47513 Severn passes Frosterley on 10 April 1993 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z43 14:15 Eastgate to Swindon 'Weardale Explorer' railtour. This was the last train to traverse the line under BR ownership. Evidence of quarrying can be seen on the hillside in the background. There were once numerous rail served quarries on both sides of the valley.

47530 approaches Buckhorn Weston Tunnel on 14 April 1991 with the 1V09 08:55 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service. I visited this location several times during 1991, but with the lack of any trains that would warrant such a long journey to photograph, I haven't been back since!

47524 passes Shrivenham on 21 April 1988 with the 3A12 06:44 Milford Haven to Old Oak Common empty newspaper vans. I wouldn't normally bother to include a picture taken in such poor light of what at the time was a very ordinary working. However, the inclusion of what appears to be an inspection saloon at the front of the train is definitely not ordinary! The lack of any sun also meant that a picture from the north side of the line was possible, revealing the houses in the village of Bourton in the background.

47500 Great Western passes Exminster on 22 April 1988 with the 1C53 14:41 Paddington to Plymouth service. Three years after being painted into GW150 green, the loco was still the pride of the Western Region fleet, as witnessed by the white wheel rims and silver buffers. The random mix of coach liveries was quite common at this time.

37174 runs light engine past Exminster on 22 April 1988. The background is dominated by the bridge carrying the M5 motorway over the River Exe. 37174 had another 16 years of life ahead of it when this picture was taken, but was withdrawn in early 2005, and cut up three years later.

37179 comes off the Bishton Flyover at Llandevenny on 21 October 1985 with a short steel working that does not appear to match anything in the working timetable. It looks like one of the steel coils will need attention, as the banding has obviously snapped.

Just one week after being unloaded from the MV Stellaprima heavy cargo ship at Newport Docks, 66231 passes Hinksey Yard on 6 June 2000 with the early running 6M56 Didcot Power Station to Toton MGR empties.

L409 (51386, 59496 & 51344) passes Hinksey Yard on 21 June 1986 with the 2C30 18:03 Didcot Parkway to Oxford service. The red brick bridge in the background has subsequently been rebuilt, but lives on in the name of the local Redbridge Park & Ride and waste recycling centres.

The two surviving vehicles from former Western Region set L411 (51388 & 51346) arrive at Weybourne station on 2 May 1998 with 14:00 Sheringham to Holt North Norfolk Railway service. Note that at this time only one platform was in use. This station was famously used for the filming in 1973 of the 'Royal Train' episode of 'Dad's Army'.

73129 City of Winchester just manages to catch a patch of the fleeting spring sunshine, as it passes Troy Town on 15 March 1995 with the 1S81 13:26 Tonbridge to Glasgow Royal Mail parcels. The train is crossing over the small gap in the middle of Little Browns Tunnel, on the Oxted to Uckfield line.

With rods off, and all three axles out of sync, Class 10 shunter D4067 Margaret Ethel - Thomas Alfred Naylor stands at Loughborough Central on 11 May 2001. The loco was withdrawn from BR service in 1971, and sold to the National Coal Board. It was subsequently bought privately for preservation, and moved to the Great Central Railway, where it was named after the owner's parents.

Crowds of pro-hunt supporters get ready to board their special train at Kemble on 19 July 1997, as 47777 Restored rolls into the station with the Cotswold Hunt organised 07:30 Cheltenham Sa to Paddington charter. It was all a waste of time, as hunting was banned in 2005, although unfortunately it is very difficult to police, largely taking place away from the public eye.

47749 Atlantic College approaches Milton on 15 April 1997 with a rake of HST coaches, presumably en-route from Bristol St Philips Marsh to Old Oak Common. It's only now, whilst looking at this picture, that I realise that the footpath on the right would probably have made a good location for photographing westbound trains late on a summer's evening. Too late now, with the location ruined by 25kV overhead electfrication!

Out of the darkness, and into the light. 66566 passes Hungerford Common on 15 January 2020 with the 6C58 11:45 Oxford Banbury Road to Whatley Quarry stone empties. As the train came round the corner the whole scene was still in darkness, but the sun reappeared just in time.

66107 passes Hungerford Common on 15 January 2020 with the 6C03 09:33 Northolt Sidings to Severnside Sita Binliner. This was running nearly two hours late, which has resulted in a much better picture, with the sun fully on the front end.

59205 approaches Hungerford Common on 15 January 2010 with the 6C77 12:41 Acton to Merehead Quarry Mendip Rail stone empties. The loco still carries the striking DB Cargo colour scheme, despite now being owned by Freightliner. The only change for the moment being the removal of the DB Cargo bodyside logos.

Absolutely typical, you go out specifically for one train, and while everything else passes in sunshine, the most important one comes along during a cloudy spell. Drax silver liveried 60066 approaches Hungerford Common on 15 January 2020 with the 6B33 13:46 Theale to Robeston Murco oil empties.

Derby Research allocated 47973 Derby Evening Telegraph approaches Stenson Junction on 22 January 1992 with what is presumably the late running 2D88 09:15 Crewe to Nottingham service. This was occasionally loco hauled around this time, substituting for an unavailable DMU, and which on these occasions usually terminated at Derby. On the left, 58029 prepares to leave Willington Power Station with MGR empties. This was certainly a morning for interesting Class 47 workings, as just five minutes later, unique liveried 47145 Merddin Emrys passed by in  the opposite direction with the 6G07 10:35 Toton to Bescot freight.

58029 makes a smoky departure from Willington Power Station, as it approaches Stenson Junction on 22 January 1992 with yet another train of MGR empties. A commonplace sight at the time, but now all but vanished from the national network.

47145 Merddin Emrys passes Stenson Junction on 22 January 1992 with the 6G07 10:35 Toton to Bescot freight, which was conveying pet food from the Pedigree Petfoods factory at Melton Mowbray. I was a bit annoyed at the time that 58029 and its train of MGR hoppers coming out of Willington Power station was rather in the way in the foreground. Now however, I think it adds to the picture, and at least the long shadows cast by the wagons don't quite reach the mainline.

English Electric's least and most powerful 1960s mainline diesel locomotives make an odd pairing at the Great Central Railway on 31 March 1995. D8098 & Deltic D9019 stand at Rothley station with the 10:00 Loughborough to Leicester North service, during the line's Diesel Gala.

37685 & 37710 runs alongside the Kilnhurst Cut (part of the River Don Navigation) at Swinton in miserable light on 17 November 2001 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z20 04:44 Crewe to Bolsover Coalite Plant 'Catherine Wheel' railtour. The headboard reads: 'The Stafford Arms on Tour'.

144020 approaches Normanton on 30 April 2000 with the late running 2L09 16:21 Leeds to Sheffield Arriva Trains Northern service. 156484, which was working an ECS to Neville Hill, has come to a stand at a red signal at Altofts Junction in the background. The line straight ahead leads to Leeds, and the line curving away to the right goes to Castleford and York.

Not a livery combination you see every day! A Trainload Coal locomotive hauling Southern green coaches is definitely something unusual, and worth recording passing Shrivenham on 4 January 2003, despite the sun being very reluctant to break through the early morning mist. The train is the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z27 07:58 Finsbury Park to Nuneaton 'Walsall Concerto' railtour.

Viewed from New England Bridge, 31455 passes Wennington on 12 December 1985 with a Speedlink trip working heading for Peterborough. Presumably this has originated at Sandy, possibly picking up the two vans at Offord. The distinctive concrete water tower at Abbots Ripton can be seen in the background. I really left it too late to visit this excellent rural location, as the overhead electfrication masts were already obstructing the view from the west side of the line.

31423 accelerates (if that's the right word for a Class 31 on eight coaches!) away from Wellingborough on 4 May 1987 with the 1C14 08:00 Nottingham to St Pancras service. This was running 15 minutes late, which isn't too bad for a 31/4 trying to keep to Class 45 timings. Even without the ETH being used, the electric heat conversion resulted in only about two thirds of the original loco's already modest power being available for traction.

A pair of Class 108 twin sets, led by 54487 call at Havenhouse station on 14 June 1986 with the 08:00 Leicester to Skegness service. Although the line was very busy on a summer Saturday in those days, this was one of the few trains that actually stopped at this isolated station.

55033 very slowly passes the flower edged platform of the closed station at Bledlow on 29 June 1986, as it becomes the first passenger train from Thame for over 20 years, with the Hertfordshire Railtours 11:35 Thame to High Wycombe 'Thame Phoenix' railtour. The very slow speed was because it is approaching the Sandpit Lane level crossing. Bledlow station closed in 1963, but the line remained open for oil trains going to Thame until 1991. The line was then lifted, although the rails are still in the road at Sandpit Lane.

43165 approaches Wolvercote Junction on 25 July 2002 with the 1B61 17:12 Paddington to Hereford First Great Western service. This was a very colourful HST evening, as following right behind, just two minutes later, was 43084 County of Derbyshire with the 1M31 16:20 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service.

43084 County of Derbyshire approaches Wolvercote Junction on 25 July 2002 with the 1M31 16:20 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service. This was running just two minutes behind the strikingly differently liveried 43165, with the 1B61 17:12 Paddington to Hereford First Great Western service.

With at least three haulage bashers on board, enjoying the last few months of Class 50 workings on the West of England line, D400 pulls out of Salisbury station on 12 January 1992 with the 1O37 13:30 Yeovil Junction to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. The loco is just crossing over the Fisherton Road bridge. The earlier sunshine had by this time been replaced by thick cloud.

47635 passes Lower Basildon on 25 January 1986 with the 1O15 09:00 Manchester Piccadilly to Poole service. The large logo liveried 47 worked the train between Coventry and Reading. The River Thames is behind the line of bushes, and passes underneath the railway just behind the rear of the train.

47583 County of Hertfordshire passes Didcot North Junction on 22 June 1989 with the 5F60 18:53 Maidenhead to Oxford Carriage Sidings ECS. This was a direct continuation of the 1F60 18:20 Paddington to Maidenhead Network SouthEast service. It does seem odd that over half the train's journey from London to Oxford should be empty stock, when surely at that time of the evening there would plenty of demand for a through passenger service.

43134 County of Somerset approaches Tiverton Parkway on 14 May 2000 with the 1C52 14:15 Paddington to Penzance First Great Western service. Clearly a faster mode of transport than the adjacent M5 motorway!

Work was well under way to reinstate the up relief line at Grove on 30 January 1994. A crane stands on the up main line, with jibs extended out over the course of the new line. 43136 approaches, running 'wrong line' on the down main with the 1A20 09:29 Weston-super-Mare to Paddington service. The line in the foreground is the then recently installed down relief, which during this Sunday engineering possession, was being used by all down trains. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing.

165124 arrives at Bramley station on 28 July 2001 with the 2J17 08:50 Reading to Basingstoke Thames Trains service. Although the pylons in the background are not very photogenic, the well preserved standard GWR station building certainly improves the picture.

20087 Saltley L.I.P., 20132 & 20187 cross Saddleworth Viaduct on 14 August 1993 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z44 14:46 Carlisle to Bristol Temple Meads 'Triple Chopper Tripper' railtour. It had not been a very sunny day, and by the time this train was due it was getting quite dark. Not the best conditions for 35mm Fujichrome 100, but it was definitely worth recording this very unusual tour, especially at such an iconic location.

66189 approaches Gleneagles on 4 September 2000 with the well loaded 6A02 07:38 Mossend to Aberdeen Guild Street Enterprise. Unfortunately I never got around to visiting this classic location before the arrival of this less than classic traction!

20168 & 20161 pass Asgarby on 1 September 1984 with the 1E86 08:16 Leicester to Skegness service. It looks like I was extremely lucky with the sun! Although certainly not level, the track is dead straight here, with the line visible for over a mile. The spire of Sleaford church can be seen in the background on the original Kodachrome 64 transparency.

With the sun setting behind the train, 20228 & 20063 pass through Blair Atholl station on 14 July 1983 with the 6D02 18:45 Inverness to Mossend Speedlink. Although the goods shed in the background is disused, the yard is still in use, with a rake of departmental wagons stabled in the bay platform. This whole area is now covered by trees.

The only two times that I saw 31101 on the national network, it was running light engine. Not usually worth a picture, but I thought this broadside view of the loco passing Winwick on 12 March 1990 was noteworthy, as it shows off the loco's unusual livery. The grey roof looks smart, but the red stripe only going as far as the cab doors looks a little odd. Also, the slightly truncated BR double arrow logo is even weirder!

L573 (51083, 59417 & 51055) arrives at Kingham station on 23 April 1983 with the 2A83 08:12 Great Malvern to Oxford service. The reason for all the extra people standing around (some even on the car park side of the fence) is that approaching from the other direction was a test run of BR's great hope for a first generation DMU replacement - the extremely good, but unfortunately much too expensive Class 210.

47212 passes Levington on 20 September 1997 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z66 14:04 Felixstowe to Crewe 'Marching Cat' railtour. Nowadays, with a headcode like 1Z66, the tour would unfortunately be hauled by a Class 66, but the first loco had yet to arrive in the UK when this picture was taken.

47212 rounds the sharp curve on the approach to Seven Mile Bridge, near Higham, on 20 September 1997 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z66 14:04 Felixstowe to Crewe 'Marching Cat' railtour. The little station at Higham (which the train has just passed) closed in 1967.

47560 Tamar passes South Moreton (Didcot East) on 1 December 1983 with the 3A12 08:55 Carmarthen to Old Oak Common empty newspaper vans. The 6M23 10:12 Fawley to Longport LPG tanks can just be seen disappearing into the distance.

Six years after being painted into GW150 green livery, 47500 Great Western is looking decidedly tatty, as it passes Culham on 10 July 1991 with the 1F62 18:50 Paddington to Oxford service. This was an InterCity sponsored train, with the stock making a change from the usual Network SouthEast coaches on this route. In the background are a couple of aircraft hangars from the former RAF Culham (now an industrial estate).

Strange goings on at Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 25 November 1993. Not only is this short mail van train not in the working timetable, but 47559 is also travelling wrong line. The down relief line is in place, but the up relief line has only been laid in the far distance, with the ballast recently spread to accept the new track in the foreground.

43097 comes off the Royal Albert Bridge on 26 September 1993 with the 1S35 11:00 Penzance to Edinburgh 'Cornishman'. Unfortunately from this angle Brunel's 1859 masterpiece is somewhat overshadowed by the adjacent 1961 Tamar Bridge. Whilst everybody knows that Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the rail crossing of the River Tamar, I expect few people know that the civil engineering company of Mott, Hay & Anderson were responsible for the road crossing.

Extensive lineside vegetation clearance took place to the north of Oxford in late 2019, opening up viewpoints that had been lost since the early 1990s. One such location is Thrupp, which although still not quite as good as it was in the 1980s, is still a vastly improved. 66037 passes by on 8 January 2020 with the 4O21 09:17 Trafford Park to Southampton Western Docks intermodal.

A pair of LNER HST power cars travelling through Oxfordshire would have been unbelievable until the rundown of the fleet. However, 8 January 2020 saw debranded 43239 & 43208 pass through the county en-route for storage at Eastleigh. They are pictured here passing through the recently cleared cutting at Thrupp, running as the 0O86 08:55 Ely Papworth Sidings to Eastleigh Arlington.

43208 & 43239 pass Thrupp on 8 January 2020, running as the 0O86 08:55 Ely Papworth Sidings to Eastleigh Arlington. I wouldn't normally go out specifically to photograph light engines, but a pair of debranded LNER HST power cars in Oxfordshire is definitely unusual! The wide trackbed on the right is where the Woodstock branch ran parallel with the mainline from Kidlington station (just past the bridge ion the background) to where it diverged to the west near Shipton-on-Cherwell.

47749 Atlantic College passes Hunslet on 30 April 2000 with the diverted 1D38 12:10 Kings Cross to Leeds GNER service. The spectacular stack of empty containers has now disappeared, to be replaced by Freightliner's Midland Road maintenance depot. This had become infamous in recent years as the resting place for a good chunk of the company's unreliable Class 70s, which can be seen stored in a long line next to the main line.

47786 Roy Castle OBE passes Cattybrook on 22 July 1995 with the Cardiff to Derby leg of the mammoth 'Tour of Hope' special. The train was run to raise funds for cancer research, and was in memory of the entertainer Roy Castle Foundation, who had died the previous year.

47765 Ressaldar emerges from the fog at Seaham on 3 April 1999 with the diverted 1S13 07:00 Kings Cross to Glasgow GNER service. The bracket signal, which had already lost one of its arms, has since been replaced by the inevitable colour lights.

Token exchange at Rainford on 12 April 2003. The signalman is just about to grab the single line token from the driver of 142030, as the unit approaches Rainford station with the 13:46 Kirkby to Rochdale First North Western service. The signal box is still called Rainford Junction, even though the only point it controls is the one behind the DMU. Formerly it controlled the north and south chords that linked with the now closed Ormskirk to St Helens line that crossed over this line. As the light angle was better, I also took a picture of this unit as it called at the station.

142030 pulls away from Rainford station on 12 April 2003 with the 13:46 Kirkby to Rochdale First North Western service. The Junction Inn is a reminder of the former importance of this little wayside station. A couple minutes earlier I had photographed the token exchange, as this unit came off the single track section of the line.

With the wooded cliffs near Churston visible in the background, D9016 Gordon Highlander approaches Goodrington on 20 June 1992 with the 14:10 Kingswear to Paignton service, during the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway's Diesel Gala.

D9000 Royal Scots Grey does its best to blot out the landscape, as it passes Goodrington beach on 21 June 1992 with the late running 16:00 Paignton to Kingswear service, during the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway's Diesel Gala.

Class 411 4-CEP 1610 approaches its destination on 30 May 1998, as it works the 08:41 Victoria to Swanley Connex South Eastern service. This convenient viewpoint is from the side of the A20 Swanley bypass. Less photographer friendly is the mesh enclosed footbridge in the background.

59003 Yeoman Highlander passes West Drayton on 6 November 1986 with the late running 7A10 04:20 Merehead Quarry to Acton Foster Yeoman stone train. The loco was less than a year old at this time. In the background, the 2F25 09:03 Paddington to Maidenhead DMU calls at West Drayton station.

D7535 Mercury approaches Paignton on 20 June 1992 with the 15:55 freight from Kingswear, during the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway's Diesel Gala. In the background a Class 47 with Mk3 stock and DVT, and a HST wait for the next turn of duty in Goodrington Carriage Sidings.

Condemned 25209 heads up a line of similarly withdrawn locos at Toton on 16 October 1986. The 'Rat' had been withdrawn the previous December, but was destined to spend another five years at Toton, before finally being towed to Springburn for disposal.

159020 and an unforfortuntley unidentified classmate pass New Malden on 4 March 1995 with the 06:50 Honiton to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. In the background, a Class 455 EMU is about to call at New Malden station with the 09:17 Waterloo to Waterloo (via Strawberry Hill) train.

56065 passes through Culham station on 1 May 1982 with the 6V44 09:39 Three Spires Junction to Didcot Power Station MGR. Apart from there being a few more trees in the background, not a lot has changed at this location since this picture was taken, except of course for the traffic and traction!

56076 glints in the setting sun, as it passes Bourton on 16 July 1996 with the 6E07 16:28 Coedbach to Immingham containerised coal. Luckily this was running an hour early, otherwise it would have passed in darkness!

47364 passes Basford Hall Junction, Crewe, on 3 July 1985 with the 8F21 12:40 Oakmoor to Ravenhead Junction sand train. These vintage vacuum braked MSV wagons were replaced by more modern PGA wagons the following year.

47432 approaches Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 5 January 1985 with the 1A27 08:30 Cheltenham Spa to Paddington service. In later years the field behind the train was divided into two, and the rear half planted with trees, which obscured the view of Petwick Farm in the background.

C583 (51097 & 51069) accelerates away from Cheltenham on 17 March 1988 with the 2A54 09:30 Cheltenham to Swindon service. C583 had lost its centre car (59428) the previous month, and would spend its last few months in traffic as a two car unit.

20302 & 20301 arrive at Sandbach on 16 April 1999 with the 6F20 08:25 Sellafield to Sandbach empty nitric acid tanks. The train is approaching the Albion Chemicals works, a facility that closed in 2007, and which has now been demolished to make way for yet another housing estate.

142085 approaches Colton Junction on 30 August 1993 with the 16:00 Hull to York service. Just six years old when this picture was taken, and with a projected design life of only 20 years, nobody would have imagined that this unit would still be in service in 2020, although admittedly now in its last few months in traffic.

158852 crosses the Afon Leri at Ynyslas on 22 March 2003 with the 1I14 11:35 Aberystwyth to Birmingham New Street Central Trains service. Thankfully the plank and scaffolding footbridge in the foreground as now been replaced by a more permanent structure.

20161 & 20168 pass Asgarby on 1 September 1984 with the 1M02 11:58 Skegness to Leicester service. I don't know why I didn't choose a more scenic location, but at least it is a record of a sadly missed summer Saturday loco-hauled service.

Shortages of the new Class 150 DMUs led to Class 20s being used on Derby to Crewe trains for a few weeks in the summer of 1989. 20154 & 20140 are pictured passing Bramshall on 12 August with the 2K51 14:22 Derby to Crewe service. Bramshall station was situated on the far side of the level crossing. It must rank as one of the very earliest stations to close, as passenger services were withdrawn in 1865! It did however continue to handle goods traffic well into the twentieth century.

47192 was the first Class 47 to be preserved, being bought from BR in December 1990. After repainting into two tone green, and receiving its original number D1842, it quickly became a favourite of the Diesel Gala circuit, It seen here emerging from Brooksbotton Tunnel on 18 June 1995, en-route from Rawtenstall to Bury, during the East Lancashire Railway's Diesel Gala.

L415 (51393, 59503 & 51351) arrives at Kingham station on 16 January 1982 with the 2A29 13:30 Hereford to Reading service. Clearly visible in the background is the embankment of the Banbury to Cheltenham direct railway, with the abutments of the removed bridge still free of vegetation. Although conifers have been planted on the course of the line that curved away to the right to meet the direct line, the site of the mirror image curve on the left can still be seen as the snow covered open area at the foot of the embankment.

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!

Despite being booked to pass non-stop through Oxford, 66597 Viridor takes the relief line at Wolvercote on 3 January 2020 with the 4O90 06:08 Leeds to Southampton Maritime freightliner. Directly behind the locomotive is a canal keeper's cottage, that was built shortly after the adjacent Oxford Canal opened in 1789.

Freshly painted in the slightly odd looking Rail Operations Group livery, 57312 passes Wolvercote on 3 January 2020, running as the 0M59 10:30 Eastleigh Arlington to Leicester light engine. This is the fourth colour scheme that the loco has carried since it was converted from a Class 47 in 2003.

Three locomotives, but not a single box on the train! 66510, 66550 & 70007 pass underneath the footbridge near Yarnton on 3 January 2020 with the completely empty 4O49 09:21 Crewe Basford Hall to Southampton Maritime freightliner. Note the tree stump in the foreground, indicating that this particular viewpoint has only just appeared.

165128 passes Yarnton on 3 January 2020 with the 2V39 12:34 Banbury to Didcot Parkway GWR service. Extensive lineside vegetation clearance has taken place here, after years of total neglect. Strangely, although it is clear that a quite large tree has been removed, the easier to deal with hawthorn bush has been left.

Something a little different at the very familiar location of Kings Sutton. 37801 heads north on 10 September 1999 with the 6Z64 15:30 Morris Cowley to Washwood Heath car carriers. Needless to say this could be heard some way off!

Great Central Railway Robinson Class 11F (later LNER Class D11) 4-4-0 62660 Butler Henderson arrives at Rothley on 24 February 1992 with the 'Butler Henderson Farewell Special'. This was the final day of the loco's boiler ticket.

The 2V82 13:34 Birmingham New Street to Great Malvern DMU begins the descent of the Lickey Incline at Blackwell on 20 March 1982. The train is made up of two of Tyseley's three car sets, the front one clearly being a Class 116/101/116 combination, made all the more obvious by the Metro Cammel centre car being in a different livery. 50082 is leading, with Class 101 59115 & Class 116 50124 behind. The Dorridge destination blind is clearly wrong, as that location is on an entirely different line!

55023 (L123) passes Oxford North Junction on 12 February 1985 with the 2V24 11:41 Banbury to Oxford service. Interestingly, the working timetable specifies that this passenger service stops at Aynho Signal Box to drop off water cans. A true steam age practice lingering on into the 1980s!. This view clearly shows the layout of the junction, with the single line heading off towards Bicester, and also the course of the former down goods loop on the left, separated from the main lines by a stream.

The perfect combination of snow and sunshine at Badgeworth on 16 February 1985. C313 (53900, 59040 & 53847) passes through the winter landscape with the 10:50 Bristol Temple Meads to Birmingham New Street service.

Running an hour early, 37208 passes Croome on 24 October 1985 with the 9B70 14:25 Worcester to Gloucester departmental working. The following year 37208 would be rebuilt at Crewe, emerging in October as heavyweight 37803.

37222 heads west past Lower Basildon on 15 March 1995 with a loaded ballast train. The EWCN (GW infrastructure) allocated loco was withdrawn two years later, and after over a decade in storage, was finally cut up by T.J. Thomson's at Stockton in August 2008.

37284 passes Crosskeys on 15 August 1987, whilst returning from Ebbw Vale with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 07:27 Watford Junction to Oakdale 'Valley Basher Three' railtour. 15 minutes later the train would return, with 33039 & 33052 Ashford taking the train up the Oakdale branch.

An LNER pacific deep into Great Western territory. A2 4-6-2 60532 Blue Peter passes Llangewydd on 1 July 2000 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z36 05:25 Wolverhampton to Swansea 'Glamorgan Pioneer' railtour. The steam loco had taken over from 47732 at Swindon.

43192 approaches Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 8 May 1987 with the 1A47 13:10 Weston-super-Mare to Paddington service. The two track workers have stood aside to let the train pass. They had been busy placing detonators to warn of a recently discovered broken rail.

47478 passes Aynho Junction on 28 April 1990 with the 1M88 06:40 Poole to Manchester Piccadilly service. 47478 retained its white roof livery right up until it was withdrawn in 1999. This may only be a six coach train, but it still has proper catering facilities, with a Mk1 restaurant buffet coach at the head of the train.

With the sun unfortunately dipping in and out of some thin clouds, King Class 4-6-0 6024 King Edward I passes Shottesbrooke on 24 April 1994 with the Paddington to Stratford-upon-Avon 'William Shakespeare Express' railtour.

Newspaper traffic was still big business for the railways in the 1980s. 47241 passes Marshfield on 27 October 1984 with the 3A12 08:50 Carmarthen to Old Oak Common empty newspaper vans, formed from the usual mix of blue and grey Mk1 BGs, and blue GUVs.

60082 Mam Tor passes Elsham Carrs on 10 February 2003 with the late running 6K23 11:40 Santon to Immingham iron ore empties. I only visited this location once, the long rough private track leading to the crossing not being conducive to a return visit!

60096 Ben Macdui passes Coedkernew on 14 March 1997 with the 7B52 11:04 Port Talbot to Llanwern iron ore. Considering the state that some locos got into whilst on the iron ore circuit, this one seems remarkably clean.

Looking absolutely immaculate, after its recent repaint into original BR green livery, D8137 passes Hailes on 4 October 1997 with the 10:45 Toddington to Gotherington service, during one of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's regular diesel running days.

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's resident Class 20 received its BR green livery in 1997, after arriving at the railway a few years earlier in the Railfreight grey colour scheme. The ex-works loco is picture passing Dixton, en-route from Gotherington to Toddington on 4 October 1997.

A sad line up of withdrawn Class 20s at Stanton Gate, pictured on the foggy morning of 7 March 1991. 20130 leads the line up, which also includes: 20045, 20026, 20129 & 20053. These had all been withdrawn as a consequence of the introduction of the new Class 60s. 20130, the second of the later headcode box fitted batch of locos, was withdrawn in October 1990, so had a relatively short life of less than 24 years, much less than half the life of some of the fleet!

Cotswold Wildlife Park Railway No.4 Bella passes the rhino paddock, whilst on another circuit of the park on 27 December 2019. The two foot gauge 0-4-0T steam outline diesel loco was built by Alan Keef in 2003. The Cotswold Wildlife Park occupies the grounds of Bradwell Grove Manor House, an early nineteenth century country estate house, near Burford.

Bradwell Grove Manor House is prominent in the background of this view of Cotswold Wildlife Park Railway No.4 Bella, pictured doing another circuit of the park's railway on 27 December 2019. The house was built in 1804 by William Hervey. It was designed by William Atkinson and built in the Gothic style by local builder Richard Pace.