101678 approaches Chinley on 10 March 1997 with the 10:47 Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield service. Over the years this location had seen a wide variety of DMU classes, but by this time the venerable Met Cams were the main representative of the original fleet, and would soldier on for another six years.

C822 (51495, 59096 & 51510) passes Badgeworth on the misty morning of 12 October 1985 with the 07:32 Birmingham New Street to Gloucester service. This was nearly a decade before the Grovefield Way bridge was constructed over the railway, just beyond the signal in the background.

37070 & 37013 pass Horsemoor on 16 August 1988 with a southbound freightliner. The working timetable makes no mention of a liner in the early afternoon. Surely this isn't the late running 4L97 20:54 Coatbridge to Felixstowe, which although booked for a two hour crew change at nearby March, should have passed by several hours earlier.

After having just backed into the up platform at Andover with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z37 08:56 Bristol Temple Meads to Marchwood 'Logistician' railtour on 24 June 1995, 37048 moves forward onto the Ludgershall Branch, before attaching 37371 to the rear, and then heading off for the army depot at Ludgershall.

37038 crosses over the Oxford Canal near Upper Heyford on 14 March 1995 with a northbound train of loaded vacuum braked ballast hoppers. The bridge next to Heyford Common Lock can be seen in the background.

Running 34 minutes late, 66529 passes Baulking in the rain on 22 February 2020 with the 07:26 Hinksey to Margam departmental working, comprising a complete track relating train, including crane, ballast, and rail sections. 66953 can just be seen on the rear of the train.

66622 passes Baulking in the rain on 22 February 2020 with the 6A86 01:45 Port Talbot Grange Sidings to Hayes & Harlington stone hoppers. The road visible on the right is where I took a photo of 37401 Mary Queen of Scots coming from the other direction, just two days earlier in equally grim conditions.

Still accelerating away from its brief stop in the loop at Challow, A4 4-6-2 60009 Union of South Africa passes Baulking in the rain on 22 February 2020 with the Railway Touring Company 1Z83 07:09 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill 'Cotswold Venturer' railtour. The footpath in the foreground doesn't look too treacherous in this picture, but sections of it were an almost impassable muddy quagmire, as I found out to my cost!

56091 Driver Wayne Gaskell - The Godfather passes Baulking in some unexpected sunshine on 22 February 2020 with the 5Z20 08:14 Bristol Barton Hill to Wembley, conveying Chiltern Railways DVT 82302. The weather had changed from exceedingly dull and rainy to weak sunshine in a mater of minutes, and while this location is reasonably well lit, it wouldn't have been my first choice had some morning sunshine actually been forecast!

60054 approaches Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 22 February 2020 with the 6B33 11:42 Theale to Margam Murco oil empties. This was one of those all too common occasions when the intermittent sunshine that encouraged me to go out, had completely disappeared by the time I got to the lineside!

56091 Driver Wayne Gaskell - The Godfather runs along the down relief line at Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 22 February 2020 with the 5Z21 12:38 Wembley to Bristol Barton Hill, conveying Chiltern Railways DVT 82303.

37047 brings up the rear of the 6T95 08:50 Carlisle to Nunthorpe sandite train at Middlesbrough on 26 November 2001. 37503 is leading. The transporter bridge in the background immediately identifies this location, even without reference to the Cleveland Roofing Centre!

The well known location of Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, photographed when it was a three track main line. The yet to be commissioned down relief line is in place, but only the freshly spread ballast shows where the up line will eventually go. 37710 passes by with the 6V25 08:42 Grain to Llandarcy bitumen empties on 25 November 1993.

You don't see many steel coil trains in the Thames Valley! 60097 Pillar passes through Appleford station on 5 June 1997 with an unidentified northbound working. I had seen the train parked in the loop at Milton as I drove to this spot, so it has clearly come from South Wales. Surely this can't be the diverted 6M76 00:40 Margam to Dee Marsh, re-routed via Oxford. If for some reason the Hereford line was closed, it would probably come this way to avoid the Lickey Incline.

The four daffodils growing on the bank on the right, and the loco's yellow front end are very nearly the only colour in this scene at Ulceby South Junction on 27 March 1999. 60093 Jack Stirk passes the signal box with the 6E54 11:37 Kingsbury to Humber oil empties.

43166 passes Penmaenmawr on 9 August 1995 with the 1A29 09:06 Holyhead to Euston service. Note the short concrete tunnel in the background, where the A55 dual carriageway crosses the line at an acute angle.

What a waste. When passengers now have to put up with EMUs, instead of more comfortable hauled stock, superior quality, but older Mk3 coaches are being sent for scrap. 37401 Mary Queen of Scots passes Steventon at speed in light rain on 20 February 2020 with the 5Z37 04:00 Norwich Crown Point to Newport Docks ECS, conveying six former Greater Anglia coaches for scrapping.

37401 Mary Queen of Scots passes Baulking on 20 February 2020 with the 5Z37 04:00 Norwich Crown Point to Newport Docks ECS, conveying six former Greater Anglia coaches for scrapping. This was just as the earlier light rain had changed into a torrential downpour. There wouldn't be many things that would tempt me out specifically on such a miserable day, but a large logo Class 37 is definitely one of them! Although presumably this scene will be repeated, former East Anglian Mk3s on the Great Western Mainline is also a novelty.

An unusual, and slightly puzzling picture taken at South Moreton (Didcot East) on 16 November 1988. 47508 S.S. Great Britain heads westwards with a rake of four wheel TTA oil tanks, a train which does not match up with anything in the working timetable. Possibly an oil train to Littlemore, but at the time the 'as required' service to Littlemore came from Stanlow. An InterCity Mainline liveried Class 47/4 is also noteworthy on an oil train. To add to the weirdness, the loco is quite clearly sporting freshly applied 'smiley face' markings on its silver buffers. Presumably it had been spruced up for some special event, but I can find no mention of it, and have yet to come across another picture of it with buffers in this condition. Any information would be gratefully appreciated.

The semaphore signal that formerly stood right next to the roadbridge at Brocklesby made an excellent foreground frame, provided you could get enough depth of field to get the whole scene in focus. No chance of that with a Pentax 6x7, so this is from a 35mm slide! 56034 Castell Ogwr / Ogmore Castle approaches on 18 July 1996 with the 7G04 09:09 Immingham to Scunthorpe MGR.

Whilst most of the coal trains at the well known photographic location of Burton Salmon took the tracks on the right to Drax and Eggborough, a few took the Castleford line, allowing a wider viewpoint. 56068 heads west on 25 October 1995 with what appears (apart from wagons near the rear of the train) to be an empty MGR.

B596 (51099, 59416 & 51076) passes Hinksey Yard on 28 July 1983 with the 2A75 15:48 Oxford to Reading service. Less common on these trains compared to the Pressed Steel Class 117s, these Bristol allocated sets did however add to the DMU variety that could be seen in the Oxford area in the 1980s.

L576 (51062, 59421 & 51090) passes Hinksey Yard on 6 May 1988 with the 2C58 16:40 Reading to Oxford 'all stations' service. Over three decades later the Class 119s are long gone, but surprisingly the fragile looking footbridge that spans the entire width of the yard in the background, has yet to be replaced.

170511 & 170633 pass Ladywood in the rain on 18 February 2020 with the 1M61 10:39 Hereford to Birmingham New Street West Midlands Railway service. Extensive tree clearance has opened up this view tremendously, although judging by the quick growing bush in the foreground, it won't stay this open for long!

Running ten minutes late, and unfortunately corresponding with some of the worst lighting on what was already a very dull day, 56091 Driver Wayne Gaskell - The Godfather passes Ladywood on 18 February 2020 with the 6Z20 09:14 Chaddesden to Long Marston, conveying 20 JNA wagons for storage.

56091 Driver Wayne Gaskell - The Godfather passes Stoulton on 18 February 2020 with the 6Z20 09:14 Chaddesden to Long Marston, conveying 20 JNA wagons for storage. There was no need to check whether this had left Worcester on time after its booked 80 minute layover, as it could be clearly heard pulling away from Norton Junction, a couple of miles away. The train is just approaching the site of Stoulton station, but just how remote this was from the village can be gauged by the appearance of Stoulton church, barely visible in the distance on the left of the picture.

43006 crosses the River Avon at Eckington on 25 June 1999 with the 1S41 14:12 Plymouth to Edinburgh Virgin CrossCountry service. Just ten minutes later there was the same InterCity power car / Virgin coach combination from the other direction, followed half an hour later by a full train in Virgin's red colour scheme.

43070 crosses the River Avon at Eckington on 25 June 1999 with the 1V57 09:10 Aberdeen to Plymouth 'Devon Scot'. It might have been pushing it a bit to be able to positively identify the power car's number from this distance had this been taken on 35mm, but luckily this was taken on a Pentax 6x7.

A slight breeze ruffling the surface of the River Avon precludes any chance of a decent reflected image, as 43160 heads south at Eckington on 25 June 1999 with the 1V60 13:43 Newcastle to Exeter St Davids Virgin CrossCountry service.

60036 Sgurr na Ciche approaches Croome on 29 September 1995 with the 6M24 12:45 East Usk to Bescot MGR empties. The loco is named after the Munro (Scottish mountain over 3,000 feet) in the remote area between Loch Cuaich and Loch Morar, to the east of Mallaig.

47627 passes Shrivenham on 6 June 1996 with the late running 1C54 16:02 Paddington to Plymouth Royal Mail vans. After many years of Rail Express Systems (Res) trains having mixtures of blue, parcels red, and Res liveried vehicles, by this date uniform rakes were finally becoming common, just as Res itself was lost in the privatisation shake up.

47625 City of Truro passes West Drayton on 6 November 1986 with four Mk2 coaches. Whether this is a scratch DMU substitution, or more likely an eastbound ECS working is unclear. What is certain is that it doesn't match up with anything in the working timetable.

101677 passes Edale on 28 March 1999 with the 11:55 Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield service. The bridge is one of a number on this stretch of line giving farmers access to the fields on the southern slopes of Kinder Scout.

Complete with 'Jolly Fisherman' headboard, 20128 & 20131 pass Rauceby on 3 September 1993 with the final booked 1E86 08:12 Leicester to Skegness service. Class 20s had been a feature of the summer timetable to the East Coast resort for a number of years, but apart from a few one off specials, they haven't returned since. Luckily the dreary weather finally improved just in time for the return from Skegness, with the final working.

A strange place to leave a Class 47! 47545 is pictured dumped at the far end of Oxford South Yard, adjacent to Osney Lane, on 6 October 1979. Hemmed in by a rake of MDO wagons, which presumably were there in connection with the adjacent scrapyard, it clearly hasn't moved for a while, but quite why it was there is unclear. I never saw any other locos in this particular position.

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

The 1F72 18:08 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service arrives at Pangbourne station on 28 April 1993. Although it may appear to be just another Turbo operated local service, this is in fact slightly more noteworthy, as it is formed from a 165127 (a Thames Lines two car Class 165/1) and 165038 (a Chiltern Lines three car Class 165/0). During 1992 and 1993 the Chiltern sets were helping out on Paddington services, pending the completion of the 165/1 fleet deliveries. There has probably never been an instance since around this time when Class 165/0s & 165/1s have been called upon to work in multiple.

A Chiltern Class 165/0 in the Thames Valley. 165038 brings up the rear of the 1F72 18:08 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service, as it leaves Pangbourne station on 28 April 1993. 165127 is at the front of the train. The Chiltern sets were helping out at this time, pending the completion of Class 165/1 deliveries.

Having just left the mainline at Berkeley Road, 37678 starts its journey along the remains of the Sharpness branch on 23 April 1998 with the Thursdays only 7V71 07:06 Bescot to Berkeley nuclear flasks. The rusty track clearly shows that nothing has been this way since the same train the previous week!

37678 has just reversed the 7V71 07:06 Bescot to Berkeley nuclear flasks into the unloading compound at Berkeley on 23 April 1998. A convenient public footpath crosses the line here, which explains the unconcerned attitude of all the rail and BNFL staff present.

56109 heads south at Winwick with a MGR for Fiddlers Ferry Power Station on 28 July 1992. I try to avoid hackneyed locations such as this, but whilst a Trainload Coal liveried Class 56 on HFA coal wagons might have been common at the time, it certainly looks historic now!

43137 Newton Abbot 150 runs along the down relief line at Duffryn on Sunday 9 August 1998 with the 5A70 16:00 Bristol St Philips Marsh to Cardiff Central ECS. This would later form the 1A70 17:55 Cardiff to Paddington service. This view clearly demonstrates that the first incarnation of the GWR franchise (Great Western Trains) got the livery right first time. Although the dark green is virtually the same shade as GWR's colour scheme of two decades later, the addition of the white makes all the difference, making a very stylish colour scheme, unlike the almost universally hated drab later version.

153333 passes Brocklesby on 18 July 1996 with the 08:37 Lincoln Central to Grimsby Central Regional Railways service. Close inspection of the original 35mm slide reveals just a single passenger, unless they are all sitting on the other side!

One of the highlights of the East Lancashire Railway's 1994 Diesel Gala was the appearance of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway's D8031, freshly painted in green. Unfortunately the dull light makes it look almost the same colour as Waterman Railways black liveried D8188, which was also visiting the line. It is seen here heading north at Burrs on 10 June.

Freshly painted in Waterman Railways black livery, D8188 passes Burrs on 10 June 1994, en-route from Rawtenstall to Bury Bolton Street, during the East Lancashire Railway's Diesel Gala. Note the complete lack of any headcode blinds.

37416 passes Lochyside on 11 June 2005 with the SRPS 1Z19 14:37 Mallaig to Kilmarnock 'West Highlander' railtour. The 1,072 feet high peak of Meall Bhanbhaidh is prominent in the background on the left, and the multiple peaks of Beinn Bhan can be seen in the distance.

67001 passes the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham, on 19 April 2005 with the EWS/Arriva Trains Wales 1Z25 07:30 Southend Central to Cardiff Central football special. This was in connection with the LDV Vans Trophy final between Wrexham and Southend. A second train followed shortly after, with much more interesting traction.

47815 passes the site of Ashbury Crossing, Shrivenham, on 10 April 2005 with the EWS/Arriva Trains Wales 1Z26 07:55 Southend Central to Cardiff Central football special, in connection with the LDV Vans Trophy final between Wrexham and Southend. 47812 was bringing up the rear.

47812 brings up the rear of the EWS/Arriva Trains Wales 1Z26 07:55 Southend Central to Cardiff Central football special at the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham, on 10 April 2005. 47815 was the lead locomotive. Note the Freightliner sticker underneath 47812's side window. Virgin had dispensed with their Class 47s after they replaced proper trains with Voyager DMUs a few years earlier.

The 6M50 07:59 Westbury to Bescot departmental working often runs light engine as 0M50, at least as far as Hinksey Yard. Such was the case on 12 February 2020, and as I knew this beforehand, I decided to go to Didcot North Junction, rather than the Swindon to Didcot line, as with no load behind this, there would only be one mid morning freight train to photograph on that route. Of course 6M50/0M50 passes Didcot anyway, so I took this picture of it surrounded by abandoned electfrication infrastructure, as it headed north, running 51 minutes early. In the event the loco didn't go any further than Hinksey.

Running 13 minutes late, after a delay incurred in the Oxford area, 70001 Powerhaul approaches Didcot North Junction on 12 February 2020 with the 4O05 07:15 Birch Coppice to Southampton Maritime freightliner. Note the short section of abandoned electfrication masts in the background.

A wave from the driver of 165133, as it approaches Didcot North Junction on 12 February 2020 with the 2L29 10:37 Oxford to Didcot Parkway GWR service. This is one of the local shuttle services that connect with EMUs at Didcot, for onward travel to London. Some of these shuttles call at the intermediate stations between Oxford and Didcot, but this one is non-stop, completing the journey in 12 minutes.

66846 approaches Didcot North Junction on 12 February 2020 with the 6O26 10:48 Hinksey to Eastleigh departmental working. This is my first picture of this train since it was taken over by Colas. It was previously worked by Freightliner, and before that DB Schenker.

165121 passes Didcot North Junction on 12 February 2020 with the 2L33 11:37 Oxford to Didcot Parkway GWR service. There always used to be a problem at this location years ago during the winter, as the steam from the cooling towers of the nearby Didcot Power Station could block out the low sun if the wind was in a certain direction. No such problems here now. The power station closed in 2013, and the last remnant, the 655 feet tall chimney, was demolished three days before this picture was taken.

66957 Stephenson Locomotive Society 1909-2009 passes Didcot North Junction on 12 February 2020 with the 6C58 11:45 Oxford Banbury Road to Whatley Quarry stone empties. Extremely unflattering head on lighting, but just marginally better than it should have been, as this was running eight minutes early, as it was quite rightly let out in front of the late running 1O12 09:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry Voyager.

43152 St. Peter's School York A.D. 627 passes a field of poppies at Culham on 22 June 1995, as it heads north with the 1B58 18:20 Paddington to Hereford 'Cathedrals Express'. Photo taken from the side of the A415 Abingdon to Henley-on-Thames road.

In the days when there were just a handful of daily freightliners through Oxford, rather than today's full timetable, 47089 Amazon passes Hinksey Yard on 21 June 1986 with the 4O90 12:25 Lawley Street to Southampton Maritime. Note also the muted colours of the boxes, compared with today's colourful trains.

1998 was a golden year for loco haulage on Virgin CrossCountry services, as the dedicated 47/8s were proving unreliable, and all sorts of traction was called in to help out. It was still a Class 47 on 30 August 1998, but a Railfreight Distribution 47/0, rather than a Virgin 47/8. 47051 races through Radley station with the 1O10 11:13 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth service. Note the platform reconstruction taking place, with one finished, and one with 'Do not alight here' notices.

37412 Driver John Elliott passes Badgeworth on 29 September 1995 with the 07:10 Cardiff Central to Birmingham New Street service. This was a short term replacement, as the new timetable had seen insufficient Class 158s brought into the area for these trains.

47322 passes Claydon on 2 July 1991 with ten immaculate ICI TTA tank wagons. This could possibly be the 6E64 14:30 Baglan Bay to Doncaster Belmont Yard Speedlink, but the lack of any other type of wagons, and the unusually clean block rake of tanks, makes me think it could be something else.

Chemicals and rubbish at Oxford! 47211 heads north on 22 April 1986 with six BOC liquid oxygen tanks, while in the background 47512 waits with the 4V04 12:30 Calvert to Bristol Avon Binliner empties, ready for its booked crew change. This tank train could easily be mistaken for the 6M23 10:12 Fawley to Longport LPG tanks, but that followed an hour later, nearer to its booked time, behind 47304. As this does not match up with anything in the working timetable, I assume it's a special (6Z??). Realtime Trains would have been a real help in those days!

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Class 108 DMU (51950 & 52062) arrives at Gotherington on 14 January 2001 with the 14:15 service from Toddington. On the right is the then recently installed path leading from the road to the station. Only one platform is in use, the other, along with the station building, is in private ownership.

For the first couple of years of Class 156 operations, the units often worked quite lengthy journeys, most of which were then taken over by Class 158s, as they became available. 156467 passes Marshfield on 5 June 1989 with the 1M70 08:03 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly Regional Railways service. This used to be my default location for photography when visiting South Wales. No point in going now of course, because this view has been lost under a mass of 25kV wiring.

60056 William Beveridge passes Swarkestone on 9 May 2003 with the 6Z74 05:07 Newport Docks to Beeston scrap empties. The loco is named after the Liberal politician, whose 1942 Beveridge Report laid the foundations for the welfare state.

66169 passes Challow on 8 February 2020 with the 6B33 Theale to Robeston Murco oil empties. The train was booked to leave Theale at 14:17, put actually left 112 minutes early at 12:25. The previous day's loaded train had left Robeston 103 minutes late, and arrived at Theale 221 minutes behind time. The loco went back to Wales light engine, and this loco was dispatched light engine to pick up the empties the next day. Obviously a Class 60 is required for a loaded train, but a 'Shed' was sufficient for the empties!

Running 25 minutes early, 66765 moves slowly along the down relief line at Challow on 8 February 2020 with the 6V32 10:07 Tilbury to Trostre Works steel empties. The early running just resulted in a much longer stay at the end of the loop, a few hundred yards further on.

60046 William Wilberforce runs along the down relief line at Challow on 8 February 2020 with the slightly overpowered 5Z22 12:43 Wembley to Bristol Barton Hill, conveying Chiltern Railways DVT 82302. The few clouds in the background give a false impression, as behind me there were an awful lot more, and I was quite lucky to get this in the sun.

William Wilberforce was a nineteenth century British politician and social reformer, who led the campaign to abolish the slave trade. He was one of the famous people whose names were used for the new Class 60 fleet, the plates being applied to brand new 60046 at the Brush Works on 30 November 1990. It is good to see that nearly three decades later, the loco's new owner, DCR, have retained the name. The nameplate is pictured on 8 February 2020, whilst the loco was stopped in the loop at Challow whilst working the 5Z22 12:43 Wembley to Bristol Barton Hill DVT move.

66415 You Are Never Alone passes Uffington on 7 February 2020 with the 4L36 07:45 Wentloog to Felixstowe North freightliner. This should have been a sunny morning, but apart from a few short sunny breaks, it was dull for the entire time I was at the lineside. Naturally it was a sunny afternoon after I got back home! At least the Genesee & Wyoming livery stands out in the dull conditions.

66704 Colchester Power Signalbox passes Uffington on 7 February 2020 with the 6G04 05:15 Penrhiwceiber to Hinksey Sidings spoil train, with 66723 Chinook bringing up the rear. This is certainly the first time that I have photographed a train which originated from Penrhiwceiber (in the Welsh Valleys, between Mountain Ash and Abercynon)!

66723 Chinook brings up the rear of the 6G04 05:15 Penrhiwceiber to Hinksey Sidings spoil train at Uffington on 7 February 2020. The lead locomotive (66704 Colchester Power Signalbox) can just be seen underneath the footbridge.

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.

60046 William Wilberforce passes Uffington on 7 February 2020 with the 5Z20 10:09 Bristol Barton Hill to Wembley, conveying Chiltern Railways DVT 82305, which hopefully has been dragged from London to Bristol and back again for more than just the addition of the Chiltern Railways lettering to the bodyside!

66115 passes signs of recent tree clearance at Thrupp on 6 February 2020, as it heads south with the 4V96 12:16 Banbury Reservoir to Bristol East stone empties. The completely isolated church at Hampton Gay can be seen in the background.

57305 Northern Princess passes Thrupp on 6 February 2020 with Arlington Fleet Group's barriers 68501 & 68504 (former Gatwick Express class 489 DMLVs). This was running as the 5O86 08:21 Castle Donington to Eastleigh Arlington, but was unfortunately running nearly an hour early at this point, which was certainly not ideal for the light. Despite the head on lighting, the painted out Northern Belle livery can still be seen. How much longer before it gets a coat of Rail Operations Group blue?

66110 passes Thrupp on 6 February 2020 with the early running 4O21 09:17 Trafford Park to Southampton Western Docks intermodal. Ironically I had photographed this same train, at the same location, a month earlier.

800032 passes the site of Littleton & Badsey station on 5 February 2020 with the 1W21 10:50 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill GWR service. The station was situated just the other side of the level crossing behind the train, and the small goods yard occupied the land where the industrial buildings now stand. The station closed in 1966.

66747 Made in Sheffield approaches the site of Littleton & Badsey station on 5 February 2020 with the 6Z84 07:44 March Up Yard to Long Marston, conveying 16 JNA wagons for storage. This is my first picture of this locomotive in its striking Newell and Wright Transport livery. This train was originally supposed to have run the previous day. The greenhouses on the right are just a tiny part of the vast Zenith Nurseries complex.

50035 Ark Royal passes Cropredy on 10 May 1989 with the 1V96 14:41 Birmingham New Street to Paddington service. An InterCity train worked by a Network SouthEast locomotive. It's hard to believe now just how open this location was in the 1980s, with just a few small bushes on the sides of the cutting, and a clear view all the way to Lambert's Barn in the background.

Class 432 4-REP 3002 leads the 08:28 Weymouth to Waterloo service past Worting Junction on 24 May 1986. Unfortunately I have only got a couple of decent pictures of these ultra powerful EMUs, and the other one was taken on the same occasion, just half an hour later. With 3200hp available, these units were almost as powerful as the legendary Deltics, but got nowhere near the attention from photographers. They had a maximum speed of 90mph, which was often exceeded, and indeed BR conducted trails in the 1970s with a view to increasing the maximum permitted speed to 100mph. The only thing that stopped this happening, was that the brakes wouldn't be able to cope with the extra speed!

An unusual working photographed at sunset at Compton Beauchamp on 27 June 1986. 47095 heads east with a short rake of just 13 empty HAA MGR wagons. Other than guessing that this is 6Z??, I have no idea what the working is. The sun has all but disappeared, but the very last of the light is tingeing the wagons pink.

Unlike the other three Class 47s that were painted into GW150 green livery in 1985 (47484, 47500 & 47628), I never once saw 47079 in green, first seeing it in 1988, when it had acquired Trainload Construction livery. In this guise it is pictured passing Bourton on 22 December 1989 with the 6C13 12:15 Calvert to Bristol Avon Binliner empties.

The yellow front end adds a touch of colour to what is otherwise almost a monochrome image of 47104, pictured passing the former footpath crossing at Wolvercote on 6 October 1979 with the 1M38 05:55 Weymouth to Birmingham New Street service.

Another perfectly good HST going for storage. 43071 arrives at Long Marston on 3 February 2020 with the 5D94 07:17 Laira to Long Marston ECS. 43196 was bringing up the rear. Although there have been many previous HSTs heading this was for storage, I was still surprised to be the only photographer present to record this one.

43196 brings up the rear of the 5D94 07:17 Laira to Long Marston ECS, as it enters the compound for storage on 3 February 2020. The driver of the leading power car (43071) had to sound the horn to bring his train's attention to the Long Marston depot staff, as when he arrived nobody was around, and the gates were shut.

Rail privatisation folly. With parts of the national network suffering from severe overcrowding, numerous perfectly good trains were being put into store at Long Marston, after their ousting from GWR services by Class 800 & 802 EMUs. With sidings full of HSTs in the background, the latest addition joins the off lease vehicles at Long Marston on 3 February 2020, as the 5D94 07:17 Laira to Long Marston ECS, with 43196 nearest the camera pauses briefly on the arrival road, before heading off to join its fellows in the background. The sign in the foreground has knocked 120mph off the train's permitted speed! Note the ex-underground vehicle on the right, part of Vivarail's project to convert the obsolete units into Class 230 DMUs.

The early morning sun breaks through the clouds for a few minutes, just as 66613 passes Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 1 February 2020 with the 6A85 04:30 Moreton-on-Lugg to Hayes & Harlington stone. Well worth the half mile walk across the muddy fields from the village!

With the photographer's one time favourite location of Circourt Bridge in the background, 60046 William Wilberforce passes Denchworth on 1 February 2020 with Chiltern Railways DVT 82309, running as the 6Z20 08:14 Bristol Barton Hill to Wembley. This is my first picture of a DCR Class 60, and therefore it is slightly ironic that it is working such a ridiculously short train, rather than the bulk loads that the class was designed for.

66623 passes South Marston on 1 February 2020 with the 6C48 13:09 Appleford to Stoke Gifford stone empties. Unfortunately the sun dipped slightly on this, but it could have been worse, as at this time there was a still a lot of really dark clouds scudding across the sun.

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!

60054 emerges from the shadows, into a very lucky patch of light at South Marston on 1 February 2020, as it works the 6B33 11:42 Theale to Margam Murco oil empties. I really didn't think I would get this in the sun, as there didn't seem to be any holes in the cloud, but just as the loco passed the last of the posts on the right, the sun came out from behind me, the clouds being sped along by the extremely strong wind.

Running 42 minutes early, 60046 William Wilberforce passes Uffington on 1 February 2020 with the 5Q21 12:38 Wembley to Bristol Barton Hill, conveying Chiltern Railways DVT 82305. Both this, and a slightly earlier duplicate path for the same train, had initially been shown as cancelled, but luckily, in view of the perfect photographic weather, it did actually run as planned.

66206 passes Uffington on 1 February 2020 with the 4V96 12:38 Banbury Reservoir to Bristol East stone empties. Soot on the roof, and diesel spillage on the fuel tank, add to the loco's general grubby appearance.

47594 arrives at Charlbury station on 7 July 1985 with the 1B56 18:10 Paddington to Hereford 'Cathedrals Express'. Although hidden by the train, this picture gives some idea of just how short Charlbury's platform was in those days, with passengers only able to exit through the first few coaches.

Unfortunately I have got very few pictures of my local Cotswold Line from the 1970s, and most of those seem to have been taken on dull days! 47533 is seen here passing Chilson on 9 September 1979 with the 1C42 16:25 Paddington to Hereford service.

47558 Mayflower passes Bromsgrove on 23 September 1989 with what is clearly a railtour, but which one which I have been unable to identity. There is no mention on the normally comprehensive Six Bells Junction website, but the 'Victoria Travel Manchester' headboard suggests a point of origin, if not a destination. Any help with the identification would be greatly appreciated. On the left the Lickey bankers 37274 & 37013 are stabled, pending their next job of pushing something up the bank.

50033 Glorious passes the disused signal box at Exminster on 22 April 1988 with the 2C47 16:40 Paignton to Exeter St Davids 'all stations' service. Unfortunately I have got very few photos of these Class 50 operated Devon local trains. Note the random mix of coaches, with over half of them in Network SouthEast livery. Network SouthWest would be more appropriate, as even the most optimistic estate agent couldn't place Devon in the south east!

50033 Glorious comes off the single track section of the Cotswold line, and enters Moreton-in-Marsh station on 18 October 1986 with the 1A25 08:00 Hereford to Paddington service. On the left is a diesel tank belonging to the oddly named Spook Erection, who at the time ran Moreton-in-Marsh, and other local markets. The company still exists, now running markets in Scotland. Note the 'pregnant ghost' logo, which the company still uses. Budgens supermarket now occupies the area where the tanker is standing.

37503 passes Carlton Grange (near Stockton-on-Tees) on 26 November 2001 with the 6T95 08:50 Carlisle to Nunthorpe sandite train, with 37047 bringing up the rear. The train is approaching the site of Carlton station. This was renamed Redmarshall by the LNER in 1923, and closed in 1952.

Running two hours late, 37504 British Steel Corby approaches Cheltenham on 4 August 1990 with the 6V67 23:50 Tees Yard to Cardiff Tidal steel. The shiny rails on the right indicate that the loop was still in use, which had involved passing over the remnants of two single slips. All this trackwork has now been removed, although the loop on the other side still remains in use.