Bristol to Gloucester, via a reversal at Swindon, I don't quite see the logic of not letting passengers from Bristol use it!

221128 & 220014 pass Tumpy Green on 27 July 2024 with the 1S35 06:15 Bristol Temple Meads to Edinburgh CrossCountry service. This picture would not have been possible a few years earlier, as a line of trees on the left would have cut off the early morning sun.

Superb evening lighting at Spetchley on 8 October 2008 as 221129 speeds south with the 9V65 12:05 Edinburgh to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Despite the new livery, a sign of the unit's former operator can just still be seen, Note the shadow of the former Virgin Trains logo on the yellow front.

221129 passes the site of Bletchingdon station on 20 June 2010 with the 12:26 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The company that is using the former station yard still seems to have a thriving domestic coal business.

221129 passes Hinksey Yard on 16 April 2013 with the late running 1M62 15:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. On the right, the 4L40 16:42 Morris Cowley to Purfleet BMW Mini car carriers stands next to 66133, which is waiting to head north with the 6M28 18:16 Hinksey to Bescot departmental working.

221129 runs alongside the Oxford Canal at Heyford on 15 June 2019 with the 1V81 05:45 Sheffield to Reading CrossCountry service. As can be guessed from the amount of dark clouds in the background, I was exceedingly lucky to get this in the sun.

My first railway picture of 2008 shows a pair of de-branded ex Virgin Class 221 'Voyagers' passing at Hinksey Yard, near Oxford in superb low winter lighting on 2 January. 221130 approaches with the 06:00 Glasgow to Bournemouth Arriva Cross Country service, while 221123 slows for a signal check whilst working the 11:45 Bournemouth to Glasgow service. At the start of 2008 most of the 'Voyager' fleet were in this transitional state, although a few sets have received Cross Country branding, and some retain evidence of their former operators.

I went to Heyford station on 29 October 2008 with the aim of taking a picture showing both the railway and canal with a background of autumn colours. Unfortunately only one tree seems to be putting on much of a show at this location. 221130 rounds the curve and passes the narrowboats on the Oxford Canal as it works the 1V94 09:54 Manchester Piccadilly to Reading Cross Country service. The Oxford Canal parallels the railway up the Cherwell Valley between Oxford and Banbury, and although it is basically a contour following canal and therefore wanders about a bit, there are a number of places where both the cut and the line are in close proximity. However, getting good picture with both included is far from easy!

Just the right size gap for a five coach Voyager! On 17 December 2008, 221130 passes the flooded fields near Tackley with the 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The flooding of the River Cherwell is a regular winter occurrence, with huge areas of water appearing between the river and the Oxford Canal, which shares the valley with the river and the railway. One of the bridges over the canal can be seen in the background of this picture directly above the centre coach.

The former Great Western Railway station building still survives at Bramley, along with its matching waiting room on the opposite platform. 221130 speeds through the station on 22 July 2012 with the 1M38 09:40 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service.

221130 approaches Wychnor Junction on 3 June 2015 with the 1V64 13:06 Edinburgh to Plymouth CrossCountry service. In the background the track leading in to Central Rivers Depot can be seen. This is where the entire Class 220/221 fleet is maintained.

221130 passes Up Hatherley on 5 October 2017 with the 1V52 06:01 Glasgow Central to Plymouth CrossCountry service. This location, along with various others in the area, has recently had the vegetation cut back in preparation for the new Class 800s, although why these new units are any more susceptible to overhanging bushes is a mystery!

One of the sheep in the field inspects 221130, as it passes West Hewish on 14 June 2023 with the 1V60 08:20 Aberdeen to Penzance CrossCountry service. Can you imagine spending a 13 hour journey on one these awful units!

Golden late evening light at Tackley on 20 June 2010. 221131 speeds northwards with the 1M70 17:40 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. This is one location that has actually improved photographically over the last few years. Previously there were a lot of lineside bushes here.

With the location and lighting this good, even a Voyager is worth photographing! Running 14 minutes late, 221131 approaches Burnmouth on 16 September 2019 with the 1S45 09:25 Plymouth to Aberdeen CrossCountry service.

221131 & 220026 pass Tredington on 10 May 2021 with the 1V58 11:39 Newcastle to Penzance CrossCountry service. The bridge in the background is the farm occupation bridge at Fiddington. It is also a good photographic location, but unlike this spot, it requires a very long walk to get there, as there is no public footpath from this location.

221132 passes Abbotswood on 13 June 2014 with the 1V43 06:00 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Note the bank of cloud in the background, indicating that it wouldn't have been a good idea to venture further north!

Ideal photographic conditions at Gossington on 15 September 2023. 221132 heads east with the 1M37 11:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing.

CrossCountry services were diverted away from the Bristol to Gloucester line on Saturdays in the latter part of 2008 due to engineering work. Not long after sunrise on 18 October 2008, 221133 passes Magor with the 06:10 Exeter St Davids to Manchester Piccadilly service, having just reversed at Newport. Note the pink tint to the sky which I hoped was going to herald an improvement in the weather, which although apparently clear as I was driving from Gloucester, was in fact dull and drizzly in South Wales. The colour in the sky however only lasted a short while and then after a period when it looked like it might possibly brighten up, it started raining seriously.

221133 passes Standish Junction on 16 March 2009 with the 1V45 07:06 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing, which I'm sure Network Rail would love to have closed!

221133 passes Fiddington on 23 August 2012 with the 1V57 13:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Bredon Hill can be seen in the background, a 981 feet high hill rising out of the flat Vale of Evesham.

221133 passes Wolvercote on 22 March 2020 with the late running 1O14 10:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. One day before the coronavirus lockdown, and already there seems to be no traffic on the A40 in the background!

Fine early morning light at Sandy Lane, Kidlington on 22 September 2012, as 221134 speeds southwards with the 1O04 05:11 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The level crossing in the background has subsequently been the scene of several accidents.

221134 passes Wolvercote on 17 August 2023 with the 1O14 10:25 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Note how the willow trees on the left are starting to encroach on the track. That's in addition to the bushes growing in the ballast on the right!

221135 passes Croome on 9 August 2014 with the 1V45 07:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Newquay CrossCountry service. At least most of the passengers can look forward to a sunny day on the beach, where they can recover from the claustrophobic experience of a long journey in a Voyager!

221135 passes Oxford North Junction on 25 March 2017 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Waiting in the background is 66130 with the 4V54 09:33 Wakefield Europort to Didcot intermodal.

221135 speeds past Fiddington on 30 October 2017 with the 1V54 06:32 Dundee to Plymouth CrossCountry service. This location had recently been cleared of lineside bushes, as is evident from the pile of wood chippings on the left.

221135 passes Wolvercote on 11 March 2021 with the 1O14 10:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Reading CrossCountry service. The cottage visible directly behind the train stands on a narrow strip of land between the railway and the Oxford Canal.

221135 passes Puriton on 22 August 2023 with the 1V56 07:48 Glasgow Central to Plymouth CrossCountry service. In the bushes behind the train, is the course of the branch that connected the mainline with the former Royal Ordnance Factory Bridgwater munitions works. This closed in 2008, although the rail connection was out of use long before that.

221135 passes Spetchley on 5 September 2023 with the 1V48 06:40 Newcastle to Plymouth CrossCountry service, which on this occasion had started from York at 07:45. Note that the loop on the left still retains vintage bullhead track.

Soft early morning autumnal light at Banbury on 21 September 2009, as 221136 passes the stone terminal with the 06:15 Leeds to Reading CrossCountry service. The lighting was gradually getting brighter, as can be seen on the following train, using CrossCountry's other class of Voyager unit.

221136 pulls out of Oxford station on 1 April 2015 with the 1O80 06:33 Birmingham New Street to Southampton CrossCountry service, while in the background 165137 arrives with the 2N08 05:57 First Great Western service from Paddington.

221136 speeds through Tackley station on 14 June 2017 with the 1O06 06:37 Nottingham to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The footpath crossing in the foreground was formerly a vehicle crossing, giving access to the fields on the opposite side of the line to the village of Tackley.

221136 passes Puriton on 22 August 2023 with the 1V54 08:06 Edinburgh to Plymouth CrossCountry service. This is my first visit to the location since 1990, and the traction definitely hasn't improved, either in quantity, or quality!

They may have been a massive step backwards in terms of passenger comfort compared with the loco hauled stock they replaced, but the Voyagers did look fairly presentable in their original livery, especially when hew. 221137 Mayflower Pilgrims passes Ashchurch on 19 June 2004 with the 1E28 06:52 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle Virgin CrossCountry service.

221137 Mayflower Pilgrims passes the site of Stonehouse (Bristol Road) station on a gloomy 15 April 2006. It is working the 08:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle Virgin CrossCountry service. The rusting siding in the undergrowth was in use long after the passenger station closed, as the coal depot on the site survived right up to the Speedlink Coal era, finally closing in 1987.

221137 passes Wolvercote Junction on a clear and bright 17 October 2010 with the 1O18 12:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The single line diverging to the left is the Cotswold Line, leading to Worcester and Hereford.

221138 passes Spetchley on 14 May 2005 with the 07:05 Leeds to Plymouth Virgin CrossCountry service. A lot of photographers ignored these units when they took over from proper loco hauled trains, but I wanted a record of the changing scene, and the striking red and silver livery is already history on this route.

A brief burst of sunshine illuminates 221138, as it passes Badgeworth on 31 October 2006 with the 10:10 Glasgow Central to Penzance Virgin CrossCountry service. The Cotswold Hills in the background are not benefiting from the sunshine!

221138 passes Kings Sutton on 28 April 2008 with the late running 07:33 Birmingham New Street to Reading Virgin CrossCountry service. Note the damage to the front valance, a fairly common occurrence on modern units. Picture taken from a public footpath crossing.

221138 passes Fenham Low Moor (near Berwick-upon-Tweed) on 2 May 2008 with the 11:45 Bournemouth to Glasgow Central Virgin CrossCountry service. The house in the background is next to Smeafield level crossing.

221138 passes the blackthorn blossom at Rangeworthy on 15 April 2015, as it heads northwards with the 1S41 07:25 Plymouth to Edinburgh CrossCountry service. The sun is just starting to burn off the early morning fog, which, in the typically awkward way that these things happen, was only very localised just around the railway!

A numerical coincidence at Cheltenham on 23 June 2023. 221138 & 221139 are picture passing each other just to the south of Cheltenham station. 221138 would ordinarily be working the 1V53 11:03 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service, but due to a problem with the train, all the passengers had just been turfed out, and it was continuing on to Bristol empty stock. 221139 is heading in the opposite direction with the late running 1M45 13:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly service.

221139 passes Didcot North Junction on 12 November 2007 with the 11:54 Manchester Piccadilly to Reading Virgin CrossCountry service. I suppose I was lucky not to have a lorry crossing the bridge, as being the Didcot bypass, it is quite a busy road.

221139 races past Tackley on 6 June 2016 with the 1E64 17:45 Reading to Newcastle CrossCountry service. This location is one of the few spots that I can think of that has actually improved in terms of visibility in the last few years. In the 1990s there was a very large bush compromising this viewpoint.

221139 passes Wolvercote on 12 July 2016 with the 1M66 16:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. There is plenty of evidence of work to reinstate the down relief line, which means it came as a surprise some months later when all this neatly laid new track was taken up again!

Lengthening evening shadows at Churchdown on 17 June 2017, as 221139 passes the site of the former station with the 1V66 13:00 Glasgow Central to Plymouth CrossCountry service. The western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills can be seen in the background.

221139 runs alongside the North Sea coastline at Burnmouth on 16 September 2019 with the 1V70 15:00 Glasgow Central to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service, which on this occasion was terminated at Birmingham New Street for some unspecified reason.

Unusual territory for a Voyager. With the Westbury White Horse standing out clearly on the hillside in the background, 221139 passes Berkley on 18 September 2023 with what should have been the diverted 1V58 10:03 Edinburgh to Penzance CrossCountry service. That was terminated at Newcastle, so presumably this replacement had started from Birmingham.

221140 passes Stonehouse (Bristol Road) on 9 June 2012 with the 1M29 07:02 Paignton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. The Cotswold Hills form the background, and the Oldends Industrial Estate forms the foreground!

221140 passes Wolvercote on 19 January 2015 with the 1O12 09:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Prominent on the left is the new trackwork in connection with the reinstated down relief line. This was originally installed during the Second World War, between Oxford and Wolvercote, but lifted in the 1960s.

221140 approaches Up Hatherley on 23 July 2016 with the 1M29 07:02 Paignton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. In the background is the well known photographic vantage point of Badgeworth bridge.

221140 rounds the curve at Hatton North Junction on 19 April 2018 with the late running 1E60 15:46 Southampton Central to Newcastle CrossCountry service. Even the humble Voyager is worth photographing in perfect spring light such as this!

Dramatic lighting at Burn on 17 October 2013, as 221141 heads northwards with the 1S41 07:25 Plymouth to Edinburgh CrossCountry service. I wouldn't normally bother to photograph a Voyager under the wires, as I see enough of them in the Oxford area, but in this occasion the superb lighting made up for the dull traction!

221141 passes Worting Junction on 14 May 2016 with the 1M38 09:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. A day of intermittent cloud, when obviously the mundane subject like this would be the one to pass in full sun!

With the partly demolished Didcot Power Station dominating the background, 221141 approaches Culham on 2 July 2016 with the 1E82 06:53 Southampton to Newcastle CrossCountry service. On the left is the bridge that carries the line over the River Thames near Appleford.

221141 speeds past the start of Eckington loop on 17 August 2017 with the 1M61 17:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Even one of these almost universally hated DMUs is worth recording in nice evening light such as this!

221141 passes Stoke Prior on 12 February 2018 with the 1V47 08:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton CrossCountry service. This is one of only four four coach Class 221s, making them look like Class 220s without reference to the number.

221141 approaches Didcot North Junction on 16 February 2018 with the 1O82 06:16 Leeds to Southampton Central CrossCountry service. The temporarily abandoned electfrication masts disfigure the background, and it will not be long before the foreground is also obscured.

221141 & 220015 pass a field of buttercups near Bredon's Norton on 27 May 2023 with the 1E67 15:27 Plymouth to Leeds CrossCountry service. This was cancelled at Birmingham New Street. It wasn't running late, and according to Realtime Trains this was due to 'an unknown reason'!

221142 Matthew Flinders passes Thrupp on 30 April 2006 with the 1O12 09:24 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth Virgin CrossCountry service. This location formerly gave clear views from both sides of the line, now only this side is clear of vegetation.

221142 Matthew Flinders passes Alstone (Cheltenham) on 28 April 2007 with the 08:24 Manchester Piccadilly to Plymouth Virgin Trains service. Virgin kept their new trains quite clean in the early days, but the standard of cleanliness seen here didn't always last!

A meeting of Class 221 units at Dosthill on 1 May 2004. 221144 heads northwards with the 08:30 Birmingham New Street to Newcastle Virgin Trains services and passes an unidentified unit heading the 06:00 Leeds to Bristol Temple Meads train. 221144 no longer exists, as in 2010 its two centre coaches were removed to allow 221142 & 221143 to be converted into five car units. Therefore the driving car pictured here (and the one on the other end) are now spare. It also leaves 221141 as the only four car 221 set.

221144 & 220015 just manage to dodge he shadows, as they speed past Thrupp on 11 August 2020 with the 1O20 13:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Like most Voyager operated trains, this has been doubled up during the coronavirus pandemic.

221144 passes Heyford on 11 May 2024 with the 1M26 06:33 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service. It's not apparent from the picture, but the field in the foreground was extremely boggy and waterlogged!

Sporting the new East Midlands Trains livery, 222001 passes Barkby Thorpe (near Leicester) with the 09:30 Nottingham to St Pancras service on 26 July 2008. Formerly open countryside between Leicester and Syston, new development can be seen on the horizon, and presumably in a few years time the field behind the train will also succumb to mew house building.

222001 speeds past Sharnbrook on 21 April 2010 with the 13:15 Corby to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. Note the crossover allowing access to the bi-directional freight line. The train is approaching the site of Sharnbrook station, which closed in 1960.

Early 2021 still sees a good proportion of the East Midlands Railway Class 222 fleet in the old East Midlands Trains livery. One example is the prototype unit, 222001, seen here approaching Great Bowden on 30 March 2021 with the 1C60 15:29 Sheffield to St Pancras International service.

222002 passes Harrowden Junction on 19 March 2018 with the 1C45 12:29 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Trains service. Harrowden Junction is not a junction in the true sense of the word, with diverging routes, but merely where there is a connection between the main and relief lines.

222002 just manages to dodge the shadows at Great Bowden on 22 April 2021, as it heads north with the 1D51 16:05 St Pancras International to Nottingham East Midlands Railway service. The bridge in the background carries the Great Bowden to Market Harborough road.

Meridian unit 222003 passes Milton Ernest with the 09:30 Nottingham to St Pancras service on 16 August 2007. Class 222s come in 4, 5, and (as here) 8 coach formations. The train has crossed over the River Great Ouse, which the line repeatedly re-crosses in the Bedford area. The tracks on the right are the freight lines, which take an easier gradient at Sharnbrook a few miles to the north of this location.

222003 Tornado rounds the curve on the approach to Wellingborough on 23 April 2010 with the 13:55 St Pancras to Sheffield East Midlands Trains service. The name Tornado strictly speaking applies just to driving car at this end, as it has the same number (60163) as the newly built Peppercorn Class A1 steam locomotive.

222003 passes Braybrooke on 23 April 2021 with the 1D90 16:05 St Pancras International to Nottingham East Midlands Railway service. I only visited this location twice, within a few weeks, and now regret not making the trek across the field much earlier.

Soft early morning light at Cossington on 22 March 2012, as 222005 speeds southwards with the 1C25 08:27 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. The EMT livery looks particularly effective on these units, especially when kept clean, as here.

222005 passes Cossington on 13 November 2013 with the 1C45 12:29 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Trains service. The lorry parked on the bridge in the background was in connection with road works that in theory had closed the road. This hadn't stopped me using the bridge for a photo of D1015 the previous day!

Yet another picture of 222005 at Cossington. It always seems to be this unit that turns up when I visit this location! It is seen here on 31 March 2016, working the 1C25 08:29 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service (again!).

With the sun temporarily subdued by high cloud, 222005 passes Cossington on 18 April 2021 with the 1C56 14:39 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. The village of Sileby can be seen in the distance.

222006 receives its only personal spotlighting at is passes Wistow Road near Kibworth Harcourt on 3 February 2011 with the 1C50 13:27 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. Although not to everyone's taste, I quite like the effect where a fully lit train is highlighted against a dark background such as this. The reverse however is a total disaster!

222006 passes Braybrooke on 30 March 2021 with the 1C50 13:29 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midland Railway service. Photo taken from a public footpath bridge, which has been rebuilt with massive approach ramps for the use by the local farmer to herd animals across, and yet it has been blocked off with large baulks of timber!

Fast passenger, slow freight. 222007 passes Cossington on 21 February 2019 with the 1C57 15:00 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Trains service, overtaking 66770, which is working the 6M23 12:57 Doncaster Decoy to Mountsorrel ballast empties.

222007 passes underneath the footbridge at Kilby Bridge on 31 July 2020, as it heads towards London with the 1C42 12:00 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midland Railway service. The ragwort growing on the trackside certainly adds to the picture.

Superb spring light at Kilby Bridge on 22 April 2021. 222007 heads towards Leicester with the 1F40 14:02 St Pancras International to Sheffield East Midlands Railway service. At this time there were still quite a number of these units still wearing this obsolete livery.

222007 rounds the curve at Great Bowden on 22 April 2021 with the 1B73 16:50 Nottingham to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. This is one of the better locations for a southbound train in the evening on the line.

222008 speeds past Barrow Upon Soar with the 11:18 Derby to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service on 12 September 2009. Note the new the footbridge in the background, which replaces the one damaged in an accident by rail contractors that resulted in a train driver being injured when his train ran into the wreckage.

Sporting the new East Midlands Railways livery, 222009 passes Rushton on 18 April 2021 with the 1B36 10:30 Nottingham to St Pancras International service. Just 20 minutes later, the next train was in the earlier East Midlands Train livery.

222009 rounds the curve at Kibworth Harcourt on 22 April 2021 with the 1F47 15:31 St Pancras International to Sheffield East Midlands Railway service. This is the view from Wistow Road, which is becoming progressively less rural, as the houses get nearer, and nearer!

222010 speeds past Barkby Thorpe on 28 March 2012 with the 1B31 10:05 Nottingham to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. A very good location for southbound trains, as long as they are not on the relief line, which as you can see, at this time of the year is in the shade of the lineside bushes.

222010 speeds past Barrow-upon-Soar on 15 September 2012 with the 1C42 11:47 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. This conveniently low wall next to the village's car park will no doubt soon have a palisade fence erected for 'safety' reasons!

One new livery, one old livery. 222011 & 222017 pass Braybrooke on 23 April 2021 with the 1F55 16:02 St Pancras International to Sheffield East Midlands Railway service. Electrification has now severely compromised this view.

Not exactly what I was expecting to see at Swarkestone, on the Stenson Junction to Sheet Stores Junction line on 24 November 2008. Presumably working the diverted 08:10 Burton upon Trent to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service, 222012 passes a few remaining autumn leaves in some welcome early morning sunshine.

222012 passes Cossington on 20 January 2020 with the 1C50 13:29 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Railway service. At this time on a winter afternoon a very long lens is required in order to avoid foreground shadows.

222012 passes Rushton on 18 April 2021 with the 1B46 12:49 Nottingham to St Pancras International service East Midlands Railway service. Plenty of young ash tress on the lineside here, which will ruin the shot once the leaves come out.

222013 speeds past Souldrop on 21 April 2010 with the 10:47 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. The first signs of the year's new green leaves are showing on the trackside bushes, as well as the blackthorn still being in full bloom.

222013 & 222021 pass Draycott on 27 July 2019 with the 5B21 07:02 Derby Etches Park to Nottingham East Midlands Trains ECS. Neither Draycott or the nearby large village of Borrowash (behind the trees in the background) now have stations, both being closed in 1966.

222013 & 222021 pass Rushton on 18 April 2021 with the 1D36 13:00 St Pancras International to Nottingham East Midlands Railway service. A short distance from this is spot is the famous Rushton Triangular Lodge, a 16th century folly designed by Sir Thomas Tresham.

222014 passes Wistow Road near Kibworth Harcourt on 3 February 2011 with the 1B51 14:02 Nottingham to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. In an era when golf courses are springing up everywhere, it is interesting to note that the field on the right was at one time a golf course, but has now reversed the trend and reverted back to agriculture!

222014 catches the very last of the afternoon light, as it passes Cossington on 14 October 2023 with the 1C71 16:01 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. This was the only occasion that I can remember being the sole photographer present at this location.

222015 & 222018 speed past Cossington on 12 November 2013 with the 1C40 11:27 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. Cossington has always been a popular location, but southbound shots are a little restricted, needing a long lens to clear foreground shadows.

Old and new East Midlands Railway liveries at Cossington on 20 January 2020. 222015 & 222104 head south with the 1C45 12:29 Sheffield to St Pancras International service. At the time this picture was taken, 222104 was the only Class 222 to sport EMR's new purple colour scheme.

222015 passes Sutton Bonington on 12 December 2020 with the 1C37 11:00 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service, just as the 1F22 10:31 St Pancras International to Sheffield train disappears into the distance.

A location that I only just got around to visiting in time, before the electfrication masts went up. The work site on the left is preparation for the forthcoming work. 222015 passes Braybrooke on 30 March 2021 with the 1F42 14:31 St Pancras International to Sheffield East Midlands Railway service

222015 passes Rushton on 18 April 2021 with the 1C38 10:25 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. 20 minutes earlier the 1B36 10:30 Nottingham to St Pancras International train had been worked by new liveried 222009.

222016 passes Ashwell on 5 July 2020 with the diverted 1C56 14:00 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. The train's normal route, via Market Harborough, was closed for Sunday engineering works.

East Midlands on the East Coast. 222017 approaches Joan Croft Junction on 20 April 2019 with the 1C77 17:50 York to St Pancras International East Midlands Trains service. The train had worked north earlier in the day as the 1F05 06:33 St Pancras International to York. This is the company's only presence on the East Coast Mainline, and even this only runs at the weekends.

222018 runs along the bi-directional relief line at Harrowden Junction on 11 January 2014 with the 1P24 09:16 Corby to St Pancras East Coast Trains service. Probably photographed by more people than would usually be the case, as 20302 & 20305 had just passed by with a railtour!

222018 passes Cossington on 15 March 2022 with the 1C50 12:37 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. I stopped off here as I was travelling south along the A46, and it became sunny in the Leicester area, after being cloudy further north, and when I left, it became cloudy again further south!

222019 passes Rushton on 23 April 2021 with the 1F42 14:31 St Pancras International to Sheffield East Midlands Railway service. Note the front end damage below the lights, which is strangely only affecting one side.

222020 passes Cossington on 28 January 2008 with the 11:34 Derby to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. In this livery, the unit numbers on these trains are incredibly difficult to see when they are travelling at speed.

222020 passes Kilby Bridge on 31 July 2020 with the 1B31 10:12 Nottingham to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. A deliberately slightly off centre picture, in order to include the corner of the maize field on the left.

An infrequent visitor to the East Coast Main Line, former Midland Mainline 222021 passes Bishop Wood (between York and Doncaster) with the 17:03 Scarborough to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service on 26 July 2008. This is the only daily East Midlands service from the East Coast resort.

222021 passes Harrowden Junction in lovely early morning winter light on 11 January 2014 with the 1B21 07:04 Lincoln Central to St Pancras International East Midlands Trains service. In the background are Furnace Cottages, on Furnace Lane, a reminder of the former Finedon Iron Works, which was situated on the other side of the line.

After a long period with only one of their DMUs in the new purple livery, East Midlands Railway finally got around to painting some more in summer 2020. 222022 passes Cossington on 15 September 2020 with the 1B46 13:12 Nottingham to St Pancras International service.

222022 approaches Great Bowden on 30 March 2021 with the 1C57 15:00 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. The two signals in the background unfortunately slightly spoil this viewpoint.

222022 passes Great Bowden on 22 April 2021 with the 1C62 16:00 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Railway service. This picture is taken from a footbridge situated between the two road bridges in the village.

222023 passes Barkby Thorpe on 26 July 2008 with the 07:30 St Pancras International to Nottingham East Midlands Trains service. The set numbers are almost invisible on this early version of the East Midlands livery, being black on dark grey.

222023 passes non-stop through East Midlands Parkway station on 11 March 2010 with the 09:02 Nottingham to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. The signals here have recently be repositioned, replacing ones which were much nearer the bridge that I am standing on, and therefore were somewhat in the way, photographically.

The villages of East and Church Langton dominate this view of 222023, as it approaches Great Bowden on 30 March 2021 with the 1C62 16:00 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Railway service. The castellated water tower belonging to East Langton Grange can be seen above the unit's fourth coach, and the tower of St Peter's church can be seen on the right.

222101 races past Rushton on 23 April 2021 with the 1F37 13:31 St Pancras International to Sheffield East Midlands Railway service. A perfect spring day, but unfortunately only a couple of HST diagrams left, with these DMUs about take over completely very shortly.

222102 passes Great Heck on 14 March 2008 with the 08:12 Hull to Kings Cross Hull Trains service. This is one of the very few pictures that I have of these green and silver liveried units, during their short career with Hull Trains.

222102 passes Sutton Bonington on 12 December 2020 with the 1D16 09:05 St Pancras International to Nottingham East Midland Railway service. Neither of the bridges in the background unfortunately have any public access.

Hull Trains had a very small fleet - just four Class 222 4 car units. 222104 is pictured here passing Woodhall (between Selby and Gilberdyke) with the 09:48 Kings Cross to Hull service on 14 March 2008. As can be seen, this is a very straight section of railway. The flat lands to the north of the River Ouse presented very few engineering difficulties to the original builders of the line.

The highest numbered Class 222, 222104 rounds the curve at Wellingborough on 11 January 2014 with the 1C27 08:49 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. This unit looked very different the last time I saw it, when it was part of the small Hull Trains fleet.