800001, the prototype for the fleet of new Hitachi built bi-mode units stands at the Asfordby Depot end of the Old Dalby test track on 28 August 2015. It's pantograph is up, and some systems on board are running, but there are no signs of imminent movement. Note that the nose cone sections have been retracted to reveal the coupling. 800001 was constructed at Hitachi's Kasado works in Japan, and shipped to this country from the port of Kobe aboard the MV Tamerlane, arriving at Southampton on 11 March 2015, and was unloaded the following day. Being built in Japan this will presumably be virtually fault free, but even so an extensive programme of testing was undertaken prior to the fleet's introduction into service in 2017.

800001 passes the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham, on 28 March 2017 with the 1X80 10:37 Paddington to Bristol Parkway test run. This picture says it all really, with the Japanese built bi-mode DEMU delivered on time, and seemingly proving to be very reliable, while Network Rail's attempt to electrify the Great Western Mainline is years behind schedule, and massively over budget. It's a good job these units are bi-modes, as they are certainly going to need their engines, even on this stretch of line, which should have been fully wired by now!

800001 passes South Marston on 28 March 2017 with the 1X81 12:19 Bristol Parkway to Paddington test run. The white colour scheme of this first production unit certainly shows up, and looks more impressive than the drab dark green that the GWR units will be outshopped in. However, practically green is probably better on the working railway, as I presume 800001 has had lots of tender loving care and cleaning, to keep it looking this pristine.

800001 passes Uffington on 29 March 2017 with the 5X80 10:37 Paddington to Bristol Parkway test run. The site of Uffington station in the foreground is now a worksite for the Great Western Mainline electfrication project. The forsythia bush in the foreground is a herald of spring, even if the weather isn't!

800001 passes Steventon on 29 March 2017 with the 5X81 12:19 Bristol Parkway to Paddington test run. An extremely dull day has enabled this picture to be taken from the north side of the line, which also gives a view down the long straight beyond the village's two level crossings in the background.

800001 & 800002 pass Challow on 6 April 2017 with the 5X31 10:17 Swindon to Reading West Junction test run. A pity the 'Inspiration Delivered' red logo covered 800002 was not leading, but it can be seen underneath the road bridge. However, the white livery of 800001 certainly shows up well in the early morning sunshine. Sunshine was certainly not predicted by the Met Office!

Running 23 minutes early, 800001 & 800002 pass Steventon on 6 April 2017 with the 5X33 12:46 Swindon to Reading West Junction test train. I presume that once they are in service, two five car Class 800/0s will be an unusual working, with a single nine coach Class 800/3 being used for longer trains. The formation pictured here has no corridor connection between the two halves.

800001 & 800002 pass Uffington in a very lucky patch of sunshine on 5 May 2017 with the 5X32 11:04 Reading West Junction to Swindon test train. This was formerly the site of Uffington loops, which were removed after the line was quadrupled between Challow and Wantage Road. What a pity that the footbridge from which this picture was taken wasn't installed decades ago, before the electfrication masts and the radio mast disfigured the view.

800001 passes South Marston on 29 June 2018 with the 5Z19 10:03 North Pole IEP Depot to Highbridge Loop crew training run. In the event it only travelled another three miles, and then returned from whence it came as the 5Z21 11:55 Swindon to North Pole IEP Depot.

I certainly didn't expect to see this! Less than half an hour after it passed South Marston on 29 June 2018 with the 5Z19 10:03 North Pole IEP Depot to Highbridge Loop crew training run, 800001 was back again, clearly having gone nowhere near Highbridge! It had reversed at Swindon, and was now running as the 5Z21 11:55 Swindon to North Pole IEP Depot.

Nearly two years after being delivered to GWR (in the much more attractive white 'livery'), 800001 had still not been accepted into traffic in early 2019, and instead seems to spend most of its time on various test runs. It is seen here passing Uffington on 28 January 2019 with the 5Z20 07:45 Bristol Parkway to Newbury crew training run.

800001 passes Uffington on 24 March 2021 with the 1G19 14:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. This was travelling quite slowly, as it was right behind the very late running 1Z22 08:20 Tyseley to Bristol High Level Siding Network Rail test train.

800001 accelerates away from Pershore station (just out of sight around the corner) on 17 April 2021 with the 1P19 09:58 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. This was running 15 minutes late, not through any problem with the train, but because the 1W09 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern unit was running a staggering 44 minutes late, and would in fact be terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill, Of course owing to the restricted capacity of the single track Cotswold Line, 800001 could not proceed past Worcester, until 1W09 had cleared Norton Junction.

800001, the first production Hitachi built bi-mode IET, approaches Moreton-in-Marsh on 5 September 2021 with the 1W04 15:46 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. This is the view from Dunstall Bridge, a location that has remained almost entirely free of intrusive vegetation ever since I have been taking pictures.

800001 passes through Shipton station on 10 December 2021 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Despite the recent storms, the oak trees have managed to hang on to a lot of their leaves, which adds a bit of colour to the picture, to compensate for the dullness of the DMU's livery.

800001 & 802009 pass Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 24 March 2022 with the 1L11 07:43 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. This Class 800/802 combination picture is interesting, but nothing like as interesting as the 802/800 combination that I had just missed, through not paying attention. The 1L10 07:20 Swansea to Paddington train had featured 802001 (with coupling cover open), leading 'Rainbow' liveried 800008!

800001 passes Chilson on 6 May 2022 with the 1P20 08:13 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. Just visible on the extreme left of the picture, a deer can be seen looking towards the railway. Although they are quite common in the area, I hadn't noticed this one at the time.

800001 passes Cornbury Park on 15 July 2022, as it accelerates away from Charlbury station (now hidden from view by the increasingly tall trees) with the 1P20 08:13 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service.

800001 passes St Mary's Crossing on 31 August 2022 with the 1L68 08:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Note the multiple reverse curves of the line in the background. After Stroud the line curves repeatedly to follow the course of the River Frome.

After many years of being blocked off by roadside bushes, the view from the bridge at Evenlode is back on again in 2022. 800001 heads north with the 1W21 13:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service on 29 October 2022.

Still accelerating away from the station stop at Stroud, 800001 passes Bowbridge on 22 February 2023 with the 1L74 11:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. I hadn't travelled over 30 miles just to photograph a Class 800 in poor light, but my target was the 1Z22 07:48 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road Network Rail test train, that should have followed this. Unfortunately that turned into the 1Z20 12:30 Cheltenham Spa to Bristol Kingsland Road, and carried straight on at Standish Junction, leaving me with no time to move position!

A wave from the driver of 800001, as it passes Chilson on 29 April 2023 with the 1P19 09:58 Great Malvern to Oxford GWR service. This would normally be the 1P19 09:58 Great Malvern to Paddington train, but the unstable condition of Nuneham Viaduct, over the River Thames, had resulted in the closure of the Oxford to Didcot line.

800001 approaches Clayfield Road level crossing, Bretforton, on 9 January 2024 with the 1W01 09:52 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. There was very little chance of a car stopping at the crossing and blocking the view, as the road sees hardly any traffic.

800001 emerges from the fog at Hungerford on 6 March 2024 with the 1A76 08:16 Plymouth to Paddington GWR service. Only selected trains from the West Country actually call at Hungerford, and this isn't one of them.

800001 & 800015 pass through Kemble station on 4 July 2024 with the diverted 1L12 07:23 Carmarthen to Paddington GWR service. The train's normal route via the Severn Tunnel was closed for engineering works. Like many locations on the national rail network, this view is now getting rather overgrown!

There are 36 DMUs in the Class 800/0 sub-class, and this view shows the lowest and highest numbered units working in multiple. 800001 & 800036 Dr Paul Stephenson OBE  pass Kemble at high speed on 17 July 2024 with the 1L20 11:27 Carmarthen to Paddington GWR service, which was diverted via Gloucester due to the closure of the Severn Tunnel for engineering works.

800001 & 800036 Dr Paul Stephenson OBE pass underneath the road bridge at Oaksey on 18 July 2024 with the 1L07 06:28 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. This was diverted via Gloucester due to the closure of the Severn Tunnel for engineering works.

800001 is still accelerating away from Cam & Dursley station, as it passes the Equestrian Centre at Tumpy Green on 2 August 2024 with the 2T44 11:48 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service.

GWR's dark green livery is very drab, but this is not the way to improve it! Vandalised 800001 & 800026 pass Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 23 August 2024 with the 1L14 09:23 Swansea to Paddington service. The footbridge in the foreground sees very little use, as can be seen by the undisturbed weeds that are now almost blocking the area at the bottom of the steps.

800001 passes Fiddington on 17 September 2024 with the 2T47 14:50 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. With the quality of service everyone has come to expect from Great Western, the following service, the 2T48 15:49 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Parkway was cancelled.

800002 & 800001 approach Challow at high speed on 6 April 2017 with the 5X30 08:24 North Pole IEP Depot to Swindon test run, the first of a series of test runs undertaken over the Great Western Mainline on this particular day.

After their booked sojourn in the down loop, 800002 & 800001 regain the mainline at Steventon on 6 April 2017 with the 5X32 11:04 Reading West Junction to Swindon test train. Unfortunately this corresponded with one of the clouds that were now building up. The reflection of some of these can be seen in the shiny black area above 800002's windscreen.

800002 & 800001 pass Uffington on 5 May 2017 with the 5X31 10:17 Swindon to Reading West Junction test run. This was running nine minutes late, due to the previous westbound trip from North Pole IEP Depot having left London 35 minutes late. This late running was fortunate, as I had only just arrived at Uffington's new footbridge. This immaculate pair of white liveried bi-mode units certainly stand out against the green foliage, which is something that unfortunately will not be the case with the dark green production units that will soon be commonplace on this line. Also, it seems that a pair of five car units is a perfect fit for this particular location!

Finally in passenger service, after three years as one of GWR's test bed and crew training units, 800002 is pictured passing Hinksey Yard on 9 December 2019 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service.

My first railway picture of 2020 shows 800002 passing Wolvercote on 3 January with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Although 800002 entered service in 2016, it was another three years before it finally carried fare paying passengers, as both it and pioneer 800001 were used exclusively by GWR for training purposes. During that time it carried the much more attractive plain white colour scheme, but uniquely, one driving vehicle sported an unusual red graphic design. Unfortunately whenever I saw it the red vehicle was always at the back!

800002 runs through the cutting at Kemble Wick on 16 March 2021 with the 1L74 11:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. The clouds in the background give a clue as to how lucky I was to get this in the sun!

After decades of shocking neglect by Network Rail and its predecessors, which saw the trackside bushes touching the trains, the lineside at Chilson was finally cleared of vegetation in 2020, although the view is still nowhere near as open as it was in the 1980s. 800002 passes by on 22 April 2021 with the 1W21 10:50 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill GWR service.

Running surprisingly slowly, 800002 passes through Shipton station on 29 April 2021 with the 1P03 06:43 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. There has been a lot of recent tree clearance from around the end of the platform.

800002 dodges the clouds, as it passes Hinksey Yard on 6 May 2021 with the 1P30 13:18 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. This was one of those lucky days when there were plenty of clouds, but most trains passed in the sunny periods.

800002 passes Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 7 September 2021 with the 1L10 07:20 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. Circourt Bridge was rebuilt in 2010, the concrete and steel structure replacing a riveted steel bridge, which was showing some quite severe corrosion in places. Judging by the rust patch on the right, the new bridge is already following its example!

800002 passes Uffington on 18 January 2023 with the 1B13 11:48 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. The footbridge sees the occasional hiker, but is mostly used by railway photographers to gain access to this field!

GWR Class 800/802s running with their nose end doors open seem to be getting more commonplace. This was not the only instance noted on this particular morning. 800002 & 800034 Jo Prosser pass Denchworth on 23 January 2023 with the 1L10 07:20 Swansea to Paddington service. It was on time here, but in true GWR tradition that didn't last, and it arrived in London 34 minutes late.

Yet another instance of a pair of Class 800s running with the front coupling cover open. 800002 & 800012 speed past Uffington on 6 February 2023 with the late running 1L11 07:43 Swansea to Paddington GWR service.

With the sun just managing to find a gap in the clouds, 800002 passes underneath the road bridge at Hungerford Common on 11 January 2024 with the 1A77 08:35 Plymouth to Paddington GWR service, unusually for GWR, running exactly on time!

800002 passes Uffington on 8 March 2024 with the 1G17 13:32 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. It's hard to believe, but the Wilts & Berks Canal once used to cross the foreground of this picture. It closed as long ago as 1914.

800002 passes through Ascott-under-Wychwood station on 11 July 2024 with the 1P22 08:56 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Only one train a day actually calls at this station in this direction, the 2E80 07:00 Worcester Shrub Hill to Didcot Parkway Turbo unit.

800002 takes the 'Golden Valley' route at Standish Junction on 30 July 2024 with the 1L80 14:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. The line to Swindon is climbing away from the junction at 1 in 720, while the Bristol route is dropping at 1 in 239.

800003 Queen Victoria & 800004 Isambard Kingdom Brunel approach the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham, on 15 June 2017 with the 5X19 07:34 North Pole IEP Depot to Taunton test run. 800004 would be detached at Swindon, leaving 800003 to go on alone, with 800004 following shortly afterwards as the 5X20 09:06 (10:20 in reality) Swindon to Taunton. It looks like 800004 is in a different livery in this picture, but that is purely a result of reflections from the bright sky. In fact GWR's green livery is so dark, that it is nothing but reflections along the entire highly polished bodyside and roof!

800003 Queen Elizabeth II passes Steventon on 28 August 2017 with the 3X14 09:50 Stoke Gifford to Reading Traincare Depot test run. The short gap in the electfrication masts at this point is due to the ongoing battle between villagers and Network Rail concerning the proposed demolition of the roadbridge. At least there is still one photographic vantage point still left on the line, at least in the short term!

800003 Queen Elizabeth II passes South Marston on 27 October 2017 with the 3Z24 10:10 Stoke Gifford to Reading Traincare Depot crew training run. Although it looks like a completely sunny day, there was in fact a lot of cloud to the south, and it was lucky that this was running two minutes early, as shortly afterwards the clouds starting getting in the way of the sun.

This lineside fence certainly needs some repairs! 800003 passes Chilson on 15 April 2020 with the 1W13 06:50 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill GWR service. There has been some extensive lineside clearance here, although note the one large bush that has been left in the background.

Passing a tree retaining golden leaves from the previous autumn, 800003 Queen Victoria heads westwards past Uffington on 8 March 2021 with the 1C17 14:02 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service.

800003 Queen Victoria approaches the site of Ashbury Crossing, Shrivenham, on 26 February 2022 with the 1C14 12:32 Paddington to Weston-super-Mare GWR service. This picture is taken from the old roadway, looking underneath the modern concrete footbridge.

800003 Queen Victoria approaches Hanborough on 16 June 2022 with the 1P28 11:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Only a head on shot is possible here now, after lineside vegetation has re-grown again, after the extensive clearance of a few years earlier.

The public footpath crossing near Lower Moor, Minety, is the setting for this picture. 800003 Queen Victoria approaches the crossing at high speed on 9 July 2022, as it heads towards Kemble with the 2G21 16:28 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa GWR service.

800003 Queen Elizabeth II approaches Hinksey Yard on 10 August 2022 with the 1W13 06:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. Although still reasonably uncluttered, I still prefer how this locationlooked three decades earlier!

800003 Queen Elizabeth II passes Hinksey Yard on 9 January 2023 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. On the left, 70803 is doing a spot of shunting with the 6M50 08:01 Westbury to Bescot engineers train. I had gone here specifically to photograph 47593 Galloway Princess with the 5Z43 08:50 Crewe to Eastleigh Arlington ECS, but that had failed at Leamington Spa, and by the time a rescue loco had arrived from Crewe, it was running 250 minutes late, passing this spot in the dark at 16:36, several hours after I had arrived back home!

800003 Queen Elizabeth II takes the Swindon line at Standish Junction on 24 January 2023 with the 1L70 09:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Although this looks like a trespass shot, it is actually taken from behind the recently erected barrier at a public footpath crossing.

Having just reversed at Gloucester, 800003 Queen Victoria passes Ley Court (between Oakle Street and Grange Court) for the second time on 20 February 2023 with the 5G99 09:46 Swansea Maliphant IEP Depot to Swansea crew training run. GWR trains do not normally use this line, so there is some novelty value to this picture, probably more novelty value than the fact that the nose cone is open - something which seems to be happening more frequently!

800003 Queen Elizabeth II & 800020 round the curve at Thingley on 25 March 2023 with the 1A17 11:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. Note the 'Queen's Platinum Jubilee' roundel below the unit's name.

800003 Queen Victoria calls at Kemble station on 5 June 2023 with the 1L74 11:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. The wide track spacing here is a legacy from the days when it was a broad gauge railway (it was converted in 1872).

800003 Queen Victoria passes Evenlode on 7 June 2023 with the 1P38 16:32 Great Malvern to Oxford GWR service. This train would normally have carried on to Paddington, but the line south of Oxford had been shut for several months, due to problems with Nuneham Viaduct.

800003 Queen Victoria passes Lyneham on 7 June 2023 with the 1W34 18:49 Oxford to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. This train would normally have started from Paddington, but the line south of Oxford was shut, due to problems with Nuneham Viaduct.

800004 Isambard Kingdom Brunel passes Compton Beauchamp in near darkness on 22 August 2016 with the 5X80 19:12 Stoke Gifford to North Pole IEP Depot ECS. This is my first picture of a Class 800 actually on the move, but unfortunately GWR's drab dark green livery and the atrocious light do make an ideal combination! Although these units will regularly work along this line in due course, I thought it would be opportune to get at least one picture of these new trains at this location while there is still no evidence of the overhead electrification catenary.

800004 Sir Daniel Gooch passes the site of Oaksey station on 1 September 2017 with the 3X17 09:02 Gloucester to Swindon crew training test run. Although there were only a few small clouds in the sky at this time, I was fortunate to get this in the sun, as it was cloudy just before it came into view, and again just after it had passed by! Photo taken from a public footpath crossing.

800004 passes Uffington on 8 June 2020 with the 1G15 12:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Note that this unit has already lost its Isambard Kingdom Brunel / Sir Daniel Gooch stick on vinyl names.

800004 passes Grove on 20 January 2022 with the 1L70 09:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. This public footpath crossing is one of the better photographic locations in the Vale of White Horse, with so many other spots now ruined by the overhead line masts.

800004 passes Whitehill (between Combe and Finstock) with the 1W27 13:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service, in a brief burst of winter sunshine on 31 January 2022. The line crosses the River Evenlode three times between here and the bridge in the background.

800004 approaches Kemble station on 12 May 2022 with the 1G07 08:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Extensive vegetation clearance has recently taken place in this cutting, leading up to the very short Kemble Tunnel, which can be seen in the background.

A fine autumnal scene near Combe on 20 November 2022. 800004 heads down the Evenlode Valley with the 1P45 10:50 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The train has just passed the diminutive Combe station (hidden by the trees on the left).

800004 passes Rangeworthy on 26 July 2023 with the 2T03 07:31 Gloucester to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. Most of these local trains are worked by Class 165 or 166 Turbos, but a few Class 800s are also diagrammed.

800004 passes Uffington on 9 October 2023 with the 1:72 10:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. This seems to have become my most used location in the Vale of White Horse, being one of the few relatively unobstructed spots left.

Yet another instance of a GWR IET running with the front nose cone open. 800004 passes underneath the footbridge near Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 16 January 2024 with the 1G15 12:32 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa service.

800005 & (hidden by the buddleia bush) 800006 approach Stocks Lane, Steventon, on 8 November 2017 with the 1B40 13:45 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. A long lens was required here in order to clear numerous foreground shadows.

800005 & 800006 pass the unfinished and much delayed overhead electfrication infrastructure at South Marston in fading afternoon light on 10 November 2017 with the 1B40 13:45 Paddington to Swansea GWR service.

800005 slowly approaches Honeybourne station on 20 March 2018 with the late running 1W29 14:21 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service, which on this occasion was terminated at Worcester Shrub Hill. This location is hardly reconisable compared with the picture I took of 50046 Ajax a mere 36 years earlier!

800005 passes Ascott-under-Wychwood Signal Box on 4 January 2019 with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. With only weak sunshine, the fact that the box is casting a shadow on the middle of the first vehicle hardly shows. The awful dark green livery helps in this case, as well!

More pointless running on diesel power under the wires. Travelling noticeably slower than other trains that were using the 25kV overhead, 800005 & 800016 pass Uffington on 29 March 2019 with the 1L42 07:30 Carmarthen to Paddington GWR service. The use of diesel power between Swindon and Didcot is presumably in connection with the dead section at Steventon, but the random nature of which trains are running on diesel or electric is a bit of a mystery.

800005 & 800023 pass Grove on 5 November 2020 with the 1L12 07:21 Carmarthen to Paddington GWR service. This is just a short distance from the little used public footpath crossing adjacent to the Grove to Denchworth road.

800005 approaches Upper Minety on 16 March 2021 with the 1L76 12:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. I had not previously been to this location, and neither have many other people I expect, judging by the extremely muddy and overgrown footpath that has to be traversed to get there! The spire of Kemble church can just be seen in the far distance, directly above the centre coach.

800005 approaches Little Bedwyn on 6 September 2021 with the 1K18 15:07 Paddington to Bedwyn GWR service. It had been running almost to time until this point, but a lengthy stop at a red signal just past this spot saw it arrive at Bedwyn station five minutes late.

800005 leaves Kemble station on 12 May 2022 with the 1L68 08:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Judging by the rust covered track, nothing has used the siding on the right for some considerable time.

800005 approaches Minety on 9 July 2022 with the late running 1L78 13:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing near Lower Moor, one of several footpath crossings near the village.

800005 passes underneath Dunstall Bridge, as it accelerates away from Moreton-in-Marsh on 8 December 2022 with the 1P28 11:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The blue sky here is misleading, as there was a large bank of cloud to the west, which would very soon blot out the winter sunshine.

800005 & (hidden by the bushes) 800006 pass Shrivenham on 5 June 2023 with the 1C24 17:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. This is the view from the footbridge on the site of the former Ashbury Crossing.

A large crowd of passengers prepare to board 800005 Aneurin Bevan NHS 1948-2023, as it arrives at Pewsey station on 20 June 2024 with the 1J74 06:37 Plymouth to Paddington service. As with a lot of GWR's trains, this was running late.

800005 Aneurin Bevan NHS 1948-2023 passes the site of Stonehouse (Bristol Road) station on 29 July 2024 with the 3G03 06:34 Stoke Gifford to Gloucester ECS. This would return a little while later as the 2T03 07:31 Gloucester to Bristol Temple meads GWR service.

Two weeks after their eventful introduction into service, when in front of the country's media they suffered both power supply and air conditioning failures on the very first run, the offending IEP units (800006 & 800005) were behaving themselves on 27 October 2017, when seen here passing South Marston with the 1B12 08:15 Paddington to Cardiff Central GWR service.

The wires are up at Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 24 November 2017, but not yet energized, so 800006 & 800012 are running on diesel power, as they head westwards with the 1B40 13:45 Paddington to Swansea GWR service.

A picture that neatly sums up the desecration of the Great Western Mainline. 800006 & 800013 pass the site of Ashbury Crossing, Shrivenham, with the 1C10 10:30 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service on 15 December 2017. Because the electfrication project is so far behind schedule, these new bi-mode units will be running on diesel power past this spot for a while yet!

The moles have certainly been busy in this field near the site of Yarnton Junction. 800006 slowly approaches Wolvercote Junction with the 1P29 12:00 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service on 19 January 2018. Initially I hadn't intended to take this picture, but as I was walking back to the car, I realised that it was only a few minutes away, so decided to linger. I am quite pleased with the picture, not so much for the traction, but by the way the mole hills and dramatic cloud formation add to the scene.

The sheep in the field next to Dunstall Bridge suddenly take fright, as 800006 approaches Moreton-in-Marsh on 21 April 2018 with the 1W13 07:22 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. Recent tree clearance has opened up this view considerably.

800006 passes Chilson on 7 September 2018 with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. Note the gang of track workers clearing vegetation in the background. They would later remove most of the bushes on the left, improving the view enormously.

800006 passes Cassington on 29 November 2018 with the 1W23 11:20 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. It looks like the driver is pointing the way ahead, although I expect he is just resting his arm on the console!

Running on diesel, 800006 passes Grove on 25 February 2019 with the 1L38 07:59 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. Just visible in the far distance, 66546 is waiting to follow it with the 4L36 07:45 Wentloog to Felixstowe North freightliner.

The morning of Friday 7 February 2020 was forecast to be sunny, after any early morning fog had cleared. It was foggy at home, but after heading off towards Uffington, I drove into the sun, only for it to disappear into low cloud and lifted fog, just after I had arrived at the lineside! For the next two hours, it remained more or less cloudy, with the exception of a couple of minutes, when 800006 & 800025 passed by with the 1A15 10:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service.

800006 passes Stoulton on 18 February 2020 with the 1W02 11:50 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. The site of Stoulton station (closed in 1966) is now in use for the storage of various commercial vehicles and buses.

800006 passes over Clayfield Crossing, Bretforton, on 4 November 2020 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. It's not very often that I use the top 1/8000sec shutter speed on my camera, but this wide close up view of a fast moving train, travelling straight across the frame, is the ideal subject.

The Network Rail sign on the bridge explains where this is! 800006 passes Chilson on 19 June 2022 with the 1P41 09:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Note the OWW mileage mentioned on the sign - a reminder that this line was built by the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway.

Running 19 minutes late, 800006 & 800015 pass Chalford on 4 July 2022 with the diverted 1L14 09:23 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. The train's normal route via the Severn Tunnel was closed for engineering works. St Mary's Crossing signal box can be seen in the distance.

800006 calls at Kingham station on 13 July 2022 with the 1W01 09:50 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. The tree growth is such that if the sun is out, only midsummer in the middle of the day is now free of shadows.

Superb lighting at Grintleyhill Bridge, Combe, on 7 September 2022. 800006 runs along the single track section of the Cotswold Line with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The train is crossing a bridge over the River Evenlode, one of three crossings of the river between here and the overbridge visible in the distance!

800006 passes South Marston on 1 August 2024 with the 1B15 12:48 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. With no masts on this side of the line in the foreground, this is one of the better photographic locations between Didcot and Swindon.

800006 passes Chilson on 4 September 2024 with the 1W01 09:52 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. Although this location was partially cleared of vegetation a few years ago, it is already starting to grow back again unchecked.

800006 passes Lower Moor on 9 September 2024 with the 1W30 15:23 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. This is one of the most well known locations at the north end of the Cotswold Line, as there aren't any other spots with such a clear view!

The sign on the post identifies the location. 800007 & 800014 approach Stocks Lane level crossing, in Steventon, on 6 June 2018 with the 1L38 07:24 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. It's not an optical illusion, the mast on the right really is leaning!

800007 races through Kemble station on 3 July 2018 with the diverted 1L65 12:20 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. Note the recent tree clearance on the right. The grass covered curved platform was formerly used by branch line trains to Cirencester.

Consecutively numbered 800007 & 800008 pass Uffington on 28 January 2019 with the late running 1A09 07:12 Taunton to Paddington GWR service. A pity these units weren't the other way round, as 800008's coloured stripes would relive the monotony of the drab green livery.

800007 & 800008 emerge from the fog at Uffington on 15 July 2019 with the 1L01 04:45 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. As can be guessed by the early hour, and the train's headcode, this is the first train of the day from Bristol.

800007 passes Shipton station on 18 July 2020 with the 1P23 11:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The car park belonging to F.W.P Mathews on the left is virtually empty as this is a Saturday. On a weekday there would be many more cars, although it is not officially a station car park.

The Lombardy Poplars make a perfect background to this picture at Challow, but the electrification masts and wires do not add anything to the foreground! 800007 heads east on 1 December 2020 with the 1L68 08:58 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service.

800007 passes Challow on 1 December 2020 with the 1G13 11:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Note that there is no unit number on the front of this set (at least on this side). Identification was made from the individual vehicle number, near the rear door of the first coach.

800007 passes Bredon's Norton on 12 April 2023 with what is a presumably a Worcester Shrub Hill to Stoke Gifford GWR ECS. Unfortunately I didn't make a note of this at the time, and after a week all such short term plan workings have disappeared off the system, so can't be checked!

800007 passes Norton on 15 January 2024 with the 2T43 10:52 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. Worcester Cathedral, and the nearby St Andrew's Spire (The Glover's Needle) dominate the background, with the nineteenth century Abberley Clock Tower folly just visible in the distance.

New meets old at Uffington on 22 September 2017. 800008 heads east with the 3X15 10:25 Swindon to Reading Traincare Depot test run, while 43162 gets in the way with the 1B20 09:45 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. This is obviously not the picture I had hoped for, but luckily I managed to get an uninterrupted view of 800009, which followed half an hour later.

Monday 16 October 2017 saw the first booked GWR passenger service using the new Class 800 bi-mode units. Unfortunately things did not get off to a very good start, with one of the two diagrams being cancelled after the first run, due to problems raising the pantograph and a faulty air conditioning unit. Ironically, a good old reliable HST had to take over the diagram later in the day! The other diagram was worked by 800008 & 800009, and they are seen here approaching the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham, with the 1B28 11:45 Paddington to Swansea service. This picture is taken in possibly the worst ever conditions that I have seen during the middle of the day. ISO 3200 was required for this, and yet the Met Office was still indicating that the area was in full sun! It is extremely ironic that this massive error is on the thirtieth anniversary of the 1987 hurricane, which they failed to predict!

800008 & 800009 pass South Marston on 27 October 2017 with the 1A11 09:30 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. Presumably once the nine car Class 800/3s are built, there will be less need to use five car Class 800/0s in pairs like this.

800008 leaves Moreton-in-Marsh on 16 April 2018 with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. In the background the track clearance gang can be seen at work, clearing several decades worth of vegetation from the trackside. Note the evidence of their recent work in the foreground.

With its colourful 'Pride stripes' clearly visible, 800008 pass Bledington Heath on 16 June 2018 with the 1W00 08:22 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. The track is dead straight here, and Kingham station, a mile to the south, would be visible, were it not for the rampant tree growth encroaching on the line.

A cold frosty morning at Chilson on 14 December 2018. Rainbow liveried 800008 heads west along the Cotswold Line with the 1W00 08:21 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. I'm not sure why the coupling cover is retracted, and it is certainly the first time I have seen a Class 800 or 802 running with the front coupling uncovered. It certainly makes an unusual picture. Apparently, a Hitachi fitter attended to the fault once the train had arrived at Hereford. The rear cover wasn't open.

Rainbow liveried 800008 passes Chilson on 14 December 2018 with the 1W00 08:21 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. I thought I would take a going away shot, as the low winter light and frost make ideal photographic conditions, and also to check whether the coupling cover was open, as it was at the front.

Lengthening shadows at the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham, on 18 November 2019, as rainbow liveried 800008 & 800013 head westwards with the 1B40 13:45 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. I wouldn't normally bother to take a picture of a Class 800 with this much shadow in the foreground, but as 800008's 'Pride' livery is the only variation to the dull green GWR livery, it was worth recording.

Rainbow liveried 800008 passes South Marston on 1 February 2020 with the 1C15 13:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. Unfortunately it will take lot more than a few coloured stripes to liven up GWR's depressingly dull dark green livery!

The only one of GWR's Class 800 DMUs not to look totally drab, rainbow liveried 800008 passes Lower Moor on 27 March 2020 with the 1P26 11:11 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington service. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing.

Rainbow liveried 800008 passes underneath Hanney Bridge, near Grove, on 26 September 2020 with the 1L68 08:58 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Like a number of bridges on the Great Western Mainline, this bridge was rebuilt in order to allow extra headroom for the 25kV wires. Only the brick abutments remain from the original steel girder bridge.

A Class 800 meeting at Kemble station on 24 November 2020. 800008 arrives with the 1L78 13:58 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR Service, just as 800013 pulls out of the station with the 1G17 13:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa train.

The sun had just started to break through the fog, as rainbow stripe liveried 800008 approaches Sheenhill Crossing, near Honeybourne, on 26 November 2020 with the 1W01 09:50 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. Although now just a remote footpath crossing, Sheenhill Cottages formerly stood next to the line at this point.

Running a staggering 44 minutes late, 800008 passes Challow on 1 December 2020 with the 1A09 06:55 Taunton to Paddington GWR service. This was running on time until the diesel to electric switchover point at Chippenham. The poplar trees in the background of this view are a distinctive landmark at this location.

Rainbow 'Pride' liveried 800008 approaches Collins Lane level crossing, Purton, on 15 December 2020 with the 1L72 10:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. There was not much chance of a car pulling up in the foreground to spoil the picture, as there is very little traffic on this minor road.

800008 is a welcome splash of colour in the otherwise depressingly dull GWR IET fleet. The rainbow liveried unit is pictured passing Uffington on 20 April 2021 with the 1L70 09:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington service.

800008 takes the Stroud line at Standish Junction on 1 June 2021 with the 1L82 15:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. It was on time here, but delays in the Didcot area saw it arrive in London 18 minutes late.

800008 arrives at Charlbury station on 3 July 2021 with the 1W14 09:50 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. Although a large crowd of passengers alighted, not a single passenger boarded for the journey northwards.

No need for the customary 1/2000sec shutter speed here! 800008 & 800034 very slowly pass Shrivenham on 14 July 2021 with the 1A14 09:30 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. The 4L36 07:39 Wentloog to Felixstowe North freightliner was late passing through Swindon, and rather than being looped at Stratton Green, it was left to run on to Challow. Consequently this train was rapidly catching it up, and was severely delayed as a result.

This was a bit of a surprise. Being a premium long distance train, the 1A73 05:05 Penzance to Paddington GWR service is usually either a nine car Class 802/1, or a pair of five car 802/0s. However, on 20 July 2021, five coach 800008 turned up. It is pictured here passing Froxfield.

Colourful 800008 & dull 800021 pass Grove on 8 September 2021 with the 1A21 13:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. This was running exactly to time here, but that didn't stop it loosing time as it approached London, and arriving at Paddington 23 minutes late.

800008 takes the Swindon line at Standish Junction on 13 January 2022 with the 1L72 10:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. There has been some extensive lineside vegetation clearance here recently, although the bush on the right seems to have escaped Network Rail's attention!

800008 emerges from the bushes, and crosses over the River Evenlode, as it approaches Whitehill on 28 January 2022 with the 1W02 11:50 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. Lower Westfield Farm hides amongst the trees, and the village of Combe can be seen on the hilltop in the background. This picture would normally have been a little bland, but as I knew that the rainbow stripe liveried unit was working this train, I thought that would make all the difference. After a morning of intermittent hazy sun, just before this was due the clouds totally disappeared, providing perfect illumination. This did not last, and within then minutes it was completely cloudy!

800008 passes Uffington on 9 March 2022 with the 1L66 07:24 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. This was a quick grab shot, taken as I was walking along the edge of the field, so it was fortunate that there was a convenient gap in the lineside bushes.

800008 heads west past Uffington on 18 March 2022 with a Cheltenham Gold Cup race special. Years ago the trains going to the Gold Cup were a lot more interesting than this, and usually a lot longer, as well!

Rainbow liveried 800008 arrives at Moreton-in-Marsh station on 7 May 2022 with the 1W23 14:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. The semaphore signal on the short post in the buddleia bushes to the left of the train is a relatively recent addition, allowing up trains to start from the down platform.

800008 Alan Turing passes Little Haresfield on 27 August 2022 with the 1G07 08:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. 'Trainbow' liveried 800008 received the Alan Turing in May 2022 to commemorate the World War Two codebreaker and mathematician, whose work not only shortened the war, but also helped to develop early digital computers.

800008 Alan Turing demonstrates the usefulness of the bi-directional signalling at Wolvercote, as it heads south along the northbound line on 23 November 2022 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service.

800008 Alan Turing approaches the site of Yarnton Junction on 28 November 2022 with the 1P28 12:09 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. This should have started from Great Malvern at 11:55, but as the unit's previous train (the 1W17 08:50 Paddington to Great Malvern) had left London 27 minutes late, and hardly made up any time, it was terminated at Worcester. This wasn't the end of the train's problem, because the earlier 1P26 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington (which was terminated at Reading) encountered a delay at Charlbury, which then caused problems on the single line, so that 800008 passed me running 11 minutes late, having been held at Charlbury. Not a good day for GWR!

The late afternoon light accentuates the red colour of the silver birch trees near Steventon on 9 December 2022, as equally colourful 800008 passes by with the 1G19 14:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service.

800008 passes Chilson on 2 January 2023 with the 1P22 08:56 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. This unit is named after the Second World War codebreaker Alan Turing, but the name does not feature on this end of the unit. Ascott-under-Wychwood's former watermill (now a private residence) can be seen in the background.

Running 30 minutes late, 800008 passes Grove on 26 February 2023 with the 1A77 08:30 Exeter St Davids to Paddington GWR service. This train had been diverted off its usual route, as the Berks & Hants line was closed for major engineering works. Due to its late running, the train was terminated at Reading.

800008 passes Baulking on 23 March 2023 with the 1C08 09:32 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. It may be a going away shot, but with full sun and dark clouds, it was definitely worth photographing.

Running over an hour late, after being delayed at Chippenham, 800008 & 800002 pass Uffington on 25 April 2023 with the 1A04 06:30 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. For once the weather forecast was accurate - a sunny morning, clouds appearing by 10:00, followed by a largely cloudy afternoon.

800008 passes Coates on 1 June 2023 with the 1L82 16:15 Gloucester to Paddington GWR service. The official source of the River Thames is in a field behind the hawthorn bushes, although for most of the year the actual source is further to the south.

800008 passes Ebley on 2 June 2023 with the 1G13 12:29 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. This train would normally start from Paddington at 11:31, but was amended on this day due to RMT strike action.

800008 Alan Turing passes Cornbury Park, as it accelerates away from Charlbury station on 12 April 2024 with the 1P30 13:16 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. Although now hidden by the encroaching vegetation, the train is negotiating the turnout at the end of the double track section of the Cotswold Line.

800008 & 800026 pass Challow on 24 April 2024 with the late running 1L12 07:23 Carmarthen to Paddington GWR service. I was on my way home (via the bridge in the background) when I noticed a few bright patches amid the clouds, so stopped off here for a couple of pictures in some very lucky sun.

800008 Alan Turing passes Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 13 November 2024 with the 5G11 08:28 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR ECS. This was running as VSTP working, as it was needed in London to form the 1G11 10:32 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service, which would normally be worked by the unit off the 1P18 07:13 Great Malvern to Paddington train, which on this occasion had been cancelled.

800008 Alan Turing glints in the low winter sun, as it approaches Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 13 November 2024 with the 1L76 12:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. The trees in the background were planted in 1992. Prior to that there were uninterrupted views across the fields towards the village of Goosey.

800009 passes Uffington on 22 September 2017 with the 3X14 10:10 Stoke Gifford to Reading Traincare Depot test run. These new units look quite presentable in white, so much better than the awfully dull GWR green livery that they will end up in. Obviously white is not a very practical livery for the railway environment, but surely Great Western could have picked something better than the almost universally disliked green. Although there wasn't much chance of the sun going in for this picture, that would soon change, as can be seen from the mass of cloud in the background.

800009 Sir Gareth Edwards passes Oakle Street on 28 June 2018 with the diverted 1B55 16:15 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. The train's normal route via the Severn Tunnel was closed for engineering works. The Cotswold Hills can be seen in background.

2018 has been the year of extensive lineside vegetation clearance on the Cotswold Line, and during July the Kingham area was treated, opening up several new viewpoints. This is the view looking north from the Churchill Heath bridge, and while the trees in Churchill Heath Wood still shade the line at this time of the morning, the massive blitz of virtually everything within the lineside fence is clear to see. This location has never been anything like as open as this in all the years that I have been visiting. It's just a pity that the improved view comes at a time when these Class 800 DMUs are replacing the much more photogenic HSTs. 800009 Sir Gareth Edwards heads south on 25 August 2018 with the 1P37 08:43 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service.

800009 Sir Gareth Edwards pulls out of Oxford station on 2 February 2019 with the 1P47 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. Unlike a lot of times in recent years, when the merest suggestion of snow causes massed rail delays, this train was running exactly to time.

800009 Sir Gareth Edwards comes off the Cotswold Line at Wolvercote Junction on 27 March 2019 with the 1P29 12:00 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. Coincidently, exactly 37 years earlier I also visited this location, only on that occasion I photographed the much more interesting 50002 Superb.

800009 John Charles & 800030 pass Grove on 14 March 2020 with the 1L66 07:58 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Just visible in the far distance is 56103, which had arrived 29 minutes early with the 5Z20 08:14 Bristol Barton Hill to Wembley DVT move, and would sit there for 35 minutes. This picture is taken from a public footpath crossing, that bizarrely has had the modern palisade fence enclosure removed, and replaced for no obvious reason by a wooden fence.

800009 John Charles passes underneath the farm occupation bridge at Dorn on 25 May 2020 with the 1P05 15:18 Hereford to Paddington GWR service, which on this occasion had started from Great Malvern, due to a track circuit failure.

Viewed from the end of Honeybourne station's down platform, 800009 John Charles slowly approaches the station on 30 May 2020 with the 1P26 10:58 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The track on the extreme right leads to Honeybourne's three remaining sidings.

The flowers on the bramble bush in the foreground indicate a good crop of blackberries in a few month's time. 800009 John Charles passes Uffington on 26 June 2020 with the 1L68 08:58 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service.

Framed by a lineside tree and a field boundary bush, 800009 Sir Gareth Edwards passes Uffington on 26 February 2021 with the 1G15 12:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Note the clouds in the background, on what was forecast to be a completely sunny day.

800009 John Charles passes Oaksey on 16 March 2021 with the 1L78 13:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Note the ash trees on the left. With their speed of growth, it won't be long before this view is severely compromised!

The only good one? With virtually all of GWR's Class 800 & 802 fleet withdrawn from service, just a handful of units were available for traffic on 10 May 2021, when 800009 Sir Gareth Edwards was pictured passing Uffington with the 1B15 13:13 Reading to Newport service. Two days later this was the only one in traffic!

800009 Sir Gareth Edwards passes Wolvercote on 30 May 2021 with the 1W39 12:38 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh GWR service. Not only are the lineside bushes growing up to restrict this view, but out of sight in the foreground is a rapidly growing tree that will probably soon block the view completely!

800009 Sir Gareth Edwards passes Stoke Orchard on 14 June 2021 with the 1L66 07:23 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. The field on the right was formerly an orchard, one of many around the appropriately named village.

800009 Sir Gareth Edwards passes Up Hatherley on 2 August 2021 with the 1G07 08:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. At one point during the underframe cracks debacle earlier in the year, this was the only one of the Class 800 fleet left in traffic!

800009 John Charles approaches Charlbury station on 15 July 2022 with the 1P03 06:43 Hereford to Paddington GWR service, passing a plethora of stop boards, including four that relate to HSTs, which were last used on the Cotswold Line in 2019.

800009 John Charles passes Uffington on 4 November 2022 with the 1G17 13:28 London to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. I decided to go for a wider view, not only to include the solitary tree in the field, but also the impressive cloudscape.

800009 John Charles speeds through Shipton station on 16 February 2024 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Only two daily trains travelling in this direction call at this diminutive station, and this isn't one of them!

800009 John Charles dodges the shadows at Chilson on 4 September 2024, as it traverses the Cotswold Line with the late running 1P24 09:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The recently planted trees behind the train have slightly altered this viewpoint.

800010 & 800012 pass Churchdown on Sunday 22 October 2017 with the 5X01 08:55 Stoke Gifford to Tiverton Loop (via Worcester) gauging test run. I had hoped that this would be one of the 'as delivered' white ones, which look much better in these poor lighting conditions than GWR's awful drab dark green livery.

New traction on the Cotswold Line. With Lower Westfield Farm prominent in the background, 800010 Michael Bond approaches Combe on 19 January 2018 with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. Grintleyhill Bridge provides this lofty vantage point.

A rear view of 800010 Michael Bond, as it takes the Cotswold Line at Wolvercote Junction on 19 January 2018 with the 1W23 11:22 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. The pantograph on the roof will never see any use at this location!

800010 Michael Bond passes Shipton on 21 February 2018 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. It was unexpectedly sunny during the morning, so with hardly a cloud in the sky, I drove the short distance to Shipton. No sooner had I got there than the clouds appeared, and within ten minutes it was full cloud. It's enough to make you think someone is controlling the weather and playing games with you! However, the dull conditions (which in fairness is what was forecast!) allowed me to take this view from the north side of the line. Recent vegetation clearance has opened up the view of FWP Matthews flour mill.

800010 Michael Bond calls at Honeybourne station on 24 February 2018 with the 1P47 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. The printed Michael Bond 'nameplate' and Paddington Bear graphic can be seen below the cab side window, but what is not obvious from this viewpoint, is that the unit's doors all feature pictures of Paddington Bear in various poses. Although a sunny day, it was bitterly cold, which explains the salt liberally scattered all over the platforms.

800010 Michael Bond & 800029 approach Steventon on 2 August 2018 with the 1A10 09:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. This location is a considerable walk from the village, but despite not being on a public footpath, the farmer does not mind photographers being there.

800010 Michael Bond approaches Didcot North Junction on 29 July 2019 with the 1W12 05:47 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. Note Network Rail's fine crop of buddleia growing in and around the sidings in the background!

After the rain at South Marston on 12 March 2020. 800010 Paddington Bear heads east with the 1L19 12:54 Cardiff Central to Paddington GWR service. This unit is named Michael Bond on the other end, to commemorate Paddington's creator.

Viewed from the footpath crossing at Grove, 800010 Paddington Bear & 800016 heads towards London on 20 September 2021 with the 1A14 09:30 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. I'm not sure whether the DMU's engines are still running, or if there is heat coming from the traction motors, but something is creating heat haze to impair the distant view of 66561, which is waiting on the up relief line with the 4L36 07:39 Wentloog to Felixstowe North freightliner.

A break in the clouds at Hinksey on 19 January 2022, as 800010 Paddington Bear heads south from Oxford with the 1P25 12:02 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. The relatively new Abingdon Road bridge certainly stands out well in this lighting.

800010 Paddington Bear accelerates away from Kemble station on 12 May 2022 with the 1L70 09:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Extensive vegetation clearance and bank stabilisation has made a tremendous difference to this viewpoint.

800010 Paddington Bear passes Chalford on 4 July 2022 with the late running 1L70 09:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. This picture clearly demonstrated just how bad the vegetation has got at this location. As Network Rail no longer regularly maintain the lineside, the bushes are now touching the side of the train. Also, note how the greenery is covering all but the tops of the rails on the left. In the days of the real GWR (the railway company, rather than the 'brand' of one of the present day franchise operators) this kind of negligence would have been totally unthinkable!

800010 Michael Bond passes Steventon on 9 December 2022 with the 1B14 12:18 Paddington to Cardiff Central GWR service. As this unit hadn't been connected to another on this day, it must have left Swansea Maliphant IET Depot with the coupling cover open.

800010 Michael Bond passes Lyneham on 15 December 2022 with the late running 1W21 10:50 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill GWR service. It's not really visible in this picture, but the rear coupling cover is open. With two pairs of strike days either side of this sunny winter's day, I decided that despite nothing out of the ordinary running, some local pictures in the snow were worth taking. Most roads had been salted, but this minor road between Lyneham and Milton-under-Wychwood hadn't, and was treacherous!

Paddington goes to Paddington! 800010 Paddington Bear passes through Shipton station on 2 January 2023 with the 1P26 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The building on the right is part of a small industrial estate, which occupies the site of Shipton's former small goods yard.

800010 Paddington Bear & 800012 pass a fine display of autumn foliage at Uffington on 17 November 2023, as they head towards London with the 1L10 07:20 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. When the Class 800s were first introduced I hardly ever saw one running with its nose cone open, now it is a fairly common occurrence.

800010 Paddington Bear passes South Marston on 19 January 2024 with the 1B15 12:48 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. This is usually either a nine car unit, or two of these five car units. A single five car Class 800 does seem poor provision for a London to South Wales train.

800010 Paddington Bear passes Denchworth (Circourt Bridge) on 23 August 2024 with the 1L70 09:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Photo taken from a footbridge that sees virtually no use (other than by me)!

Fresh out of the box! Brand new 800011 passes South Marston on 12 June 2017 with the 5X71 10:10 North Pole IEP Depot to Stoke Gifford delivery run. The unit had left the Newton Aycliffe factory just three days earlier. It's a pity that the Great Western units are not going to retain this white livery, as it looks so much better than the awful dark green colour scheme that they will eventually be painted in. Class 800 activity in the Swindon area is now stepping up a gear, as just 18 minutes later, Virgin East Coast interloper 800101 also passed this way.

The new era on the Cotswold Line. 800011 arrives at Charlbury station on 2 January 2018 with the 1W14 06:52 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. This was supposed to have been the first revenue earning working of one of these units over the Cotswold Line, but in the event this same unit worked a Paddington to Hereford and return train two days earlier. Despite the fact that it was still virtually dark, and that these trains will be the staple motive power on this line for decades to come, I thought it worth recording the dawn of the new era, and decided to picture the brand new train passing Brunel's 165 year old wooden station building.

800011 passes Combe on 19 January 2018 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Apart from the awful dark green livery, I think these new units are quite stylish, especially considering some of the hideous designs that have appeared recently (Class 380, 385, etc). However, on many services they are replacing HSTs, so they are following on from the most successful train ever to run in this country, so they have a hard act to follow!

During the first few weeks of their operation over the Cotswold Line, 800011 has proved to be one of the most frequent performers of the new Hitachi Class 800 DMU fleet. It is pictured here passing Chilson on 7 February 2018 with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service.

800011 & 800022 pass Steventon on 16 February 2018 with the 1B40 13:45 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. Due to their lower power to weight ratio when running on diesel, these new bi-mode units struggle to keep up with HST timings, although in this case the train managed to arrive at its destination a mere five minutes late.

800011 & 800017 pass the newly installed palisade fencing at South Marston on 11 April 2019, as they head west with the 1C17 14:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. Two of the wind turbines on the Westmill Wind Farm can just be seen in the distance.

800011 passes Uffington on 13 November 2019 with the 1L40 09:20 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. As this train was formerly an eight coach HST, not only has the quality of the train deteriorated, but so has its capacity!

800011 & 800017 speed past Challow on 6 October 2021 with the 1A13 09:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. This was running exactly to time, something which is not that common with this franchise!

With nose cone open, 800011 approaches Baulking on 14 February 2023 with the 1G15 12:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. A farm gate on the Baulking to Kinston Lisle road provides something other than grass in the foreground.

For the second day running, 800011 passes Baulking with its coupling cover open. This time it is working the 1B15 12:48 Paddington to Swansea GWR service, along with 800007. The instances of trains running with these doors open is definitely getting more common. 15 February 2023.

800011 passes Coates on 29 May 2023 with the 1G21 15:31 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. The flat land on the right marks the site of the former Coates goods station. When the line opened in 1845 this was the passenger station for nearby Kemble, and was named Tetbury Road. When Kemble station opened in 1882, it became Kemble's goods station.

800012 & 800010 pass Badgeworth on Sunday 22 October 2017 with the 5X01 08:55 Stoke Gifford to Tiverton Loop gauging test run. They had just reversed at Worcester, and would shortly be taking the Stroud line to Swindon, where they would reverse again.

800012 approaches Moreton-in-Marsh on 16 April 2018 with the 1W14 06:52 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. The front of the unit is crossing the public footpath crossing that connects the southern end of Moreton-in-Marsh with the Evenlode road. The crossing was originally just behind where I am stood, but was shifted further south so that if anything was stored in the down refuge siding (very unlikely!), then the footpath could still be used. The buffer stop for the siding can be seen on the right. The official route for the footpath on this side is between the fences where I am stood, but virtually everyone now uses a short cut across the field on the left.

800012 passes FWP Mathews flour mill at Shipton on 13 September 2018 with the 1W14 06:52 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. Just in front of the train, the diminutive platform of Shipton station can just be seen, amid the trees.

800012 pulls out of Moreton-in-Marsh station on 13 September 2018 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The brambles and buddleia are now taking over the area in the foreground that was formerly occupied by a couple of sidings.

The clouds are already piling in from the west, and threatening to put an end to the sunny morning, as 800012 & 800023 pass Uffington on 18 October 2019 wit the 1L55 11:29 Swansea to Paddington GWR service.

A picture which graphically illustrates the eyesore that the Great Western Mainline electfrication has created. 800012 & 800031 pass Uffington on 13 November 2019 with the 1C17 14:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service.

800012 calls at Honeybourne station on 13 April 2021 with the 1P30 13:18 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. Note the GWR style seat, although nothing else on this modern station looks remotely like the original Great Western Railway!

800012 comes out of the shadows, and into the light at Daylesford on 3 September 2021. It is working the 1P04 13:18 Hereford to Paddington GWR service. A five coach DMU seems like a bit of downgrade compared with the seven coach HST that used to work this train!

800012 heads away from the camera at Uffington on 10 October 2021, whilst working the 1C17 14:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. It is just about t pass under the footbridge, which primarily seems to be used by photographers accessing this field!

Winter comes early at Challow on 29 November 2021. Although technically still autumn, the snow definitely gives the scene a wintry look, as 800012 & 800032 head towards London with the 1L12 07:25 Carmarthen to Paddington GWR service.

You have to get up early to photograph this train! 800012 passes Purton Common at 05:47 on 27 May 2022 with the 1L60 04:56 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. This is the first train of the day on the Cheltenham to Swindon line.

Dramatic lighting at Wolvercote Junction on 23 November 2022, as 800012 comes off the Cotswold Line with the late running 1P26 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Although not too bad at this time of year, the ash tree on the left now slightly compromises this location.

800012 approaches Lyneham on 15 December 2022 with the 1P28 11:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The snowy tracks leading off to the left nicely balances the composition, and the bright red branches of the trees in the background add a splash of colour.

800012 & 800024 pass Baulking under a dramatic sky on 23 March 2023, as they head towards London with the 1L12 07:25 Carmarthen to Paddington GWR service. This excellent lighting lasted for quite a while, despite the presence of so much dark cloud.

800012 emerges from the shadow, and into the light, as it approaches Culham on 20 August 2023 with the 1P51 13:56 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. Just out of sight in the distance is Nuneham Viaduct, which caused such problems earlier in the year when subsidence caused the line to be closed for several months.

800012 passes Baulking on 4 September 2023 with the 1G19 14:31 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Although the masts and wires get in the way, otherwise this location is more open than it used to be.

800012 emerges from Sapperton Tunnel on 12 October 2023 with the 1L76 12:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Yet another instance of an IET running with its nose cone open, a situation that appears to be coming more common.

800012 heads south from Moreton-in-Marsh station on 13 September 2024 with the 1P20 08:15 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. Moreton's outer and inner down home, and up advanced starter signals can be seen in the background.

A wave from the driver of the 1B13 11:48 Paddington to Carmarthen GWR service, as it passes South Marston on 15 November 2024. The leading unit (800012) seems to have a problem with its nose cone doors, as all the recent pictures I have seen of it, they are open). 800033 is the rear unit. This was forecast to be a sunny day, but this was just about the last of what little sun there was.

The wires are up, but not the pantographs! 800013 & 800006 are still running on diesel power, as they pass Grove on 30 November 2017 with the 1A11 09:30 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. The sun has melted the early morning frost, except in the shade of the hedge in the foreground.

800013 is slowing for the approach to Charlbury station on 20 June 2018, as it passes Cornbury Park with the 1W14 06:52 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. Recent tree clearance has opened up this view nicely, although because it is looking south, an overcast day such as this is best for photography.

800013 passes Chilson on 8 January 2019 with the 1W19 09:21 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. Thankfully the recent lineside clearance only included the overgrown vegetation, and not the picturesque rustic fence!

With the short section of abandoned overhead electfrication masts in the background, 800013 approaches Didcot North Junction on 12 February 2020 with the 1P20 08:13 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service.

800013 passes Chilson on 7 April 2020 with the 1P03 07:30 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. Ascott Mill can be seen in the background, directly above the lead vehicle. A barn owl was flying backwards and forwards across the line looking for its breakfast just before this train came into view.

800013 passes Purton Common on 28 May 2020 with the 1G21 15:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. This is a new location for me, taken from the relatively new bridge leading to Hills Waste Solution's refuse pit.

800013 takes the Swindon line at Standish Junction on 17 September 2020 with the 1L80 14:58 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. This was formerly a four track mainline, with the parallel GWR and LMS lines diverging a little further south from this point.

Dramatic cloud formations at Uffington on 1 October 2020, as 800013 heads westwards with the 1G17 13:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Luckily it was one of those days when all the trains passed during the sunny periods!

What a pity that these units weren't the other way round! Dull green 800013 leads slightly more colourful 800008 past Baulking on 12 January 2022 with the 1L14 09:22 Swansea to Paddington GWR service.

800013 approaches the site of Yarnton Junction on 15 June 2022 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Luckily this was on time, but this long single track section of the Cotswold Line from Charlbury to Wolvercote Junction can still cause serious problems id trains are delayed.

A pair of GWR Class 800s at Moreton-in-Marsh on 8 August 2022, both of which are heading for London. On the right 800013 departs with the 1P20 08:13 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington service, passing 800316 which has just arrived with the 5Z21 07:05 North Pole IEP Depot to Moreton-in-Marsh ECS, and would be following directly behind 800013 with the 1Z21 09:07 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington additional service.

800013 & 800004 pass Hungerford Common on 25 November 2022 with the 1J74 06:40 Plymouth to Paddington GWR service. A pleasant location, with a choice of photographic viewpoints, only really spoilt by the sewage works in the background!

800013 passes Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 24 November 2023 with the 1G15 12:32 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. This year marks 50 years since I first visited this location, although unfortunately not initially with a decent camera!

My first picture of a Class 800 DMU on the Cotswold Line. 800014 arrives at Finstock station on 19 December 2017 with the 5Z26 09:11 Hereford Diesel Sidings to Stoke Gifford selective door opening test run. The train came to a stand with the leading vehicle underneath the roadbridge, and a member of staff got out of the second coach and looked down the train. After taking a picture on his phone, he reboarded the train, and test complete, the train set off towards Oxford. Class 800s had previously made several forays up the line, but they were either at night, or in the case of the one a week earlier, happened during heavy snow that prevented me getting out to photograph it! Note the unhelpful train indicator, which kept cycling through a series of messages saying it couldn't find the modem or GPS signal. Also, as you can tell from the winter sunshine, the time definitely isn't 21:18!

800014 & 800008 pass Steventon on 16 February 2018 with the 1C17 14:00 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. The wires end at the fourth stanchion, so this train is running on diesel power, despite the fact that electfrication should by now be complete.

800014 approaches Hanborough on 21 March 2018 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Just three months into their operation on the Cotswold Line, in early 2018 the Class 800s operate most trains on the route, except for the Hereford HSTs, and the Class 165s to Moreton-in-Marsh.

Although it is questionable whether the introduction of the Class 800 DMUs is actually an improvement over the HSTs on the Cotswold Line, they are certainly an improvement over the various types of DMU that have been used on the evening 'all stations' local service on the line. 800014 is seen here passing Lyneham, whilst still accelerating away from Shipton station on 26 July 2018 with the 1W33 16:22 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. Unfortunately the improved rolling stock has not been matched with improved punctuality - this was running 15 minutes late.

800014 passes Bretforton on 10 October 2018 with the 1W25 12:21 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill GWR service. This is another Cotswold Line location that has been cleared of lineside bushes, sadly just in time for the Class 800 takeover!

800014 Megan Lloyd George passes Uffington on 19 September 2019 with the 1L40 09:19 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. On this occasion the train had started from Gloucester (at 09:33) due to an issue with the train crew.

A dull day allows a relatively unobstructed view from the north side of the line at Bourton, something no longer possible from any other point of the compass. 800014 Megan Lloyd George heads east on 22 January 2020, running as an ECS in the path of the cancelled 1H21 12:15 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service.

800014 Edith New passes the greenhouse near the site of Littleton & Badsey station on 5 February 2020 with the 1P28 11:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The unit is named after one of the leading women in the suffragette movement.

800014 Megan Lloyd George & 800013 pass Uffington on 18 May 2020 with the 1B13 11:48 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. This is not a location that many people visit, as it requires a two field walk from the nearest road.

800014 Edith New passes Up Hatherley on 15 April 2021 with the 1G05 07:27 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. The shadows on the left indicate that this location is not really much use for photography during the winter months.

Running 12 minutes late, 800014 Edith New approaches Haresfield on 1 June 2021 with the 1L84 16:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Recent tree clearance work has opened up this view considerably.

800014 Edith New & 800003 Queen Elizabeth II pass Baulking on 20 March 2022 with the 1L40 10:03 Bristol Parkway to Paddington GWR service. The usual equine inhabitants of the field were absent on this occasion.

800014 Edith New passes Wolvercote on 17 April 2022 with the 1P59 14:51 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. This would ordinarily have been the 1P59 13:27 Hereford to Paddington train, but track replacement work in the Pershore area had closed the line north of Moreton-in-Marsh.

800014 Edith New passes Badgeworth on 7 April 2023 with the 1L74 11:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. This is probably the most well used railway photographic location in the Cheltenham and Gloucester area.

800015 & 800013 approach Steventon on 25 January 2018 with the late running 1A09 07:12 Taunton to Paddington GWR service. Although most of the line through the Vale of White Horse has been ruined for photography by the controversial electfrication programme, this location is still passable, and offers a variety of (albeit similar) views along the length of this farm track.

GWR ancient and modern at Charlbury. The classic Great Western Railway style running in board on the right contrasts markedly with the brand new Hitachi built bi-mode DMU arriving at the station on 30 January 2018. 800015 is working the 1P29 12:00 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service.

800015 & 800026 pass Compton Beauchamp on 25 July 2018 with the late running 1C24 17:30 Paddington to Taunton GWR service on 25 July 2018. I hadn't previously ventured up the field to this particular viewpoint, and given the hostility received by other photographers the following week, I probably won't bother again!

800015 passes the photographer's footbridge (hardly anybody else uses it!) at Uffington on 28 January 2020 with the 1L13 09:51 Cardiff Central to Paddington GWR service. The wide formation here indicates that this was once the site of Uffington loops.

800015 passes Didcot North Junction on 12 February 2020 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. It should by now have been running on electricity at this point (note the overhead mast piles on the left), but the electfrication of the Didcot to Oxford line has been put on hold.

With the houses of Evesham in the background, and the Malvern Hills in the distance, 800015 passes Aldington on 23 June 2020 with the 1P22 08:56 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The dark green unit does not stand out very well against the green landscape.

An impressive cloudscape, but a less than impressive train! 800015 is a poor substitute for the HSTs that formerly traversed this line, prior to the downgrading of the service to unit only operation in 2019. The train is the 1B11 10:48 Paddington to Swansea GWR service, pictured approaching the site of Ashbury Crossing, Shrivenham, on 10 February 2021.

800015 passes Daylesford on 3 September 2021 with the 1W27 13:50 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service. The farm occupation bridge from which this was taken used to be very quiet, but the footpath that also crosses it now seems to have become extremely busy.

800015 approaches Culham on 14 January 2022 with the 1P26 10:58 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Note the rusting steel tubular pile on the right, from the abandoned project to electrify the Oxford to Didcot line.

800015 approaches Dunstall Bridge, Moreton-in-Marsh, on 4 March 2022 with the 1W29 14:50 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. Dunstall Bridge, as well as being a farm occupation bridge, is also on a reasonably well used footpath.

800015 passes Didcot North Junction on 21 April 2022 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The ash tree on the right is growing quickly, and unless Network Rail have another maintenance session, will soon obstruct this view completely.

800015 passes Churchill Heath in just about the only very brief sunny spell of the whole day on 22 April 2022. It is working the 1P28 11:55 Great Malvern to Reading GWR service, which was running in a VSTP path, in place of the normal 1P28 11:55 Great Malvern to Paddington train. Although it's nice to get a few minute's sunshine actually corresponding with a train, what a pity the same conditions didn't prevail half an hour later when the 'Honeybourne Hoover' railtour passed by!

800015 passes the site of Adlestrop station on 3 November 2022 with the 1P28 11:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Apart from Yarnton Junction station, which served as a junction for the Fairford Branch, Adlestrop was the only Cotswold Line station between Oxford and Moreton-in-Marsh to be closed in the 1960s. The stationmaster's house still survives, but is now completely hidden by the tall trees on the left.

800015 passes Uffington on 4 November 2022 with the 1G15 12:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Although there is palisade fencing in the background, there is not yet any (luckily) on this side of the line!

800015 passes Uffington on 6 February 2023 with the late (GWR standard!) running 1L68 08:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Note the newly welded in section of rail on the down line in the foreground.

800015 pulls away from Moreton-in-Marsh station on 9 August 2023 with the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Although luckily the semaphore signals are still present, I still prefer what this view looked like in the mid 1980s.

800015 passes Tumpy Green on 10 January 2024 with the 2T43 10:52 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads GWR service. The train has just called at Cam & Dursley station. The next stop is at Yate.

Where have the wires gone? This is the point near Steventon in early 2018 where the 25kV wires abruptly end. 800016 & 800006 still have to rely on their diesel engines for the moment, as they head towards London on 25 January 2018 with the 1A10 09:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service

800016 speeds through Shipton on 23 April 2018 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Shipton's diminutive station can be seen in the background. Note the extremely basic fence between the railway and the FWP Matthews flour mill car park. 

800016 accelerates away from Moreton-in-Marsh on 2 May 2018 with the 1P42 17:26 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. Despite the fact that the field behind the train is obviously very boggy, how long will it be before developers cover it with even more housing estates, like the one in the background?

With a field of golden wheat on the right, and an almost equally golden field of parched grass behind, 800016 approaches Dunstall Bridge, near Moreton-in-Marsh on 4 August 2018 with the 1W37 13:22 Paddington to Great Malvern GWR service.

800016 passes Hinksey Yard on 24 October 2018 with the 1P32 15:01 Oxford to Paddington GWR service. Note how the trees behind the unit now hide the adjacent lake and the distant buildings of Oxford from view.

Golden Valley or Green Valley? The so called 'Golden Valley' of the River Frome, to the east of Stroud, certainly doesn't live up to its name in this view of 800016 near Ham Mill on 19 May 2020. The train is the 1G21 15:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Ham Mill Halt was formerly situated where the track curves away into the bushes in the background.

800016 is pictured between Little and Great Bedwyn, as it slows for the stop at Bedwyn station on 26 April 2021 with the 1K18 15:07 Paddington to Bedwyn GWR service.  The Kennet & Avon Canal passes through the field on the right.

800016 arrives at Stonehouse station on 21 October 2021 with the 2B96 11:59 Cheltenham Spa to Swindon GWR service. There were probably more passengers than usual on this train, as the earlier 1L72 10:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington train had been cancelled. Note the clouds in the background. The Met Office had indicated that it would be sunny with a few clouds, but the BBC had predicted uninterrupted sun. The BBC's forecasts have generally been hopeless ever since they ditched the Met Office for MeteoGroup, allegedly because the Met Office was too expensive. You obviously get what you pay for!

800016 and an unidentified classmate pass Grove on 22 September 2022 with the 1B15 12:48 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. Photo taken from a very little used (except by photographers!) public footpath crossing.

800016 is the latest GWR IET to receive some livery embellishments, with White Ribbon logos being applied on the bodyside. It is pictured passing Daylesford on 8 December 2022 with the 1P26 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington service. On this occasion it had started from Worcester Foregate Street, due to the 1W15 07:50 Paddington to Great Malvern service running late, and not making it to its destination. Unfortunately this is a common occurrence on the Cotswold Line.

800016 passes Moreton-in-Marsh's new half height semaphore signal, as it leaves the station on 8 October 2023 with the 1P59 14:53 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington GWR service. The line north of here was closed for engineering works, therefore trains arriving from the south returned after a short wait, departing from the down platform.

800016 passes underneath the little used footbridge near the very well used Circourt road bridge, as it speeds westwards past Denchworth on 7 October 2023 with the 1G17 13:32 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service.

Still running on their diesel engines, due to the massive delay in the vastly over budget and staggeringly mismanaged electfrication scheme, 800017 & 800015 speed past Uffington on 26 April 2018 with the late running 1L46 09:49 Cardiff Central to Paddington GWR service.

Viewed from the extremely tall Grintleyhill Bridge, 800017 approaches Combe on 28 January 2019 with the 1P29 12:00 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service, It's not really obvious because of the DMU's shadow, but there has been some extensive lineside vegetation clearance at this location.

800017 runs along the reinstated down relief line at Wolvercote on 6 March 2020 with the 1W02 11:50 Paddington to Hereford GWR service. I wonder which will grow the fastest, the scrubby bushes by the fence, or the newly planted trees on the right?

800017 arrives at Evesham on 29 May 2020 with the 1P30 13:18 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. The huge radio mast and assorted portakabins on the right hardly add to the scene, but at least the signal box is still there.

800017 passes non-stop through the diminutive Shipton station on 26 September 2020 with the 1P21 10:40 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Note how far the furthest stop board is away from the tiny platform!

800017 leaves Pershore on 14 June 2021 with the 1P26 10:58 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. This is a location where there is only just enough room to fit the complete five coach train in the picture!

800017 passes Grove on 26 July 2021 with the 1L10 07:20 Swansea to Paddington GWR service. This is one of the possible sites for the new Grove station, but as there has been talk of replacing the former Wantage Road station for at least the least 30 years, I'm not holding my breath! 

Autumn and winter combined at Challow on 29 November 2021. The golden leaves on the oak tree add a colour contrast to the snowy scene, as 800017 heads through the wintry landscape with the 1L70 09:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. Despite the very slippery roads, I certainly wasn't going to miss taking advantage of such superb photographic conditions.

800017 approaches the site of Yarnton Junction on 20 April 2022 with the 1P26 10:58 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. In just over a mile the train would reach Wolvercote Junction, where the Cotswold Line joins the Banbury to Oxford route.

Running 43 minutes late, 800017 passes the site of Yarnton Junction on 28 November 2022 with the 1P26 10:59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The late running (which had occurred at Charlbury) caused the train to be terminated at Reading.

The meandering River Evenlode at Churchill Heath (between Kingham and Bruern), pictured on 8 February 2023. In the background, 800017 heads south with the 1P04 13:18 Hereford to Paddington GWR service.

With nose cone open, 800017 passes Badsey on 13 June 2023 with the 1P20 08:15 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. This is the Vale of Evesham, and the greenhouses are a common sight in the area.

800017 passes Kemble Wick on 16 November 2023 with the 1G17 13:31 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. Note the Low Rail Adhesion Site Commencement Sign, the cause of which is plain to see at this time of year, although as this is some way along what is clearly a very overgrown cutting, the word 'commencement' doesn't seen appropriate!

Due to signalling problems on the Cotswold Line on 29 November 2023, a couple of trains were diverted via Cheltenham and Swindon. 800017 is pictured passing Bredon with the diverted 1P28 11:57 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. Better than being cancelled, but not much use for passengers at Worcestershire Parkway, Pershore, Evesham, Honeybourne, Moreton-in-Marsh, Kingham, Charlbury, Hanborough and Oxford!

800018 passes Chilson on 25 January 2018 with the 1P29 12:00 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. This is of course a going away shot, but the pulsing LED taillights have been caught during their 'off' cycle, so only the line on which it is travelling gives the game away, and of course the absence of a driver!

800018 passes Hinksey Yard on 7 February 2018 with the 1P25 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. The bright red of the DB Schenker MXA ballast wagons in the foreground certainly contrasts markedly with the drab dark green livery of the bi-mode unit, which looks almost black in the admittedly very head on lighting.

800018 & 800016 speed past Challow on 11 July 2018 with the 1A14 11:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington GWR service. Just visible is the 'Its Coming Home' St George flag, and list of England footballers names along the side of the leading vehicle, in connection with the 2018 World Cup.

800018 approaches Dunstall Bridge, near Moreton-in-Marsh, on 6 August 2018 with the 1W12 05:47 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. It would be back almost exactly two hours later, with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington.

800018 accelerates away from Moreton-in-Marsh station on 6 August 2018 with the 1P22 08:25 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington GWR service. Two hours earlier it had headed in the opposite direction with the 1W12 05:47 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street.

800018 passes Oaksey on 21 January 2020 with the 1L76 12:58 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. This was supposed to be a day of fog, followed by cloud. Instead there was virtually uninterrupted sunshine all day!

800018 approaches Collins Lane level crossing, Purton, on 7 November 2020 with the diverted 1Z17 13:18 Paddington to Swansea GWR service. It may be diverted, but it looks just like any other normal passenger train on this route!

800018 passes Uffington on 26 April 2021 with the 1G15 12:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. The steel pile reinforced embankment isn't particularly photogenic, but it does mean that this short section is free of lineside vegetation!

After extensive tree clearance work during the Cotswold Line's redoubling, this location at Shorthampton is slowly returning to its former overgrown state. 800018 is pictured on 23 July 2021, as it works the 1P24 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service.

Viewed from the public footpath crossing just to the south of the Collins Lane level crossing, 800018 passes Purton on 4 December 2021 with the 1L70 09:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service. The sunshine was by no means guaranteed, with lots more cloud off to the left of the picture.

800018 approaches Culham on 14 January 2022 with the 1P28 11:55 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. This is one to add to my small selection of pictures of a Class 800 running with its front coupling cover open. Judging by the frequency with which I see obvious evidence of bird strikes on the nose of these units, leaving the coupling cover open is probably not a very good idea!

800018 slowly passes Baulking with the 1G19 14:28 Paddington to Cheltenham Spa GWR service on 9 August 2022, running 'wrong line' due a signalling problem. Another problem saw the train terminated at Gloucester. Unfortunately because of the angle of the windscreen, the driver isn't visible, and so this just looks like a going away shot. I thought I was in for better luck, as the late running 6B33 13:49 Theale to Robeston empty oil tanks was in the queue of trains waiting to access the up relief line at Wantage Road. Unfortunately it traversed the supposedly closed normal line, even though passenger trains were still running 'wrong line' for some time afterwards, Not only that, but the virtually guaranteed sunshine disappeared briefly just before it came!

800018 accelerates away from Stonehouse station (just out of sight around the corner) with the late running 1L76 12:59 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington GWR service on 8 September 2023. The young tree growing right next to the track in the foreground is bad enough, but what you can't see in this picture are the several full size buddleia bushes growing out of the stonework of the bridge on which I am standing. As Network Rail now has a criminal record, after being fined £6.7m for failures that led to the Carmont HST crash, I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised by this lack of maintenance.

There's no point in designed a streamlined train if you leave the nose doors open! 800018 passes the site of Oaksey Halt (closed in 1964) on 18 July 2024 with the 1L66 0725 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service.

Consecutively numbered 800018 & 800019 Joy Lofthouse pass Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 23 August 2024 with the 1L12 07:23 Carmarthen to Paddington GWR service. Running with the nose end doors open is now very common.