50021 Rodney speeds through Shipton station on 6 April 1983 with the 1A73 07:05 Hereford to Paddington service. Plenty has changed since this picture was taken. The small waiting shelter on the down platform with the ornate canopy disappeared very soon after this picture was taken. It is also amazing just how few trees there are in this view compared with today. Note the selection of classic 1970s cars (all probably best forgotten) in FWP Matthews car park on the left. A Ford Fiesta, Austin 1800, Renault 16 and an Austin Allegro. Oh, and of course on the other side of the line there is my white (with trendy 1970s black vinyl roof) Vauxhall Cavalier! The Cavalier is long gone, and I presume the other cars have long since rusted away, but at least 50021 is still with us

Running a staggering 80 minutes late, 50021 Rodney passes Aynho on 5 June 1983 with the 1S61 08:50 Paddington to Glasgow Central service. The wide formation on the right is a clue that there was once a down goods loop here. Now only the up loop, a little further to the north, survives.

On the slightly misty morning of 29 May 1985, 50021 Rodney leaves Oxford station with the 1F11 07:08 departure for Paddington. In contrast to most of the Class 50 hauled trains to the capital, which had limited stops, often only at Reading, this one stopped at all the local stations after Didcot. Consequently, instead of doing the journey in an hour, it took 1 hour 37 minutes.

Just ahead of the advancing cloud, 50021 Rodney shatters the peace of a summer Cotswold Saturday morning at Cornbury Park, Charlbury on 7 June 1986. It is working the 1A25 08:00 Hereford to Paddington, and as was more common in BR days than people now like to imagine, running exactly to time.

50021 Rodney passes Chilson on Sunday 16 August 1987 with the 1B16 09:55 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill service. This viewpoint no longer exists, due to uncontrolled lineside tree growth. On the plus side, this part of the Cotswold Line is now double track once again.

50021 Rodney is just about to leave Oxford station on 25 September 1987 with the 1F29 10:55 Network SouthEast service to Paddington. Strangely, this was booked to arrive from the capital ECS, its previous booked workings being: 5F09 06:18 Old Oak Common to Twyford ECS, 1F09 07:43 Twyford to Paddington, and 5F29 08:51 Paddington to Oxford ECS.

Snowplough fitted 50021 Rodney speeds through Appleford station on 28 December 1987 with the 1M12 11:17 Paddington to Birmingham New Street Network SouthEast service. For some inexplicable reason, I took very few pictures at this location while the ex GWR pagoda huts were still in situ. Admittedly if the sun is out the lighting is very awkward. No such problems here, and this very poor picture will have to suffice to show the time warp station before it was modernised.

50021 Rodney heads along the down main line at South Moreton with the1F38 15:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service on 6 August 1988. It will shortly have to weave across the relief lines to gain the east curve at Didcot, as this particular service was not booked to call at Didcot. The hourly NSE loco hauled trains only called at Reading, leaving the Class 117 DMUs to serve the intermediate stations. A DMU Reading to Oxford local took approximately an hour, almost exactly the same time this 50 took from Paddington to Oxford.

Making the short journey from the carriage sidings, 50021 Rodney runs into platform 1 at Oxford station on 21 October 1988 with the stock for the 1F65 15:00 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service, which judging by the passengers standing on the platform, will be well loaded. This was the last time that I saw this loco on the mainline, but would never have imagined in 1988 that just a few years later it would be based (all too briefly) on my local persevered line - the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

50021 Rodney arrived at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway on 2 December 1992, after an eventful journey from the Mid Hants Railway, when the lorry carrying it got stuck in the centre of Alresford! It is pictured in the yard at Toddington ten days later, on 12 December 1992. It would be nearly a year before it was restored to operational condition.

50021 Rodney waits in the rain at Toddington station prior to working its first run in preservation on 13 November 1993. Initially based on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, it later moved to the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, before heading south again to Tyseley. It is probably mostly remembered for its time at Toddington, as at least it was used fairly frequently. The headboards read: '1968 - 1993, 25 Not Out' & 'Simply the Best! 50021 Locomotive Association'.

50021 Rodney accelerates away from Winchcombe in persistent drizzle on 13 November 1993 with the 11:00 Toddington to Gretton service. This was its first scheduled passenger train on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, hence the two headboards.

Compete with 'Simply The Best' headboard, 50021 Rodney emerges from Greet Tunnel on 13 November 1993 with the 12:00 Toddington to Gretton service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. This was the loco's first day in passenger traffic, hence the reason for photographing it in such terrible weather conditions.

On its first day in traffic on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway (13 November 1993), 50021 Rodney approaches Greet Tunnel in the pouring rain, as it heads back to Toddington from Gretton. I thought this would be the start of a long period of being able to photograph a Class 50 on my local preserved line, but in the event it only stayed for less than two years.

50021 Rodney arrives at Winchcombe on 14 November 1993, en-route from Gretton to Toddington during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. Although there is now an impressive resident diesel fleet at the railway, the line has been without a Class 50 since Rodney left for Scotland a couple of years after this picture was taken.

50021 Rodney leaves Winchcombe on 14 November 1993 with the 12:40 Toddington to Gretton service during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. Salter's Hill, part of the Cotswold's western escarpment, forms the background.

In superb autumnal light, 50021 Rodney emerges from Greet Tunnel en-route from Gretton to Toddington on 14 November 1993, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. This was the loco's second day of operation on the line, of what turned out to be a relatively short stay in the Cotswolds, before it headed off to the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway in Scotland.

50021 Rodney catches the last rays of the setting sun, as it passes Hailes on 14 November 1993 with the 14:40 Toddington to Gretton service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala. The 50 was the star of the event, having made its first run in preservation the previous day.

Sheep graze on the embankment, as 50021 Rodney accelerates away from Winchcombe station on 14 November 1993, whilst en-route from Gretton to Toddington during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala.

50021 Rodney stands in the glorious spring sunshine at Toddington on 10 April 1994, prior to working the 15:10 service to Far Stanley. This was the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's regular Class 50 diagram at the time, and although I managed a few pictures, if I had known the loco's stay at the line was to be so short, I would have made a much more concerted effort!

50021 Rodney arrives at Winchcombe on 10 April 1994, en-route from Far Stanley to Toddington. At the time I thought I was extremely lucky to have one of the first preserved Class 50s literally on my doorstep at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Unfortunately it didn't stay at the railway for long, and there hasn't been a visiting Class 50 since!

50021 Rodney was only based on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for a short while, but at least I managed to get a few pictures of it before it moved on to pastures new (initially Bo'ness in Scotland). On 10 April 1994 it passes Hailes with the 16:50 Toddington to Far Stanley service. Note the superb standard of restoration of the Mk1 coaches.

50021 Rodney stands next to something it would have been familiar with in a previous life (a Network SouthEast liveried Mk1 coach), in the yard at Toddington on 23 April 1994. Sadly the 50's stay at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway was quite short.

50021 Rodney passes Stanley Pontlarge on 8 May 1994 with the 13:30 Toddington to Far Stanley service. Rodney was only based on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway for a couple of years, and although I have a number of pictures, with hindsight I should have taken more. The natural assumption is that once a preserved loco becomes part of a heritage line's fleet, it is going to be there for a long time. I no longer take this for granted!

A dramatic low level shot of 50021 Rodney, as it passes Stanley Pontlarge on 8 May 1994, en-route from nearby Far Stanley to Toddington. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway employed the 50 on several Sunday services throughout the 1994 season.

50021 Rodney passes Didbrook, en-route from Far Stanley to Toddington on Sunday 8 May 1994, during its short stay on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. This viewpoint has been slightly compromised in recent years by the addition of some unsightly high voltage electricity cables.

50021 Rodney passes underneath the road bridge at Hailes on 8 May 1994 with the 15:10 Toddington to Far Stanley service. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway had just opened its extension to Far Stanley, gaining an extra three quarters of a mile from the line's previous limit at Gretton.

50021 Rodney stands in the sunshine at Toddington on 10 August 1995, in company with the Brush Type 4 Fund's 47105. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Hunslet 0-6-0ST 1800 Robert Nelson No.4 can be seen on the left, whilst behind Rodney are all three of the line's Class 14s: D9553, D9539 & D9537.

50022 Anson arrives at Moreton-in-Marsh station on a very dull 13 February 1982 with the 1B58 10:50 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill service. This was a few months before the majority of loco hauled trains were replaced on the Cotswold Line by DMUs, leaving just a pair of trains in the morning and evening peaks. Note also the relative lack of passengers, which unfortunately was typical of the time. Traffic levels have thankfully increased enormously since this picture was taken.

50022 Anson passes Milkhouse Water (near Pewsey) on 25 September 1982 with the 1A41 09:45 Paignton to Paddington service. Unfortunately I very seldom photographed the 'Berks & Hants' line in the days of the Class 50s, concentrating instead on the Oxford area. Oh for a time machine!

50022 Anson approaches Shipton on 19 August 1983 with the 1C56 17:07 Paddington to Hereford service, unusually running 35 minutes late. Note the last two digits of the loco's number crudely written on the former headcode box.

50022 Anson passes Bishops Itchington on 6 September 1984 with the 1O15 08:58 Manchester Piccadilly to Poole service, which it would have taken over at Coventry. The concrete silos in the background belong to Greaves Cement Works (now demolished).

A bitterly cold day at Hinksey on 8 February 1986, only made bearable by the prospect of getting some pictures of Class 50s in the snow! 50022 Anson nears journey's end with the 1F22 13:10 Paddington to Oxford service. In the background is the lengthy footbridge that crosses the full width of the yard. A spot familiar to generations of Oxford railway photographers.

50022 Anson emerges from the fog near Crofton on 23 September 1986 with the 3A27 06:25 Plymouth to Paddington empty vans. Luckily the fog was just starting to clear, and gives an autumnal look to the picture rather than being so dense that you would just see the loco and no train, as it had been a short while before!

50022 Anson passes West Drayton on 6 November 1986 with the 1F09 07:52 Twyford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. I only visited this location twice, but on this occasion I must have photographed more Class 50s in one spot than at any other time!

50022 Anson races the clouds at Cholsey on 4 September 1987. It is working the 1F33 13:00 Oxford to Paddington fast service, while Class 119 unit L596 can just be seen in the background pulling away from Cholsey station with the 2C37 12:43 Oxford to Reading local service, which would have been at Didcot Parkway station when Anson was leaving Oxford. Note the two NSE liveried coaches at the back of 50022's train.

On the exceedingly dull morning of 3 July 1988, 50022 Anson passes Claydon (Gloucestershire) with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z37 06:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Lowestoft 'Suffolkman' railtour. Obviously it would have been more interesting to get a picture of this tour actually in Suffolk, but I think the terrible weather put me off the idea of such a long drive. Due to overrunning engineering work, the train actually started from Gloucester, with Metro Cammell Class 101 DMU C808 used to work the Bristol to Gloucester section.

50022 Anson arrives at Charlbury on 24 July 1988 with the 1A25 16:15 Hereford to Paddington service, unusually formed of a complete rake of Mk2 first class air conditioned stock. Anson was withdrawn less than two months later, and this was the last time that I saw it working a train.

My first picture of a loco in 'Large Logo' livery, and because during 1981 I had not been following railway events too closely, it was quite a surprise when this came into view! 50023 Howe passes through Hanborough station on 22 August 1981 with the 1C40 15:00 Paddington to Hereford service. Howe was the first Class 50 to wear this livery, being painted the previous September.

50023 Howe passes Ruscombe on 28 May 1983 with the 1B74 12:10 Paddington to Paignton service. A dull day has allowed a picture to be taken from the north side of the line, which gives a bit more width on trains on the fast lines. Of course there is now virtually no chance of any kind of decent picture at this location, as the whole view is obstructed by an ugly mass of posts and wires.

50023 Howe passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 13 October 1985 with the late running 1F14 12:15 Paddington to Oxford service. In 1985 we all knew that the Class 50s wouldn't last much longer (despite the first one not being withdrawn until over a year later), but we would never have guessed that this location would be lost under a sea of 25kV wires!

50023 Howe is pictured passing through typical Cotswold countryside, with flooded fields by the River Evenlode in the middle distance and the village of Stonesfield on the top of the hill. The train is the 1A25 08:05 Hereford to Paddington service on 25 January 1986. Technically not a very good picture, for despite being taken on a Pentax 6x7 rollfilm camera this was on the early version of Fujichrome 400 film, which was very poor with excessive grain. This particular film stock improved out of all recognition during the following decade. Oddly I have never ventured back to this location, but assume that it would be completely useless now due to uncontrolled lineside bush growth.

50023 Howe passes Whitehill (between Combe and Finstock) with the 1B40 16:10 Paddington to Hereford service on 20 April 1986. The winter and spring of 1986 was obviously very cold, as this looks more like a picture from the middle of March, rather than April. There would definitely normally be more signs of new young green vegetation by 20 April.

50023 Howe passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 8 November 1986 with the 1A25 08:00 Hereford to Paddington. 50023 was the first loco to carry NSE livery, and this was the first occasion on which I saw it in what was at the time a radical departure in terms of loco livery. Despite the various new colour schemes that had been launched, 1986 was still very much a BR blue railway.

In sub zero temperatures, 50023 Howe pulls out of Oxford station on 17 January 1987 with the 1F29 11:05 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. Despite the widespread snow and bitterly cold weather, this train departed exactly on time. This would be highly unlikely to happen today and in fact would be more likely to be cancelled, such is this country's ever decreasing ability to cope with bad weather!

50023 Howe passes Woodley on 14 June 1987 with the 1F01 08:45 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. As can be guessed from the headcode, this is the first up loco hauled train of the day. This is obviously a Sunday, as a train that late wouldn't be much use for commuters. Plasser & Theurer 07-16 Universal Tamper / Liner 73223 waits at a signal in the background.

With the complete train in the original version of Network SouthEast livery, 50023 Howe passes underneath the signal gantry at Waltham St Lawrence on 5 March 1988 with the 1F29 10:55 Oxford to Paddington service, which only called at Reading, and completed the journey in less than an hour.

50023 Howe pulls out of Oxford station on 5 November 1988 with the 1F35 09:35 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. There is a slight upgrade in coaching stock on this occasion. Instead of the usual NSE Mk1s, there is a complete rake of InterCity Mk 2 air-cons, all but one of which seem to be first class vehicles.

At least one person is enjoying the audio entertainment, as 50023 Howe accelerates past Didcot North Junction on 22 June 1989 with the 1F52 18:04 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast 'all stations' service. I suppose if you are going to hang out of the window to listen to a Class 50 thrashing away from stations, this train would be the one to do it on, with no less than nine intermediate stops between London and Oxford!

50023 Howe passes Culham on 23 June 1989 with the late running 1F68 18:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. 50023 could easily be recognised at a distance at the time by its black window surrounds, which at various times were also carried by 50026 & 50032. Interestingly, I photographed this loco on the same train at this same spot almost exactly a year later, by which time it had received the later version of the NSE colour scheme. Culham was an excellent location to watch northbound trains in the 1980s, but unfortunately now the bushes have grown up spoiling this view. Of course there would be no chance now of a NSE Class 50 on a complete rake of matching stock!

50023 Howe passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 24 October 1989 with the 1F45 11:00 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. It is no wonder that trains today are so overcrowded, as today's equivalent of this train is a three coach Turbo unit. In 1989, when far less people travelled by rail, eleven coaches were provided!

Long before the emissions from Didcot Power Station were overly concerning anyone, and when its future seemed permanently secure, the 2,000 megawatt plant dominates the background of this view, as 50023 Howe passes South Moreton on 26 November 1989 with the 1F45 11:30 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. I wasn't particularly happy with this picture at the time because the fast lines are deep shadow, but as they were closed for engineering works, at least that meant that this train had to use the relief line!

50023 Howe approaches Ufton Nervet level crossing at speed with the 1F14 10:47 Paddington to Newbury Network SouthEast service on 3 March 1990. Although in earlier years Class 50s had dominated this line on through services to the West Country, by 1990 they only worked the NSE services to Newbury or Westbury. Howe only had a few more months in traffic. After a short spell in the NWXC West of England pool, the loco spent its final days as a DCWA loco, finally being withdrawn on 15 October 1990.

50023 Howe passes South Moreton on 18 March 1990 with the 1F08 11:30 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. The train seems to be nearly empty, which is probably not surprising, as the few passengers wanting to travel to London on a Sunday morning in early spring have obviously got lots of room to spread out in a nine coach train!

At least one haulage basher is on board the 1M20 09:15 Paddington to Manchester Piccadilly service, as it approaches Walton Well Road, Oxford, on 7 April 1990, led by 50023 Howe. A very easy load for a Class 50, and one that at the time could be virtually guaranteed to produce this colourful combination of Network SouthEast loco, and InterCity stock.

50023 Howe passes Milton on Sunday 29 April 1990 with the 5A77 11:30 Old Oak Common to Plymouth ECS. This was in preparation for the 1A77 17:07 Plymouth to Paddington service. It does seem a bit perverse to run this all the way from London to Devon as empty stock! This view has now changed completely. Both Howe and Didcot Power Station are no more, and the fact that roadside trees have now mostly obscured this view hardly matters, as the line has been electrified, and so there is no longer a view to be had! The field in the foreground on the right is now covered by an industrial estate, and it cannot be long before the ever expanding sprawl of Didcot's housing covers the field to the right of the A4130 in the background.

50023 Howe passes Blackthorn on 30 April 1990 with the 1G58 18:12 Paddington to Banbury Network SouthEast service. This, and an early morning up train, were the only loco hauled services over the Chiltern Line at this time. Unfortunately, for some reason I very rarely photographed the evening working. This was possibly because the Chiltern Line was even then quite overgrown in places, and as can be seen here, the late evening shadows could be quite a problem. This poor quality image will have to serve as record, because I never got around to improving on it before the Class 50s all departed for the West of England line a few months later.

With less than two months to go before the class would be ousted from passenger trains in the Thames Valley and Oxford area, 50023 Howe passes through Heyford station with the 1F87 18:39 Banbury to Paddington Network SouthEast service on 24 May 1990. 50023 made the transition from the NWRA (Thames) to NWXC (Waterloo reserve) pool on 12 July. Its use on the West of England route was minimal (if at all), as a month later it was transferred to the DCWA departmental pool, and then withdrawn shortly afterwards.

50023 Howe approaches Oxford on 26 May 1990 with the 1M01 07:18 Paddington to Wolverhampton service, a train which regularly took a rake of Network SouthEast coaches to the Black Country, which could not by any stretch of the imagination be called the south east!

50023 Howe approaches Culham on 22 June 1990 with the 1F52 18:08 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. Amazingly, this nine coach train was an 'all stations' stopping service, and is here slowing down for the Culham station stop. It also makes a very interesting comparison to the same loco pictured almost exactly a year earlier, on the equivalent train. The principal difference between the two pictures being the former's tatty original NSE livery has now been replaced by the darker blue variant of the revised NSE colour scheme.

The threatening looking sky is appropriate here, as it marks the very end of Class 50 operations in the Thames Valley. With just two days left before the final loco was transferred to the West of England line, 50023 Howe passes South Stoke on 10 July 1990 with the 1F52 18:08 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. It was actually the only Class 50 in service on the route by this stage, as 50035 Ark Royal had failed the previous day. Howe would work this same diagram two days later, and then was transferred from Old Oak Common's NWRA pool to Laira's NWXC reserve pool. Despite going into the reserve pool, it was put straight to work out of Waterloo, but it didn't last long, and after an equally brief spell in the engineer's DCWA pool it was withdrawn 15 October 1990. This is therefore my final picture of the locomotive.

50024 Vanguard passes Denchworth on 12 August 1980 with the 1A13 08:35 Taunton to Paddington service. A poor quality image, but this is my only picture of Vanguard in unrefurbished condition. Denchworth roadbridge is in the background, through the arch of which the original Circourt Bridge can just be seen.

Presumably heading back to Old Oak Common depot, 50024 Vanguard hauls 47478 through the centre road at Oxford station on 2 April 1983. Locos on test from Old Oak Common were often used on trains to Oxford, but I do not know if this was the case on this occasion, as I had only just arrived when this pair appeared from the north.

The sun has virtually disappeared into thin high cloud (probably not helped by the local farmers burning fields of straw, which was then still legal) as 50024 Vanguard passes Cassington with the 1C56 17:07 Paddington to Hereford service on 30 August 1983. Although it is still possible to take pictures at this location, increasing lineside vegetation has restricted the viewpoint somewhat.

Making a change from the more usual railtour promoter's trains, here is a special organised by the Honiton Round Table. 50024 Vanguard passes the site of Coalpit Heath station on 20 April 1985 with the 1Z64 Templecombe to Carlisle 'Border City Express' railtour. The tour was worked by 47509 between Templecombe and Bristol Temple Meads. Vanguard then worked as far as Crewe, handing over to 47490 for the remainder of the journey to Carlisle. The Honiton Round Table ran a surprising number of special trains in the 1970s and early 1980s, but this seems to have been one of the last.

50024 Vanguard is just getting into its stride as it passes Hinksey Yard on 4 July 1985 with the 10:35 Oxford to Paddington service. Until the bushes got in the way this was an excellent vantage point for southbound trains in the morning, although I sometimes wished the footbridge was a little wider, to allow a broader viewpoint.

50024 Vanguard is pictured between Combe and Hanborough on 14 May 1986 with the 1A10 06:00 Hereford to Paddington service. This high vantage point shows off the newly painted black roof, which did so much to improve the appearance of the large logo livery on the Class 50s. The four exhaust ports on the roof were hardly conducive to keeping the roof white, and it is a surprise that given the success of this particular livery variant that the whole class was not repainted. In the event only a few locos carried this version.

50024 Vanguard speeds past Combe and approaches Grintleyhill Bridge on 7 September 1986 with the 1B40 16:10 Paddington to Hereford service. The area behind the train is known as Combe Cliff, and although now heavily wooded, does indeed contain a very steep slope from the road at the top down to the River Evenlode. The railway here is constantly crossing and re-crossing the river as it heads towards Charlbury.

50024 Vanguard approaches Didcot North Junction on 9 December 1986 with the 1F27 09:40 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. Three times the number of coaches compared to an equivalent service today, and with comfy seats, and no engine rattling under the floor! Also, just about the perfect livery combination in my view, a large logo Class 50 with black roof and window surrounds, and red buffer beam, hauling a rake of blue and grey stock.

A late summer evening at Radley in the days when the station was a quiet backwater, before the huge increase in commuter traffic of the last couple of decades. It is also before a giant radio mast was erected in the foreground, spoiling this view completely! 50024 Vanguard speeds through the deserted station with the 1M42 17:52 Paddington to Wolverhampton service on 27 August 1987. The rapidly fading light called for the use of the then recently introduced Kodachrome 200 Professional film, instead of my usual 35mm choice of Kodachrome 64.

50024 Vanguard passes South Moreton on 6 August 1988 with the 1F32 14:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. A common enough sight in the late 1980s, but virtually everything in this picture has now gone. Network SouthEast, 50024, and even the view itself!

50024 Vanguard passes Hinksey Yard on 17 August 1988 with the 1F32 14:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. The complete train is the same version of the NSE colour scheme, a situation that could certainly not be guaranteed at the time. Vanguard is wearing the revised NSE colour scheme, but in the original lighter shade of blue, therefore matching the coaches. It wore this livery for a less than two years, before having the darker version applied.

1989 was the final year of Class 50 workings on the Cotswold Line and this is one of my final photos of one on a normal passenger train on the route. 50024 Vanguard passes Whitehill (between Combe and Finstock) with the 1B31 13:45 Paddington to Hereford service on 29 January 1989. Pictured here at 15:20, this was incredibly the first down train of the day on a Sunday at the time. Although the timetable quotes this as an InterCity service, it was usually worked by a Network SouthEast loco and stock, as here.

Snowplough fitted 50024 Vanguard passes Uffington loops with a Swindon to Old Oak Common ECS comprising various test coaches on 14 March 1989. It was a very dull day, so I was taking the opportunity to use this location which as can be seen from the small copse of Scots Pine trees on the south of the line, is totally useless if the sun is out. At the time 50024 was allocated to the NWRA sector, and was therefore obviously taking a break from working its more normal Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast passengers services.

A rather unconventional viewpoint at Oxford on 27 May 1989. 50024 Vanguard crosses over the notorious Botley Road bridge as it pulls out of the station with the 1F11 07:25 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. The driver has obviously noticed me! This severely height restricted bridge has taken the roof off a number of buses over the years!

50024 Vanguard approaches Heyford at speed on 19 May 1990 with the 1M53 07:18 Paddington to Wolverhampton InterCity service. Despite this being an InterCity service, it was rostered for a Network SouthEast Class 50 and stock. Five coaches is certainly not much of a load for a 50! The farmer has just cut the grass for silage in the field beyond the railway, while in the far distance Rousham church can be seen. None of this would be visible now, as the view is now blocked by a forest of trees.

50024 Vanguard leaves Oxford station on 26 May 1990 with the 1F39 09:00 Network SouthEast departure for Paddington. In the good old days, before a huge car park and associated fence and tall lights obstructed this view, I spent many hours photographing trains from this footbridge, and consequently I have a lot of pictures of Class 50s at this location!

A miserably dull day at Baulking on 24 June 1990. 50024 Vanguard heads west with the 1C28 09:10 Paddington to Plymouth service. Plenty of first class accommodation on this train, which despite being an InterCity service, was usually worked by a Network SouthEast loco. Although Vanguard would live on for few months on the Waterloo to Exeter route, this was the last time that I saw it.

50025 Invincible approaches Clink Road Junction (near Frome) with the 1C32 10:35 Paddington to Paignton service on 11 May 1985. There was a slightly odd stopping pattern to this train. It ran non-stop to Reading, then became a stopping service calling at Newbury, Pewsey and Westbury, before again becoming a fast service as far as Taunton. From Dawlish onwards it again became an 'all stations' service!

50025 Invincible is well away from home territory on 15 March 1986, as it passes through Stonegate station with the Southern Electric Group 1Z25 07:55 Paddington to Folkestone Harbour 'Vulcan Van Train' railtour. This was the first standard loading gauge train to traverse the Tonbridge to Hastings line. The former restricted loading gauge had been eased by singling the line through the tunnels, and consequently the slimline 'Hastings' DEMUs that had used the route since the 1950s were about to be replaced by conventional EMUs (note the newly laid but still unused and rusty conductor rails). Also note the abrupt change of gradient under the bridge.

A Class 50 causing trouble in Kent. After working the Southern Electric Group's 1Z25 07:55 Paddington to Folkestone Harbour 'Vulcan Van Train' railtour between Paddington and Hastings on 15 March 1986, 50025 Invincible was sent light engine to Ashford (via Tonbridge), in order to be ready for the tour's evening return to London. In the meantime, 33206 was working the tour from Hastings to Ashford, via Rye. Due to single line working between Robertsbridge and Wadhurst, the Class 50 disrupted the timetable considerably. Having caused this havoc, it is pictured running along the dead straight Paddock Wood to Ashford line at Wanshurst Green.

A little weak sun highlights 50025 Invincible against the gathering storm clouds as it speeds past Lyneham on 4 April 1986 with the 1B46 17:00 Paddington to Hereford service. Not a particularly inspiring location, but one that didn't require a long walk (unlike some of my favourite Cotswold Line locations). The only problem was whether the seemingly always resident Shetland Ponies would be either in or out of the shot, as nothing is worse than half a horse in the foreground of a picture!

50025 Invincible speeds through Ascott-under-Wychwood station on 18 June 1986 with the 1A10 06:00 Hereford to Paddington service. It's hard to believe now that this location was available for photography in the 1980s. The coal yard in the foreground has long since been commandeered for industrial use and fenced off from the railway.

50025 Invincible arrives at Moreton-in-Marsh on 2 July 1986 with the 1B46 17:00 Paddington to Hereford service. Plenty of details for the modeler here, aside from the semaphore signal and the classic English Electric traction. Note the newly painted permanent way hut (which two decades later grandly acquired a Network Rail 'Moreton-in-Marsh Depot' sign!). Also the flight of steps down from the road above, a solitary Dogfish ballast wagon in the siding on the right, and the period Leyland British Rail van.

50025 Invincible leaves Moreton-in-Marsh on 2 July 1986 with the 1B46 17:00 Paddington to Hereford service. I had already photographed it arriving, and decided to go for this second shot, which involved running with two cameras on a bracket, through the station car park, and into the waste ground near the road bridge at the north of the station (now a Budgens store). I needn't have hurried, as it had to wait for the late running 2A56 16:46 Hereford to Oxford DMU.

50025 Invincible runs through the Evenlode Valley, near Stonesfield, on 4 October 1986 with the 1A18 07:00 Hereford to Paddington 'Cathedrals Express'. The unusually named Topples Wood forms the background to this view, then as now one of the few completely unobstructed vantage points on the Charlbury to Combe section of the Cotswold Line.

50025 Invincible approaches Chilson on 14 December 1986 with the 1B16 09:40 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill service. I don't know why I have managed to chop the rear of the train off. Admittedly it would be emerging from some bushes, but I still seem to have misjudged it slightly! I have even removed the Kodachrome slide from its original card mount in order to scan it right to the very edge of the image. The village of Chadlington can be seen in the background, behind the dead elm tree.

I have very few pictures of Class 50s in South Wales, and even fewer of locos in Network SouthEast livery. Therefore that makes this picture even more special. 50025 Invincible passes Duffryn on 15 August 1987 with the 2V58 10:12 Bristol Temple Meads to Cardiff Central. With just five coaches this is obviously a ridiculously easy load for a Class 50. The loco's full diagram for the day would have been: 5C16 04:05 Cardiff Canton to Yeovil Pen Mill ECS, 1C16 06:55 Yeovil Pen Mill to Bristol, 2V58 10:12 Bristol to Cardiff, 1O41 12:06 Cardiff to Bristol, 1V58 13:57 Bristol to Cardiff, 1O96 15:07 Cardiff to Bristol, 1V70 16:50 Bristol to Cardiff, 1O47 18:10 Cardiff to Bristol, and finally light diesel to Old Oak Common in multiple with the loco off the 1M79 16:28 Newquay to Bristol.

Viewed from the lofty occupation bridge to the east of the station, 50025 Invincible passes through Cholsey on 4 September 1987 with the 06:46 Milford Haven to Old Oak Common parcels. Even as late as the 1980s parcels traffic was still buoyant on the railways. Unfortunately within a few years it would all be lost.

50025 Invincible approaches Radley station on 30 June 1988 with the 1F64 18:10 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. Unusually, this loco hauled train called at the minor stations near Oxford, and one commuter is obviously keen to get off. Note the partially open door on the first coach!

A perfect winter's day in the Thames Valley, with some proper traction on offer! 50025 Invincible runs along the up relief line at Purley-on-Thames on 11 February 1989 with the 1F39 10:00 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. This is my penultimate picture of 50025, which was sadly written off in a derailment at West Ealing just six months later.

50025 Invincible passes Waltham St Lawrence on 2 June 1989 with the 1F23 06:46 Westbury to Paddington Network SouthEast service. Two months after this picture was taken, Invincible didn't quite live up to its name, when it was derailed at high speed by an object placed on the line at West Ealing. The damage to the locomotive was so extensive that it was subsequently withdrawn. This was the last occasion on which I saw it. Not quite the last ever picture, as I saw it returning from Paddington a little later. However, that picture was slightly compromised by a HST getting in the way at the crucial moment!

50026 Indomitable speeds through Finstock station on 23 August 1978 with the 1B78 12:50 Paddington to Worcester train, at a time when virtually all services on the Cotswold Line were loco hauled. Although technically not a very good picture, this is included not only for the reason that it is one of my first railway photos, but also because it shows Finstock station largely in its original condition. The old down platform in the foreground became disused in 1971 when the line was singled, but during 1986 the track was realigned into the centre of the formation and a new platform built on the down side. I would not normally include quite so much bland sky in the picture, but this was deliberate in order to show the steam age telegraph poles still in situ by the road.

50026 Indomitable passes through Heyford station on 20 February 1982 with the 1O15 09:40 Manchester Piccadilly to Poole service. Unfortunately this is the kind of filthy condition that most Class 50s seemed to be in during the early 1980s, probably reflecting their poor reliability at the time. The abundance of boats on the Oxford Canal is due to a thriving boatyard just out of the picture to the right. Heyford station has been given a facelift since this picture was taken, but the GWR nameboard has since disappeared.

50026 Indomitable pulls out of Moreton-in-Marsh station on 8 May 1982 with the 1A75 07:07 Hereford to Paddington service. I've no idea why I let the loco get so close to the edge of the picture, but as it is one of my very limited number of unfreburbished Class 50 pictures, I have included it here. At least one other photographer has obviously also recorded this for posterity!

50026 Indomitable passes Hinksey Yard on a very gloomy 12 March 1983 with the 1A45 13:15 Oxford to Paddington non-stop service. Apologies for the poor quality of his image, but for some reason I fired the shutter too early, and have therefore had to scan just a section of the original Kodachrome transparency, in order to give the picture a balanced composition.

It seems unthinkable now, but with so many Class 50 hauled trains in the Oxford area in the 1980s, I often got fed up with the conventional pictures, and tried some unusual angles instead. So here is a head on picture of 50026 Indomitable passing Hinksey Yard on 14 June 1983 with the 1A45 07:33 Oxford to Paddington service.

50026 Indomitable crosses a River Thames backwater as it approaches Oxford station on 24 April 1984 with the 1O23 15:20 Liverpool Lime Street to Poole service, which it had presumably worked from Birmingham New Street. Unfortunately just a little too much of a breeze for a perfect reflection in the water. The industrial buildings which can be glimpsed in the background are part of the famous Lucy's ironworks, which has subsequently closed. Built next to the Oxford Canal, the works were a surprising industrial interlude in an otherwise residential approach to Oxford.

50026 Indomitable approaches Oxford on 11 July 1984 with the 1E54 06:50 Paddington to Hull service, which it would work as far as Birmingham New Street. The start of the transformation of this area of Oxford had just started. Since the previous year, the former GWR goods shed had been demolished, and a line of new houses had appeared at the back of the cemetery.

50026 Indomitable pulls slowly away from Kingham station on 29 August 1985 with the 1B46 17:05 Paddington to Hereford service. There is just enough weak sunlight left to use the not very flexible combination of a Pentax 6x7 with 200mm lens and Fujichrome 100 film. In the background can be seen my Mark 1 Vauxhall Cavalier, one of just a few cars using the car park in the days before Kingham became the extremely well used station that is it today.

50026 Indomitable ambles along the up relief line at South Moreton on 12 September 1985 with a short test train, including the distinctive high speed track recording coach DB999550. It is about to be overtaken by 31117 on Bristol to Old Oak Common vans. It had been a sunny but very hazy day, but the sun was now disappearing fast, but luckily I stayed on the bridge until the light finally went, thereby getting this perfectly timed picture.

50026 Indomitable passes South Moreton on a slightly hazy Sunday 13 October 1985 with the 1F09 13:30 Oxford to Paddington service. Mid October and still not a sign of any autumn colour on the trees behind the train.

50026 Indomitable speeds past Lower Basildon on 25 January 1986 with the 1F31 11:35 Oxford to Paddington service. This picture clearly shows that the light grey roof of the large logo livery was not a particularly brilliant idea, as even when washed the heavily ingrained black deposits all around the exhaust outlets would still persist.

This may look like a run of the mill Oxford to Paddington working passing Hinksey Yard in the mid 1980s. However, it has in fact come a little further than that, as it is the 1V81 12:55 Llandudno to Paddington, which 50026 Indomitable had taken over at Birmingham New Street. I was a little surprised to see a 50 on this, as it was usually a Class 47 turn. The date is 21 June 1986.

50026 Indomitable approaches Standish Junction shortly after dawn on 11 October 1986, as it heads north with the 1S61 07:35 Cardiff Central to Glasgow Central service. It would work the train as far as Birmingham New Street. Sectorisation seemed like a good idea at the time, but it did lead to anomalies such as this, with a Network SouthEast loco operating an InterCity service.

50026 Indomitable passes South Moreton on 6 August 1988 with the 1F65 15:00 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service, stopping only at Reading and scheduled to take 58 minutes. Just a single blue and grey coach breaks up the NSE conformity.

50026 Indomitable has less than a mile left to travel, as it passes Hinksey Yard on 17 August 1988 with the 1F28 13:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. This train took almost exactly an hour to complete its 63½ mile journey, with just a single stop at Reading.

50026 Indomitable passes Cassington on 11 September 1988 with the 1B31 13:45 Paddington to Hereford service. This is the last occasion that I saw Indomitable on the Cotswold Line, although it continued to work the Paddington to Oxford trains almost up to the end of Class 50 operations on the route in 1990.

50026 Indomitable & 50032 Courageous pass through Kemsing with the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z44 08:08 Watford Junction to Deal 'Malt & Hops' railtour on 29 October 1988. An impressive sight and something not often seen on railtours nowadays - a complete rake of stock and both locos in the same livery! This is the original version of Network SouthEast livery, with upswept stripes on the locos and a lighter shade of blue than subsequently used.

50026 Indomitable & 50032 Courageous pass Sole Street on 29 October 1988 with the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z44 11:16 Deal to Kings Cross 'Malt & Hops' railtour. The ramshackle collection of buildings on the right are part of a former varnish factory, which seems a slightly odd industry to be situated in this part of rural Kent.

50026 Indomitable speeds past Hungerford Common on a very dull 30 September 1989 with the 1C41 13:02 Paddington to Paignton 'InterCity Holidaymaker'. The very poor technical quality of this picture is explained not only by the atrocious weather, but also by the fact that it was taken on colour negative film. During the 1980s I tried a few rolls of professional neg film in my Pentax 6x7. Although obviously a great deal better than 35mm, it is still incredibly difficult to get a good scan, and not a patch on transparency film. Thank goodness I didn't persist with that experiment!

Although there were a number of Class 50s allocated to the DCWA engineer's pool during 1989 and 1990, occasionally other locos were also employed on mundane departmental workings, especially at weekends. Such was the case on Sunday 29 October 1989, when 50026 Indomitable found itself in charge of a London bound ballast rain, seen here running along the up relief line at Shottesbrooke. The tatty Network SouthEast liveried loco had spent the previous few weeks working Waterloo to Exeter trains, but after its weekend's use on ballast duties, then spent the rest of the year working passenger trains out of Paddington. 

50026 Indomitable approaches Iver on 22 February 1990 with the 1F47 12:00 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. This was taken on a very productive day, when there was a constant stream of loco hauled passenger and freight trains, as well as heritage DMUs. Happy Days!

50026 Indomitable speeds past Iver on 22 February 1990 with the 1F34 15:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. The bridge from which this photo was taken was demolished during Christmas 2010, with no new replacement provided.

50026 Indomitable passes Aynho Junction on 28 April 1990 with the 1M20 09:15 Paddington to Manchester Piccadilly InterCity service. This was one of the last diagrams taking a Class 50 to Birmingham. The loco would later return with the 1V96 11:18 York to Paddington (taking over at Birmingham). The rest of the day's diagram was: 1F52 17:42 Paddington to Oxford, 1F81 19:00 Oxford to Paddington, and 1F80 21:10 Paddington to Oxford.

50026 Indomitable approaches Wolvercote Junction on 30 April 1990 with the 1E90 16:57 Paddington to Sheffield InterCity service, which it would take as far as Birmingham New Street. By this date there was very little left of Indomitable's former black window surrounds. A few weeks after this picture was taken it would be repainted into the later Network SouthEast style.

50026 Indomitable passes Culham in the rain on 4 July 1990 with the 1F12 09:50 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast non-stop service. This was the loco's final day working in the Thames Valley, as the following day it was transferred to the Waterloo to Exeter route, where it only spent a short time before being withdrawn.

My final picture of 50026 Indomitable at work on BR. On its very last day working trains out of Paddington, it passes Culham in the rain on 4 July 1990 with the 1F49 11:00 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. The following day saw it start its new role with the 1O34 08:11 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids working. Its move to the West of England route was short lived, as it was withdrawn towards the end of 1990 with high engine hours, and I never did see it on the Exeter route.

A panoramic view of 50026 Indomitable with the unmistakable background of Corfe Castle, pictured during the Swanage Railway's Diesel Gala on 13 May 2012. It is working the 09:30 Norden to Swanage service. Indomitable was the highlight of the gala, especially as the majority of the visiting locomotives didn't arrive due to the failure of 47375, which was entrusted (unwisely!) with the job of bringing the convoy from the Severn Valley Railway on the previous Thursday.

50026 Indomitable leaves Harmans Cross station on 13 May 2012 with the 09:30 Norden to Swanage service, during the Swanage Railway's Diesel Gala. I had already photographed this train at Corfe Common, and consequently only just made it for this second shot, with the loco already starting to move as I walked up to the bridge.

The star of the Swanage Railway's Diesel Gala on 13 May 2012, 50026 Indomitable passes Quarr Farm, near Harmans Cross with the 12:15 Norden to Swanage service. The lattice post signal and concrete PW hut certainly gives a clue to the former Southern Railway ownership of the line.

The trees of the aptly named 'Wilderness' form a green backdrop to 50026 Indomitable, as it passes Quarr Farm, near Harmans Cross with the 13:28 Swanage to Norden service on 13 May 2012, during the Swanage Railway's Diesel Gala.

50026 Indomitable makes a splendid picture as it crosses Corfe Common on 13 May 2012 with the 14:30 Norden to Swanage service, during the Swanage Railway's Diesel Gala. A perfect location is further improved by the field of yellow oilseed rape in the background. The immaculate loco is a credit to all those who have spent so many years bringing this fine machine back to life.

50026 Indomitable is nearing journey's end, as it crosses the viaduct over the B3351 at Corfe Castle on 13 May 2012 with the 16:00 Swanage to Norden service. The 2012 Swanage Diesel Gala may have been short of most of its visiting locos, but the presence of 50026 and perfect weather, certainly made the event unmissable.

50026 Indomitable was the star attraction at the Epping Ongar Railway's 2017 Diesel Gala. It is seen here running through North Weald station on 24 September, prior to going on the back of the 2E03 09:45 Ongar to Epping Forest service, which can be seen waiting in platform 1 behind 31438. Class 20 8001, which did not take part in the gala, can be seen on shed in the background.

50026 Indomitable arrives at North Weald station on 24 September 2017 with the 2E04 10:28 Epping Forest to Ongar service, during the Epping Ongar Railway's Diesel Gala. Indomitable never got to wear this final version of Network SouthEast livery in BR service, instead it was withdrawn in the original version, which had by then become exceedingly weather beaten.

Token exchange at Ongar on 24 September 2017, as 50026 Indomitable arrives at the station with the 2E04 10:28 service from Epping Forest, during the Epping Ongar Railway's Diesel Gala. Indomitable was the star attraction at the gala, and behaved faultlessly throughout the event.

50026 Indomitable rests between trains at Ongar on 24 September 2017, during the Epping Ongar Railway's Diesel Gala. Although the Network SouthEast livery is appropriate for the general geographic area, at the time of course this line was operated by London Underground.

50026 Indomitable arrives at North Weald station on 24 September 2017 with the 2E15 12:15 Ongar to Epping Forest service, during the Epping Ongar Railway's Diesel Gala. It is passing 45132 and 'Thumper' unit 205205.

50026 Indomitable stands at North Weald station on 24 September 2017, during the Epping Ongar Railway's Diesel Gala. It had just arrived on the rear of the 2E16 12:58 Epping Forest to Ongar service. It would be detached here, leaving 03119 at the front of the train, to continue on solo to Ongar.

50026 Indomitable passes 45132, as it prepares to attach to the rear of the 2E19 13:05 Ongar to Epping Forest service, which had just arrived at North Weald behind 31438 on 24 September 2017, during the Epping Ongar Railway's Diesel Gala.

50026 Indomitable approaches North Weald on 24 September 2017 with the 2E31 15:35 Ongar to Epping Forest service, during the Epping Ongar Railway's Diesel Gala. The gradient in the background may look impressive, but just out of sight it changes from rising at 1 in 90 to descending at 1 in 65.

50027 Lion pulls out of Oxford station on 3 March 1984 with the 1O03 07:20 Liverpool Lime Street to Poole service. Definitely not the best time of day for a picture here, with the sun very nearly head on! Note the scrapyard in the background, the site of which is now Oxford station's car park.

50027 Lion passes the footpath crossing at the north end of Hinksey Yard on 3 March 1984 with the 1A38 14:15 Paddington to Oxford. It's hard to believe that in the days when the passenger numbers were nothing like what they are today you could be whisked from London to Oxford in the comfort of a uncrowded Mk1 coach and not be crammed into a three car unit.

50027 Lion catches the very last rays of the setting sun as it passes Hinksey Yard on 3 March 1984 with the 1A07 16:25 Oxford to Paddington. The land behind the rusty corrugated iron fence is the site of Oxford's gas works. The bridge over the River Thames constructed by the Oxford Gaslight and Coke Company can just be seen in the background, with the tower of Oxford Castle to its right. The ground is allegedly contaminated, and there is certainly nothing growing on it in this view. Trees along the trackside have long since obscured this view of Oxford.

50027 Lion approaches Clink Road Junction (near Frome) on 11 May 1985 with the 1C27 09:40 Paddington to Penzance service. A very dull day, but that did allow for a different angle on the next Class 50 hauled train that came along.

50027 Lion arrives at Charlbury station on 7 July 1985 with the 1B40 16:10 Paddington to Hereford service. This was my first published photograph, but unfortunately the magazine physically cropped the original 6x7 transparency, so this scan is right to the very edge of what is left!

50027 Lion passes what is now Cam & Dursley station on 11 October 1986 (Coaley Junction at the time) with the 1S71 07:30 Penzance to Aberdeen 'Cornishman', which it would work as far as Birmingham New Street. It would return later in the day with the southbound 'Cornishman'. Cam & Dursley station opened here in 1994. Note the truncated remains of the Dursley branch.

50027 Lion passes the remains of Charfield station on 11 October 1986 with the 1V73 07:30 Aberdeen to Penzance 'Cornishman'. This would have been the third loco employed on this mammoth journey. A Class 47 would have worked the train from Aberdeen to Carstairs, where a Class 87 electric would have taken over as far as Birmingham New Street. With over fourteen hours to complete what is admittedly a very long journey, there is obviously a lot of recovery time built in to the schedule. On this occasion it was running exactly to time.

50027 Lion approaches Oxford North Junction on 13 May 1987 with the 1M20 09:17 Paddington to Birmingham New Street service (not the 1M17 11:17 Paddington to Birmingham, as listed in some sources). The old water tower, the last remnant of Oxford shed (81F) can be seen behind Walton Well Road bridge, in the background.

Definitely worth getting up early for! Catching the first rays of the rising sun, 50027 Lion passes Hinksey Yard on 7 August 1987 with the 1F01 06:28 Oxford to Paddington service. It was just as well that the exposure required for this picture on Kodachrome 64 was 1/250sec f2.8, as I had just discovered that my Canon 100mm lens was not stopping down. In all my years of using the Canon FD system this is the only instance I have come across of a lens design fault (a pity the same can't be said of the modern EF lenses, especially the notoriously unreliable 50mm f1.4!). I say design fault, as a replacement lens also suffered the same fate, so eventually I upgraded to the 100mm f2 version.

Under a cloudless sky, 50027 Lion & 50017 Royal Oak stand in Kemble station with the 3A16 15:40 Gloucester to Paddington empty vans on 16 August 1987. The locos are waiting for the 15:43 Swindon to Cheltenham unit to clear the single track section which extends from here to Swindon. During 1987 there were Class 50 double headed van trains booked from both Gloucester and Oxford to Paddington on a Sunday, a convenient way of getting the locos back to the capital for the start of the week.

50027 Lion emerges from he shadows, as it speeds through Weybridge station on 15 April 1989 with the 1V09 09:10 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service. Not a very good photographic spot, but certainly better than standing on the platform on the right!

50027 Lion passes through a deserted Whitchurch station on 9 March 1991 with the 1O37 12:25 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. Lion's last working was almost exactly four months later, with official withdrawal taking place on 11 July.

50027 Lion stands in the rain at Andover station on 6 April 1991 with the 1L22 17:18 Salisbury to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. The loco had just three months left in traffic, working its last train on 8 July, and being officially withdrawn on the 23rd, by which time it had already been acquired for preservation.

50027 Lion passes Milborne Wick with the 1V15 15:15 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service on 14 April 1991. Note the difference in the shade of blue on the locomotive compared to the coaches. The loco is in revised Network SouthEast livery, without the upswept ends to the colour bands of the original. At first this revised livery used the same shade of light blue, but was later changed to a darker shade (as here), so it no longer matched the stock!

50027 Lion arrives at Ropley on 17 May 1992 with the 14:00 Alresford to Alton service, during the loco's first day in service on the Mid Hants Railway. This was just one week before the class bowed out of regular service on BR, after a career of 25 years.

Making its preservation debut at the Mid Hants Railway on 17 May 1992, 50027 Lion makes a smoky departure from Ropley station with the 14:00 Alresford to Alton service. On the left is former Southern Railway U Class 2-6-0 31806.

50027 Lion made its preservation debut on 17 May 1992, when it worked a number of trains on the Mid Hants Railway. Looking absolutely immaculate (I don't think I ever saw a Network SouthEast machine in this condition on the mainline!), Lion passes Bishop's Sutton with the 15:15 Alton to Alresford service under a cloudless sky. The NSE image doesn't really extend to the stock!

50027 Lion passes Thomason Foss on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway with the 10:50 Grosmont to Pickering service on 6 May 1995. The headboard reads: 'The Lion Tamer'! Plenty of colour contrast here between the striking blue Network SouthEast livery and the more muted colours of the maroon coaching stock and dead bracken on the hillside.

Viewed from high up on Goathland Moor, 50027 Lion passes Fen Bog on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway with the 12:20 Pickering to Grosmont service on 6 May 1995. The loco had just arrived at the railway - a new home well away from any of it's former haunts!

On its first day in passenger service on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, 50027 Lion pulls away from Goathland station on 6 May 1995 with the 13:50 Grosmont to Pickering service. It was destined to spend the next seventeen years on the line, before returning from whence it came, back to the Mid Hants Railway.

50027 Lion passes over New Bridge level crossing on 6 May 1995 with the 13:50 Grosmont to Pickering service. This was the loco's first day working public trains on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. New Bridge was formerly the interchange point for the 2ft gauge Saintoft Quarry Railway, which ran from a sand quarry at the head of Gundale Beck. The line closed in 1961.

50027 Lion has just crossed over the Eller Beck at Thomason Foss on 6 May 1995 as it works the 15:20 Pickering to Grosmont service. The locomotive had only just arrived on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway at the time. The line was to become the loco's permanent home, well away from its former Network SouthEast haunts.

Not a technically very brilliant picture, but one that sums up a winters day on the Cotswold Line in the early 1980s. With the sun struggling to break through the clouds in the background and provide a little backlighting, 50028 Tiger runs alongside the River Evenlode at Bruern on 5 January 1980 with the 08:00 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill service. Still running in its original condition, 50028 was to wait another two years before being called to Doncaster Works for refurbishment. Note the vintage bullhead track, long since replaced. 

50028 Tiger speeds through Finstock station on 16 May 1983 with the 1A51 05:55 Hereford to Paddington service. Note the remains of the old down platform on the left. A few years later this was brought back into use and the pictured up platform was closed. Note than someone has helpfully scrawled the last two digits of the loco's number on the front end, so in combination with the large bodyside numbers, there is no chance of not getting this machine's identity!

50028 Tiger passes Little Haresfield on 21 August 1985 with the 1M83 10:24 Penzance to Liverpool Lime Street InterCity service. This is my least photographed Class 50, which is odd, as it was by no means the earliest to be withdrawn.

50028 Tiger passes through the remains of Shrivenham station on 10 December 1987 with the 3A12 06:45 Milford Haven to Old Oak Common empty newspaper vans. As the relief lines were removed after the station closed in 1964, there was no need to demolish the platforms, and they remain in situ to this day. The frost is neatly highlighting the coping stones of the down platform.

50029 Renown runs between the Kennett & Avon Canal (on the left) and the River Dun (on the right), as it speeds through Little Bedwyn on 16 April 1979 with the 12:24 Penzance to Paddington service. The head on viewpoint does give a very clear overview of the location, which is not possible now due to several decades of tree growth.

50029 Renown & 50050 Fearless round the curve from the Gloucester line, as they approach Swindon station on 25 October 1982 with the 1A01 08:02 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington service. A premium headcode, and double premium traction! I'm not sure what the problem was, or indeed if there was one, as the train was only a few minutes late. Not a very good picture, taken from an awkward position, in miserable light, but although I have got numerous double headed Class 50 pictures from the preservation era, I have got very few from their days with BR.

50029 Renown passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 1 December 1983 with the 1A34 12:15 Paddington to Oxford service. There s no possibility of any kind of picture at this location now, as the whole scene is dominated by the massively over engineered 25kv catenary.

50029 Renown pulls away from Moreton-in-Marsh station on 9 April 1983 with the 1A75 07:05 Hereford to Paddington service. Note the crudely pained 29 on the front end. Although the sidings on either side have now been removed, three decades after this picture was taken the basic infrastructure remains largely unaltered. The goods shed, semaphore signals, signal box and GWR station building are all still in place. Even the former creamery chimney on the right is still there!

50029 Renown passes Coaley Junction on 29 October 1983. The truncated remains of the Dursley branch can be seen disappearing off to the left in the background. The train is the 1S39 07:35 Plymouth to Glasgow Central service, which the 50 would work as far as Birmingham New Street.

Although there were a few booked workings over the years, Class 50s were never particularly common in South Wales. On 27 October 1984, 50029 Renown passes Marshfield with the 1A34 09:10 Cardiff Central to Paddington service. The first coach appears to have been paint bombed in the recent past. With a bank of cloud in the background, and the fog only just clearing, the autumn sun is just breaking through. Just as well after a long drive from Oxfordshire.

50029 Renown passes Aldermaston on 25 January 1986 with the 1C48 13:40 Paddington to Penzance service. Although I have got plenty of Class 50 pictures on the Cotswold Line, and in the last yeas of the class, on the Waterloo to Exeter route, I have got comparatively few on the Berks & Hants.

50029 Renown passes Langley on 6 November 1986 with the 1V52 10:10 Birmingham New Street to Paddington service. The factory in the background has since been demolished and replaced by a modern industrial estate.

In what was to be one of the only decent spells of sunshine during the entire day, 50029 Renown slows down for its booked stop at Grateley on 11 May 1991 whilst working the 2O82 06:45 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. In fact judging by the background of this picture, the clouds are already starting to blot out the sun! Note the difference in colour between the locomotive and the coaches. Initially all NSE stock was in the lighter blue, but latterly some locos were repainted into this darker shade.

In connection with the Laira Open Day on Sunday 15 September 1991, the 1V09 08:55 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service was extended to Plymouth. Making a welcome return to once familiar haunts, 50029 Renown is pictured running alongside the River Teign estuary at Shaldon Bridge in glorious sunshine. It seems that most of the passengers onboard are Class 50 enthusiasts, and no doubt cursing the non opening windows in the air con Mk 2 coach, which is also spoiling the otherwise uniform NSE livery of the train.

Towards the end of 1991 the number of Class 50s in operation on the West of England line was dwindling fast, and so I often made visits to the route in less than ideal weather conditions. Such was the case on 5 October 1991, when I photographed 50029 Renown passing Stowell in appalling light with the 2V13 13:15 Waterloo to Exeter St Davis Network SouthEast service.

50029 Renown passes Chandlers Ford on 26 October 1991 with the 538 Railtours 1Z38 07:53 Waterloo to Weymouth 'South Western 16CSVT' railtour. The old platforms of Chandlers Ford station can be seen in the background. The station closed in 1969, but a new station was opened on the site in 2003.

50029 Renown nears its destination, as it emerges from Bincombe Tunnel on 26 October 1991 with the 538 Railtours 1Z38 07:53 Waterloo to Weymouth 'South Western 16CSVT' railtour. Terrible light, but definitely worth recording, especially as Renown was living on borrowed time.

50029 Renown pulls away from the photo stop at Maiden Newton on 26 October 1991 with the 538 Railtours 1Z38 12:30 Weymouth to Waterloo 'South Western 16CSVT' railtour. Terrible lighting conditions, which explains the very poor technical quality, but a Network SouthEast liveried Class 50, other than 50033, was something of a novelty on a railtour at the time.

50029 Renown passes through Botley with the 538 Railtours 1Z38 12:30 Weymouth to Waterloo 'South Western 16CSVT' railtour on 26 October 1991. The tour had followed a devious route on its return from Weymouth to Waterloo, having traveled via Westbury, Swindon & Basingstoke before it reached Botley. Unfortunately the light had just about gone by the time it was due. Note how the unloading line for the stone terminal in the background is on the opposite side of the running lines to the works!

50029 Renown passes Potbridge on 6 November 1991 with the 1O32 07:50 Yeovil Junction to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. This location was visited many times during 1991, as it offered uninterrupted views in both directions and was not unduly shaded by trees. The main focus of interest during 1991 was the diminishing fleet of Class 50s, but there were also occasional Class 33s, and of course a constant procession of slam door EMUs.

50029 Renown rolls into Templecombe station on 20 November 1991 with the 1V09 08:40 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service. It is passing the highly distinctive 1938 built Southern Railway art deco signal box. There were just a handful of Class 50s operating on the West of England line at this time, and this was my last sighting of Renown on the national network. It managed to survive into the new year, but only just, being withdrawn on 2 January 1992.

After photographing 50029 Renown arriving at Templecombe station on 20 November 1991 with the 1V09 08:40 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service, I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss getting a second shot. So here is the work stained loco pulling away, past the remains of the goods yard.

50030 Repulse passes Shipton station on 13 October 1979 with the 1B30 08:05 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill service. This is my only picture of Repulse in unrefurbished condition. Looking back I should have taken many more pictures of Cotswold Line Class 50s in the late 1970s. I had bought a Praktica camera the year before, but took very few pictures, and one 36 exposure roll often stayed in the camera for many months! Clearly I also didn't pick the best weather, as this miserably dull picture shows. The fact that the station lights are still on gives a clue as to how dark it was. This picture was taken at 1/125sec f1.8 on Kodachrome 64, which explains the very poor quality. Luckily I had the presence of mind not to let the loco get too close, so at least it's not blurred. This shows off the station's remaining vintage infrastructure (long since removed). Note the posts of the old GWR style nameboard. The one of the other platform was still intact at the time.

50030 Repulse approaches Ascott-under-Wychwood at speed with the 18:07 Paddington to Hereford service on 21 June 1984. Note the vintage bullhead track which must have been of considerable vintage even before this section of the Cotswold Line was singled in 1971. The train was a few minutes late, and I was hoping there wasn't a major problem delaying it, as on a late summer's evening those long shadows that are already touching the rail in places move with considerable speed!

50030 Repulse finds a very brief patch of sunshine as it passes Wolfhall on 2 July 1985 with the 1A45 11:05 Paignton to Paddington 'Torbay Express'. Despite BR's policy of naming various prestige trains in the 1980s, they never went to the trouble of providing headboards, as the did in the days of steam.

It is just a few minutes after sunrise on 4 January 1986, and the sun is tingeing the clouds pink, but is still too weak to provide much illumination for 50030 Repulse, as it accelerates away from Moreton-in-Marsh with the 1A18 07:00 Hereford to Paddington 'Cathedrals Express'. There had been a sharp frost overnight, and it looked like there might be a chance of a sunny day, but unfortunately the cloud won, spreading to cover the whole sky just after the sun had risen. Therefore with only 35mm Fujichrome 100 available, f1.4 had to be used, hence the mediocre quality.

50030 Repulse approaches Fairwood Junction on 11 March 1986 with the 1C29 10:25 Paddington to Paignton 'Torbay Express'. Although the sun has finally broken through the fog, there is still mist about giving a cold blue light, and the visibility is still very poor. Note how Westbury cement works chimney had only just been seen in the distance. The Westbury avoiding line curves off to the right. Repulse is in the original version of 'large logo' livery without the later orange cantrail stripe.

50030 Repulse speeds past Cassington on 16 May 1986 with the 1B56 18:07 Paddington to Hereford 'Cathedrals Express'. It is on the fourteen mile track single track section of the Cotswold Line between Wolvercote Junction to Ascott-under-Wychwood. Although the line has been partly redoubled since this picture was taken, this section remains single track.

50030 Repulse speeds past Pirton on 15 June 1986 with the 1M78 13:49 Plymouth to Manchester Piccadilly service. At Birmingham New Street 50030 would be replaced by equally classic traction, in the shape of 85030.

Not long after sunrise on 11 October 1986, 50030 Repulse takes the Swindon line at Standish Junction with the 1A22 08:36 Cheltenham to Paddington service. It would not be possible to take a similar picture today, as the bushes on the right are now full grown trees and would completely shade the line from this angle. 

50030 Repulse speeds past West Drayton on 6 November 1986 with the 2C06 07:46 Oxford to Paddington service. As the headcode implies, this is a local train, calling at all stations between Oxford and Reading, only then becoming non-stop to Paddington. It seems strange to think of a ten coach Class 50 hauled train calling at such tiny stations as Culham and Appleford!

50030 Repulse thrashes up the mainline at South Moreton on 8 November 1986 with the 1V52 10:10 Birmingham New Street to Paddington service. This explains the predominance of Mk 2 stock in the formation, and especially the inclusion of an InterCity liveried vehicle. The more common Oxford trains would generally at this time have been formed of Mk 1 stock, although at this time blue & grey was still the norm livery wise, despite Network SouthEast having been launched during the summer.

50030 Repulse pulls away from Kingham station on 8 May 1987 with the 1B47 17:00 Paddington to Hereford service. This was during the final week of normal weekday loco hauled trains over the Cotswold Line, although subsequent years did bring diverted cross country services and Sunday trains. The massive increase in passenger use at Kingham had yet to happen when this picture was taken, and the small car park (since considerably extended) contains only a few cars, one of which is mine.

50030 Repulse pulls away from the tiny station at Shipton on 9 May 1987 with the last ever scheduled loco hauled train to call there. This was the 1A25 08:00 Hereford to Paddington service, which called by request at Shipton. The service went over to HSTs on the following Monday. Unfortunately the lighting is completely head on, but the historical significance outweighs the poor quality image. On the left is FWP Mathews flour mill, still a flourishing concern three decades later.

Luxury commuter travel for the residents of Great Bedwyn on 28 July 1988. 50030 Repulse arrives at Bedwyn station with the 1F19 06:52 Westbury to Paddington Network SouthEast service. As now, the majority of trains stopping at this small station were DMUs, but this early morning train was booked for a Class 50. It had previously worked to Westbury as the 5F19 04:37 ECS from Old Oak Common. The loco's diagram for the rest of the day was: 1M20 09:40 Paddington to Birmingham New Street, 1V96 14:41 Birmingham New Street to Paddington, 1F70 18:37 Paddington to Oxford, and finishing up with the 5F71 20:40 Oxford to Old Oak Common ECS.

In the final few months of Class 50 operations on the Cotswold Line, 50030 Repulse leaves Kingham station on 22 January 1989 with the 1B31 13:45 Paddington to Hereford service. This is in the very last of the weak afternoon sunshine, but this is the first northbound train of the day on a Sunday at this time! Although this is one of the few pictures that I took of a revised Network SouthEast liveried Class 50 on the Cotswold Line, I still prefer the picture I took of the same locomotive at the same location in 1987.

A misty morning at Purley-on-Thames on 11 February 1989. 50030 Repulse heads towards London with the 1F35 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service, which had been retimed to depart from Oxford at 09:00, instead of the usual 09:25, for reasons which now escape me.

50030 Repulse passes Lower Basildon on 11 February 1989 with the 1F22 12:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. Later in the year it was transferred to the West of England route, where it would become one of the final members of the class to be withdrawn, in April 1992.

50030 Repulse approaches Didcot North Junction in failing light on 22 June 1989 with the 5G58 20:00 Banbury to Old Oak Common ECS. It had earlier worked the 1G58 18:12 Paddington to Banbury Network SouthEast commuter train. Although only really being photographable around the longest day (as here), I don't know why I didn't make more of an effort to photograph this train, especially as in the 1980s there were a lot more locations in the Oxford area that were free of lineside bushes, which would obviously be required for a late evening picture if the sun was out.

During 1991, when I seemed to be spending every available bit of free time photographing Class 50s on the West of England Line, I would try to book my days off to correspond with decent weather. There were however occasions when the weather was grim. Such a day was 9 March 1991. With the station car park lights giving a clue as to how dull it is, 50030 Repulse pulls out of Andover station with the 1V09 09:15 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service.

50030 Repulse pulls out of Andover station on 11 May 1991 with the 2V11 11:15 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service. Such was the mad scramble to record the last days of the 50s during 1991, that even on a miserable day like this, I had made the long trek down to the West of England line!

50030 Repulse approaches Grateley on 27 July 1991 with the 1O34 08:11 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. This was one of my favourite locations in the Andover area, and was visited many times during 1991, but hardly ever since!

Sometimes you can just have too many Class 50s! 50030 Repulse passes Milborne Wick on 21 August 1991 with the 2V07 07:45 Basingstoke to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service, while 50017 Royal Oak heads in the opposite direction with the 1O34 08:10 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo train.

50030 Repulse arrives at Crewkerne station on 21 August 1991 with the 1O38 14:22 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. Repulse would be one of the last Class 50s active on the route, working its final passenger train in February 1992.

50030 Repulse approaches Grateley on 10 September 1991 with the 1O31 06:11 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. The loco is wearing revised Network SouthEast livery, but in the earlier lighter shade of blue, which matches the coaches.

50030 Repulse passes Potbridge on 6 November 1991 with the 1L05 10:00 Waterloo to Salisbury Network SouthEast service. At this time the operational Class 50s on the West of England route were down to just three machines, with just D400 and 50029 Renown helping out 50030 during the their last few months of operation.

The first up train of the day on a Sunday morning passes underneath Battledown Flyover on a very gloomy 10 November 1991. 50030 Repulse is working the 2L18 08:28 Salisbury to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. Apologies for the very poor quality of the image, but it is my only picture of a Class 50 at this iconic location.

50030 Repulse speeds through Grateley on 14 November 1991 with the 1O35 09:45 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. Note the disused bay platform on the right. The station has had a facelift since this picture was taken, and the old bay is now fenced off.

Another Devon location that I only visited once. 50030 Repulse passes Colhayne (between Honiton and Axminster) on 20 November 1991 with the 1O38 14:22 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. This was taken from a farm occupation bridge, that also carries a footpath from Colhayne Lane to the village of Watchcombe. Repulse had just three months left in traffic, being withdrawn after failing with generator problems whilst working the 2V13 12:55 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids service on 23 February 1992.

50030 Repulse dumped at Salisbury station on 12 January 1992 with 'Not to be moved' notice attached. At the time I assumed this would be the end of the loco, as any failure in traffic of the few remaining Class 50s usually meant it would be withdrawn. However, the problem must only have been a minor one, as it back in action again a couple of weeks later.

50030 Repulse & D400 climb Sapperton Bank at Ham Mill on 25 January 1992 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z25 06:05 Manchester Piccadilly to Worthing 'Network Navigator' railtour. The 50s had taken over the train at Birmingham Mew Street. Despite the awful weather conditions, this picture is worth including, as it shows the last visit to the Cotswolds of a standard Class 50, as opposed to the later railtour trio of 50007, 50033 & D400.

50030 Repulse approaches Grateley at high speed with the 11:00 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service on 1 February 1992, no doubt trying to make up time, as it was running 15 minutes late. This was during the last few months of Class 50 operations on the West of England line. There is no mistaking that we are in former Southern Railway territory, with the very characteristic concrete PW hut on the left.