D821 Greyhound gets an admiring glance, as it passes Northwood Lane on 7 May 1993 with the 13:30 Kidderminster to Bridgnorth service during the Severn Valley Railway's Diesel Gala. Note that some wag has stuck a L plate on the front of the loco! While Greyhound continues to see active use in preservation, the blue Rover that it is passing has not been so lucky, having presumably succumbed to the tin worm in 2001

Looking superb in its late 1960s BR blue livery, despite the inappropriate coaches, D821 Greyhound passes Northwood Lane on 7 May 1993, en-route from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster during the Severn Valley Railway's Diesel Gala. The flat area in the foreground is the course of the old Tenbury Wells line (closed in 1964).

D821 Greyhound approaches Bewdley on 7 May 1993 with the 16:30 Kidderminster to Bridgnorth service, during the Severn Valley Railway's Diesel Gala. Blue livery with small yellow panels was applied to a small number of locos in the late 1960s. On the Warships it looks much better than the later full yellow end version.

D821 Greyhound was the star attraction at the 1994 Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Diesel Gala. Despite the terrible weather, the visiting hydraulic was a major crowd puller, although probably more for haulage enthusiasts, rather than lineside photographers, who got a drenching! It is pictured here approaching Greet Tunnel in the rain on 12 November 1994 with the 11:18 Toddington to Far Stanley service. The loco was visiting from the Severn Valley Railway.

D821 Greyhound approaches the west end of Greet Tunnel in the pouring rain on 12 November 1994 with the 12:31 Far Stanley to Toddington service. The loco was on loan from the Severn Valley Railway, and was the star attraction at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala.

D821 Greyhound passes through Stogumber station on the West Somerset Railway with the 1V25 12:00 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard service on 18 May 1997, during the line's Diesel Gala. Unusually the station building is at ground level on the opposite side of the track to the platform, behind where I am standing. The station was never particularly busy, lying as it does in a predominantly agricultural area on the edge of the Quantock Hills.

Ahead of the gathering storm. The Quantock Hills in the background are already under the clouds, as D821 Greyhound approaches Watchet on 18 May 1997 with the 1V55 14:45 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead service, during the West Somerset Railway's Diesel Gala.

Although I remember seeing Warships on the mainline, that was long before I had a camera. So here is my first picture of one on the mainline! D821 (minus its Greyhound nameplates) passes Oaksey on 4 September 2017 in the middle of the 0Z50 11:50 Old Oak Common to Kidderminster loco convoy, hauled by D407 Hercules. Note the temporary through piping for the train air brakes.

A hydraulic comparison at Kidderminster on 16 May 2019. D821 Greyhound prepares to leave with the 12:11 service to Bridgnorth, while Class 52 D1062 Western Courier waits to take over the 12:37 to Bewdley. The haze from D821's exhaust is partly obscuring two visitors to the Severn Valley's Diesel Gala: 37688, and prototype HST power car 41001. Partly obscured on the right is Deltic 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier.

A little glimmer of weak sunshine almost breaks through the mass of dark clouds, as D821 Greyhound passes Eardington on 6 October 2019 with the 15:20 Kidderminster to Bridgnorth service, during the Severn Valley Railway's Diesel Gala.

Minus its Greyhound nameplates, and with various areas of the bodyside sanded down ready for repainting, D821 stands outside the Severn Valley Railway's Kidderminster Diesel Depot on 22 July 2021, in the company of 09107.

D821 Greyhound passes Eardington on 20 May 2023 with the 16:30 Kidderminster to Bridgnorth service, during the Severn Valley Railway's Diesel Gala. The loco had recently been outshopped in a fresh coat of BR blue paint.

Wearing its non-authentic black livery, D832 Onslaught passes Burrs on 4 October 1992, en-route from Rawtenstall to Bury Bolton Street, during the East Lancashire Railway's Diesel Gala. If the Warships had been introduced just a few years earlier, they would indeed have worn this livery.

D832 Onslaught leaves Irwell Vale on the East Lancashire Railway with a Bury Bolton Street to Rawtenstall service during the line's Diesel Gala on 18 June 1995. The loco is painted in black livery with the early BR 'cycling lion' emblem below the cab window. While this livery was never carried by the class it certainly looks impressive, especially with the white bodyside stripe and wheel rims. Unfortunately, as can be seen from the dark clouds gathering in the background, the sunny start to the day didn't last, although as usual it was sunny on the drive home!

A welcome and surprising break in the clouds, as D832 Onslaught approaches Irwell Vale, whilst en-route from Rawtenstall to Bury Bolton Street on 18 June 1995, during East Lancashire Railway's Diesel Gala. The Warships might well have carried this black livery if they had been introduced a few years earlier, but certainly not with a yellow front end!

832 Onslaught passes Stogumber on 1 October 1995 with the 14:15 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard parcels train, during the West Somerset Railway's Autumn Diesel Gala. I'm not sure how often this combination of liveries occurred on a three van train in the late 1960s, but it certainly looks different.

In lovely low evening light, 832 Onslaught passes Doniford Beach Halt with the 16:15 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead parcels train on 1 October 1995, during the West Somerset Railway's Diesel Gala. I don't think the plastic chairs are necessarily a period feature of the station!

832 Onslaught arrives at Rothley on 31 March 1996 with the 12:40 Loughborough to Leicester North service, during the Great Central Railway's Diesel Gala. The loco is early 1970s condition, wearing BR blue livery, but with original numbers, although after the removal of the D prefix, following the end of steam. This was the final livery for the Warships, as they didn't survive long enough to acquire TOPS numbers.

A hydraulic pairing at Crowcombe Heathfield on 17 May 1997, during the West Somerset Railway's Diesel Gala. 832 Onslaught & 1010 Western Campaigner leave the station with the 12:45 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead service.

In the pouring rain, the only two surviving Class 42 'Warships' 832 Onslaught & D821 Greyhound round the curve at Roebuck Farm on the West Somerset Railway with the 1V55 14:50 Minehead to Bishops Lydeard service on 17 May 1997, during the line's Diesel Gala. As the lead loco is in blue livery it is correctly showing the number 832, minus the D prefix. I suppose you would call this picture atmospheric, but standing in the field during a downpour was not what I had in mind. If this picture appears to be suffering from excessive film grain, believe me it isn't - that it what it looks like when taking pictures in a monsoon! Not much change of seeing the film grain on a 6x7 slide anyway.

The highlight of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's 2018 Diesel Gala was the visit of D832 Onslaught from the East Lancashire Railway, This comes 24 years after the other preserved Warship, D821 Greyhound visited the line. Onslaught is pictured here passing Dixton on 27 July 2018 with the 2C57 10:30 Broadway to Cheltenham Racecourse service.

D832 Onslaught passes Dixton on 27 July 2018 with the 2B58 11:55 Cheltenham Racecourse to Broadway service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. Although not in sunshine, the weather is nowhere near as bad as when the other Warship, D821 Greyhound visited in 1994!

With the spire of St Mary's church dominating the view, D832 Onslaught detaches from Class 14 D9521 and the 09:05 Norchard to Lydney Junction train (hidden by the bushes), at Lydney Junction on 15 September 2018, during the Dean Forest Railway's Diesel Gala. The hydraulic pair had doubled headed the train, but now D832 would be used on a northbound freight.

D832 Onslaught crosses over the Lydney bypass, as it leaves Lydney Junction on 15 September 2018 with the late running 09:45 freight to Norchard, during the Dean Forest Railway's Diesel Gala. This bypass seems to have done little for the traffic congestion in the town, which on my limited number of visits has always been terrible!

The first visit of a Warship to the Forest of Dean. D832 Onslaught passes the footpath crossing at Upper Forge on 15 September 2018 with the 10:43 Parkend to Lydney Junction service, during the Dean Forest Railway's Diesel Gala.

D832 Onslaught passes Upper Forge on 15 September 2018 with the 11:25 Lydney Junction to Parkend service, during the Dean Forest Railway's Diesel Gala. Norchard's distant signal can be seen in the background.

D832 Onslaught passes Upper Forge on 15 September 2018 with the 12:19 Parkend to Lydney Junction freight, during the Dean Forest Railway's Diesel Gala. Several of these trains were run, with passengers able to travel in the guards vans at both ends of the train.

D832 Onslaught approaches Lydney Town station on 15 September 2018 with the 12:19 Parkend to Lydney Junction freight, during the Dean Forest Railway's Diesel Gala. Lydney Space Station, advertised on the right, is not part of the Forest of Dean's space programme (presumably coal powered!), but is in fact a prosaic container storage facility.