A brief burst of autumnal sunshine lights up D5054 as it passes Burrs on 7 October 1990 with the 14:00 Bury to Ramsbottom service, during the East Lancashire Railway's Diesel Gala. As can be guessed by the clouds in the background, this was one of the very few sunny periods!

The picture that everyone from the 1980s seems to have of 97201! Formerly 24061, this loco outlived the rest of its class on the national network by becoming BR's research department test loco 97201. It is pictured here at the Basingstoke Rail Show on 27 September 1987, in the company of 86401. It was withdrawn from the research fleet a few months later, but survives in preservation.

24081 & D7629 leave Berwyn station on a misty and drizzly 20 May 1995 with the 10:00 Llangollen to Glyndyfrdwy service, during the Llangollen Railway's Diesel Gala. The Class 24 moved to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway a couple of years later.

On a cloudless 19 July 1997, 24081 stands in Toddington Yard, on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway in the company of Hunslet 0-6-0ST Robert Nelson No.4 and Class 108 DMU 51950 & 52062. The seriously faded yellow front end is barely covering up the loco's number, which can just be seen below the upper headcode disc.

24081 & 47105 pass Hailes on 19 October 2002 with the 12:25 Toddington to Gotherington service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Autumn Diesel Gala. 47105's steam heating boiler is clearly in perfect working order.

The clearance of lineside vegetation on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway in 2003 created a few transient photographic opportunities. One such was between Hailes and Winchcombe, where the clearance around this tree allowed for a more artistic view of southbound trains. 24081 & D8137 pass by on 26 October 2003 with the 13:10 Toddington to Cheltenham Racecourse service, during the line's Diesel Gala.

24081 approaches Hailes on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway with the 09:55 Winchcombe to Toddington freight on 24 September 2005, during the line's Diesel Gala. Crisp autumnal lighting with the sun just glancing across the front end make ideal photographic conditions. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway seems to be very lucky with the weather for its diesel galas, and the combination of a varied fleet of locomotives plus numerous photographic vantage points makes it always worth a visit.

24081 arrives at Yarwell Junction with the 2E45 09:50 Wansford to Peterborough service on 1 March 2008, during the Nene Valley Railway's Diesel Gala. 27066 can just be seen on the rear of the train. Yarwell Junction is a terminus now, but was a formerly a junction between the lines from Market Harborough and Northampton. Trains start from Wansford and run the short distance to this point before reversing and then passing through Wansford again en-route to Peterborough.

The sun has disappeared, and so has most of the snow, as 24081 & 27066 pass Hailes on 6 April 2008 with the 11:40 Toddington to Cheltenham Racecourse service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a picture of the visiting Class 27 leading a train during the gala.

24081 works the first train of the day on Sunday 5 April 2009, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Spring Diesel Gala. It is pictured passing Didbrook with the 09:30 Toddington to Cheltenham Racecourse service. A cow had been standing near the fence in the foreground just before the train came and would have added foreground interest to the picture, but for the fact that it kept presenting its rear end towards the camera! However, just before the train appeared it obviously got bored with that particular area of grass and wandered out of the picture completely

24081 approaches the west end of Greet Tunnel on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway with the 10:25 Cheltenham Racecourse to Toddington service on 5 April 2009, during the line's Diesel Gala. As can be seen here, the weather forecaster's promise of a fine sunny day didn't last long, although in fairness it did briefly brighten up a little later.

24081 traverses the long straight section of track from Hailes on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, during the line's Diesel Gala on 5 April 2009. It is working the 12:10 Toddington to Cheltenham Racecourse service. 47105 can just be seen on the rear of the train, waiting to be used on the return 12:51 from Cheltenham Racecourse. The clouds were rapidly building up and in fact most trains after this one conspired to miss the few remaining sunny periods.

How much Rosebay Willowherb can you get in one picture? Quite a lot if you stand in the right place and use a short telephoto lens to compress the perspective! 24081 passes a huge patch of the trackside weed as it emerges from underneath the road bridge at Hailes with the 13:25 Toddington to Gotherington service on 9 July 2010, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. The Friday was principally a 'Shunterfest' event, although there were a few Type 1 & 2 diesel turns, such as this.

24081 amid a sea of semaphores at Toddington on 2 October 2010. It is working the 12:00 Toddington Distant Signal to Gotherington service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. Class 25 D7612 can just be seen on the rear of the train.

5081 (24081) brings up the rear of the 2C53 09:20 Toddington to Cheltenham Racecourse service at Hailes on 28 July 2013, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. 45149 was leading the train. A going away shot, but with nothing to give the game away, and full sun, definitely worth a picture.

5081 pulls out of Cheltenham Racecourse station on 27 July 2014 with the 2L62 10:50 train to Laverton, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. This was a very lucky shot, as the sun was in as the loco left the station, and the picture would have been hopeless. However, it cleared just as it passed under the signal, although it was still cloudy just behind me!

With the wooded slopes of the Cotswold Hills in the background, 5081 (24081) passes Southam on 31 July 2016 with the 2C61 11:31 Laverton to Cheltenham Racecourse service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala.

5081 (24081) undergoing bogie refurbishment inside Toddington Diesel Shed on 15 July 2017. This loco's time on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway now equals its rather short career with BR. It entered service in March 1960, but had been withdrawn by October 1980.

5081 passes Stanton on 20 September 2020 with the 1C13 11:50 Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse service. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's reliable Class 24 is making a welcome return to traffic, after an extensive bogie overhaul.

5081 passes through Hayles Abbey Halt on 20 September 2020 with the 1C13 11:50 Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse service. The original halt on this site was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1928. This faithful recreation by the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway opened in 2017.

5081 approaches Winchcombe on 20 September 2020 with the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's 1B14 13:25 Cheltenham Racecourse to Broadway service. As it was a day of unbroken sunshine, I was surprised at how few photographers were around (there was nobody else here), although perhaps the 'Whack' headboard put them off!

5081 approaches Toddington on 20 September 2020 with the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's 1C17 14:25 Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse service. Note the centre pivot signal on the right, which controls northbound departures from Toddington's down platform.

5081 passes Bishop's Cleeve on 20 September 2020 with the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's 1C17 14:25 Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse service. Bishop's Cleeve station (closed in March 1960) was situated just around the corner, behind the train.

5081 passes Southam on 29 July 2022 with the 2C59 11:15 Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. After a completely sunny start to the day, the predicted clouds were now starting to build up.