A pair of red stripe Railfreight liveried Class 31s in perfect evening light - things don't get much better than this! 31224 & 31190 head north across the Cambridgeshire Fens at Black Bank (near Ely) with a train of ballast hoppers on 20 May 1991.

47625 passes Badgeworth on 5 August 1989 with the 1M37 08:40 Paignton to Manchester Piccadilly service, which in those days was marketed as a 'InterCity Holidaymaker Express'. I don't suppose CrossCountry would dare give their Voyager operated trains such names, when they provide such a poor service compared with the nine Mk3s and Mk1 BG provided here!

Sporting a slightly early 'Merry Christmas' headboard, 47525 passes Lincoln Street level crossing signal box, Old Basford, on 2 December 1995 with the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z54 11:03 Calverton Colliery to Denby 'Butter Mountain' railtour. Although taken on a miserably dull day, with the early morning fog only slightly dispersed, this picture is full of interest, as the scene has now changed completely. The signal box has been demolished, and the level crossing is now a major piece of infrastructure, as it also includes the new Nottingham tram line to Hucknall, which now parallels the line on the left. The David Lane tram stop is now situated where the bushes are on the left.

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

45041 heads south through Cheltenham on 21 August 1985 with a loaded scrap train. As this doesn't remotely match up with anything in the working timetable, I assume it is a special (6Zxx), presumably heading for Cardiff Tidal.

43173 passes Bourton on the frosty morning of 28 December 1985 with the 1A20 08:45 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington service. 43173 was the first HST power car to be withdrawn, when it was extensively damaged in the Southall rail crash on 19 September 1997. It was the lead power car of a Swansea to Paddington train, which collided with an ARC stone train, which was correctly signalled to cross its path. Unfortunately the HST's AWS had been isolated due to an earlier brake problem, and the driver failed to respond to two amber signals, only belatedly applying the brakes when very near the red signal protecting the freight train.

3215 passes Queen Street (near Paddock Wood) on 15 March 1995 with the 9014 09:23 Waterloo to Paris Gare du Nord service. With hindsight I should have made more trips to Kent to photograph the Eurostars while they were still running on the third rail.

56079 passes Claydon (Gloucestershire) on 2 July 1991 with what is presumably the early running 7E87 Briton Ferry to Immingham MGR. I have very few pictures of coal trains on this line, so a picture of a reasonably clean Class 56 in superb evening light was a welcome surprise.

The nameplate of Bure Valley Railway 2-6-2 No.6 Blickling Hall, pictured at Aylsham on 1 June 1997. The loco commemorates the nearby stately home, which was designed by architect Robert Lyminge in the early seventeenth century.

The OX160 shunting signal is lit, but nothing has been this way for a very long time. This is the view from the sidings just to the north of Oxford station, looking towards the Banbury main line, with Walton Well Road bridge in the background. The steel span on the left is over the current, former GWR line, whilst the brick span on the right is over the former LMS route. The picture was taken on 21 August 1982. The line in the foreground was lifted in the late 1980s.

37669 negotiates the reverse curves at Trerulefoot on 3 May 1998 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z39 18:15 Looe to Cardiff Central 'Cornish Gnome' railtour. Not a very inspired location, but one that did allow a fully lit view of 37403 Ben Cruachan on the rear of the train.

37403 (D6607) Ben Cruachan brings up the rear of the Pathfinder Tours 1Z39 18:15 Looe to Cardiff Central 'Cornish Gnome' railtour at Trerulefoot on 3 May 1998. The Cornish Gnome is riding on the lamp bracket! 37669 is out of sight at the front of the train.

47016 Atlas (also carrying its original number 1546) heads east along the Great Western Mainline at Cholsey on 22 July 1994 with a lengthy train of ZFA Gunnel ballast wagons. This had recently been converted from redundant PGA stone hoppers.

With hardly any opening windows, and 47095 unable to operate the air conditioning, the passengers on board the 1M84 10:05 Poole to Manchester Piccadilly Virgin CrossCountry service were in for a warm journey on 30 August 1998. The Railfreight Distribution liveried loco is pictured leaving Basingstoke. Is the chap at the window escaping the heat, or savouring the unusual traction?

During 1996, the Brush Type 4 Fund's 47105 sported a Stratford style white roof. It is seen here passing Greet on 9 November 1996, with the 10:25 Far Stanley to Toddington service, during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Diesel Gala.

37668 rejoins the Cornish Mainline at Burngullow on 21 April 1998 with the morning Parkandillack to Carne Point china clay trip working. I had already photographed this at Parkandillack and Treviscoe, but couldn't resist another picture.

Autumn colour in the Highlands on 24 October 1998. 156449 arrives at Spean Bridge station with the 12:42 Glasgow Queen Street to Mallaig ScotRail service. The 1949 built signal box had been made redundant in 1988 with the advent of Radio Electronic Token Block signalling.

57313 passes Stonesfield on 15 March 2019 with the 1Z67 08:00 Paddington to Evesham Northern Belle Cheltenham Gold Cup special. 57314 is on the rear. Although very local to me, I'm not really sure if it was worth going out for this, as both locomotives are in West Coast's awful sludge brown livery, and they do not show up at all well in the awful weather. However, the rarity of loco hauled trains on the Cotswold Line makes it noteworthy.

37079 heads west through Chinley on 20 October 1983 with a loaded coal train, consisting of vintage 16 ton wagons. I have been unable to positively identify this working, as the only westbound coal train in the working timetable anywhere near the time is the 7M27 06:58 Tinsley to Garston, which in any case was booked for air braked hoppers. That should have passed at 08:40, and this is two hours later. Note the total lack of high visibility clothing, as the two workmen erect the new lineside fence.

A panoramic view of Bristol East Yard on 30 October 1992, as 37098 arrives with the 9B19 18:52 (the previous day) Tavistock Junction to Gloucester New Yard departmental working. Although sunny, there was still a lot of mist, which unfortunately rather spoils the view of Bristol in the background.

155324 brings up the rear of the 2V56 05:50 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central Regional Railways service at Upton Scudamore on 20 April 1988. Unfortunately the leading unit is unidentified. Equally unfortunate is that this picture was taken on Ektachrome 64 film, which was nothing like as good as Kodachrome 64. Quite why I experimented with such a rubbish film, when Kodachrome, although famous for its ridiculously long processing times, was infinitely better, I cannot now recall!

Chris de Burgh's favourite loco! 43093 Lady In Red passes Cossington on 14 July 2002 with the 1T99 14:16 Banbury to Edinburgh Virgin CrossCountry service. Unfortunately lineside vegetation now prevents such a wide view at this location.

47003 approaches Water Orton on 17 March 1989 with a very mixed ballast train, including a varied selection of Grampus, Dogfish and Seacow wagons. Its hard to tell due to the loco's filthy condition, but it is still sporting a grey roof, applied when it was a Stratford loco, many years earlier.

47107 runs past the traincrew and admin building at Severn Tunnel Junction on 15 April 1991. This building, along with virtually every other piece of railway infrastructure at this once busy depot and yard has now been demolished. Just visible through the haze in the background is the remains of Rogiet Windmill, standing in front of Slade Wood.

50036 Victorious passes Coates on 30 April 1983 with the 1A01 08:02 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington service. Just visible in the background is the roadside sign for the Tunnel House pub, which is situated down a rough track that runs alongside the belt of trees. The Thames & Severn Canal is in a deep cutting in the trees, and the remote pub once served the 'leggers', who walked the canal boats through the 3,817 yard long Sapperton Tunnel.

180105 heads north from Oxford on 8 August 2004 with the 09:42 Paddington to Hereford First Great Western service. This was before the whole area, both the former railway land in the background, and the railway in the foreground, were changed by hideous development, and track reorganisation respectively.

60047 Faithful passes Hensall in the rain on 12 March 2019 with the 6M36 09:54 Drax Power Station to Liverpool biomass empties. Note the switchback nature of the line, as the gradient changes twice as the line crosses the A645 level crossing. The heavy rain wasn't the main worry here, but the imminent approach of another ex Colas Class 60 with the 6H12 06:24 Tyne Coal Terminal to Drax Power Station biomass from the other direction was causing concern, as it was only a few hundred yards away!

60087 Bountiful approaches Hensall in the pouring rain on 12 March 2019 with the 6H12 06:24 Tyne Coal Terminal to Drax Power Station biomass. Less than a minute earlier I had photographed 60047 Faithful travelling in the opposite direction with the 6M36 09:54 Drax Power Station to Liverpool biomass empties, the rear of which can be seen disappearing into the distance.

Photographers attending the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway's Spring Gala on 10 March 2019 get their pictures of Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T 41241, as it arrives at Oxenhope in a very un spring like snow shower. The train is the delayed 09:30 service from Keighley. The loco's maroon livery was originally applied when the Worth Valley line opened in 1968, as BR at the time did not want preserved locos featuring their then current colour scheme.

Jubilee 4-6-0 45596 Bahamas visited the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway for their Spring Gala in 2019. The immaculate loco is pictured in front of Haworth shed on 10 March 2019, prior to working its first train of the day.

Surrounded by various workshop paraphernalia, 37075 is pictured inside Haworth shed at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway on 10 March 2019. In its two decades as a preserved locomotive, 37075 has visited several heritage lines, finally arriving in Yorkshire in 2012.

L&NWR 'Coal Tank' 0-6-2T 1054 basks in a brief sunny period between heavy rain and snow showers at Ingrow West on 10 March 2019. The loco had just arrived as the 16:20 Keighley to Ingrow West light engine, during the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway's Spring Gala. As denoted by the headboard, this 1888 Crewe built locomotive is in the care of the Bahamas Locomotive Society.

60064 Back Tor passes Melton Ross on 18 July 1996 with the 6T26 15:04 Immingham to Santon iron ore. By pure coincidence, the only other Loadhaul branded grey Class 60 was also on the iron ore circuit, and had passed by just over an hour earlier. There was a slight livery variation between the two, as 60064 lacked 60070's orange stripes behind the cab doors.

With Middlesbrough Football Club's newly constructed Riverside Stadium dominating the background, 60070 John Loudon Mcadam passes Cargo Fleet on 22 September 1997 with the 6E40 10:23 Corby to Lackenby steel empties.

B586 (51077, 59420 & 51105) passes Rangeworthy on 5 May 1986 with the 10:55 Bristol Temple Meads to Worcester Shrub Hill service. This was my last photograph of this particular unit, as it was withdrawn the following year, and like most of the class was cut up almost immediately.

33035 Spitfire passes Appledore on 18 May 1995 with the 7O62 06:29 Willesden to Dungeness nuclear flask. This was in the days when commonsense prevailed, and a single 1,550 hp loco was deemed sufficient for this lightweight load, rather than the wasteful use of 6,800 hp from a pair of Class 68s, as happens now. It's not as if the flask is going to start leaking radiation if it happens to stop somewhere because the single loco has failed!

Clearly struggling with its massive load, 66587 slowly passes Daylesford on 6 March 2019 with the 6Y43 15:41 Hinksey to Honeybourne ballast. Out of sight at the rear of the train of 25 JJA ballast hoppers is 66509. Initially I went to Shipton to photograph this, as it was raining, and as well as being my nearest location on the Cotswold Line, I could sit in the car until it passed Ascot-under-Wychwood, and therefore avoid getting soaked! However, when I got there, the sun started to come out, and as there is no decent sunny side shot there, I came to Daylesford, where there is. Then of course the sun went in again! It did get brighter, and the sun was almost on the point of coming out again when the train came into view.

66509 brings up the rear of the 6Y43 15:41 Hinksey to Honeybourne ballast train at Daylesford on 6 March 2019. Classmate 66587 is leading. The train was heading for a major track relaying operation on the Long Marston branch.

31255 approaches Manea station in an extremely lucky brief patch of sunshine amid the dark clouds on 4 November 1986. The train, which was running exactly to time, is the 9H77 13:34 Whitemoor to Cambridge departmental working, which on this occasion was also conveying six coal hoppers (5 HBAs and a single HAA).

37068 Grainflow & 37108 pass Briton Ferry on 2 October 1993 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z16 16:20 Cwmgwrach to Preston 'Neath Navigator' railtour. This was my second photo of this train in the area, as in the morning I had photographed it going the other way from the bridge in the background.

In the typically filthy condition that the class spent their last years in, 58029 emerges from Alfreton Tunnel on 19 June 1999 with a southbound MGR. Hidden amongst the vegetation on the right is the entrance to the original Alfreton Tunnel, opened in 1862. The line was quadrupled in 1901, when the present tunnel was opened. The original line was removed in the 1960s.

47106 passes Croome on 24 October 1985 with the 6V69 10:15 Gainsborough Lea Road to Llandarcy oil empties. This flow ceased two years later with the closure of Llandarcy oil refinery. The loco didn't survive much longer either, being withdrawn in 1988 following a collision with classmate 47140.

66538 passes through Heyford station on 29 March 2002 with the 4O14 04:32 Garston to Southampton freightliner. The picturesque Great Western Railway footbridge has now been replaced with a more modern design.

47145 Merddin Emrys passes through Horbury cutting in atrocious light on 15 March 1997 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z58 05:10 Reading to Cleethorpes railtour, which whilst advertised as the 'Spinning Gibbon', has now clearly become the 'Rotating Monkey'! The unique liveried 47 worked the train between Sheffield and Wakefield Kirkgate.

Class 411 4-CEPs 1550 & 1517 leave Dover on 11 May 1996 with the 10:16 Ramsgate to Charing Cross service. Originally this section of line at the base of Shakespeare Cliff was carried across the beach on a wooden trestle viaduct. In 1927 the embankment seen here was created. Amazingly, the wooden viaduct was not removed, but merely buried! For nearly 90 years trains like this one have been crossing the buried and infilled structure without any problems. However, in 2015 sea damage caused holes to start appearing, so the whole lot was excavated, and new concrete piling installed. The work was so extensive that the line was closed for nearly two years.

37350 & 37371 pass Baulking on 8 April 1989 with the early running 6B08 12:15 Langley to Robeston empty oil tanks. The unusual framing, with the horizon seemingly far too low in the picture, is deliberate in order to show off the impressive cloud formation. At the time the area was so free of lineside vegetation that Didcot Power Station, 12 miles away, can clearly be seen in the distance.

47348 St Christopher's Railway Home leaves Long Marston on 29 July 1995 with the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z33 17:05 Long Marston to Paddington 'Honey Monster' railtour. The train had most unusually just done a circuit of the Army Depot behind LMS 3F 'Jinty' 0-6-0T 7298, which can be seen waiting in the centre of the picture.

With Great Bedwyn church in the background, L425 (51405, 59515 & 51363) approaches Bedwyn station in the drizzle on 28 July 1988. The DMU had arrived a little earlier as the 2B02 06:45 Reading to Bedwyn Network SouthEast service, and had then used the crossover in the background to access the reversing siding. It is pictured here moved from the reversing siding towards the station, ready to form the 2B13 08:00 Bedwyn to Reading. It almost looks like the unit is displaying one red and one white light, but this could just be a trick of the light. What is certain however, is that it shouldn't be showing a red light at the front!

31417 passes Narborough on 20 October 1984 with the late running 1M30 07:40 Norwich to Birmingham New Street service. Unfortunately I have very few pictures of Class 31s on these cross country trains, even though the Leicester area is relatively local to me, compared with some of the places I have visited in search of railway pictures!

With just a brake van in tow, 31416 runs along the up relief line at South Moreton (Didcot East) on 26 November 1989. Parked in a totally unphotographable position in the background is GW150 green liveried 47484 Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

47448 Gateshead heads south from Colton Junction on 27 May 1990 with the 1M34 11:06 Newcastle to Liverpool Lime Street Regional Railways service. Note the vintage North Eastern Railway cast iron milepost in the foreground. I bet that no longer survives, at least not in that position!

47458 pulls away from Charlbury station on 9 May 1987 with the 1B56 18:12 Paddington to Hereford service. Usually time keeping on the Cotswold Line was pretty good in the 1980s, certainly far better than it is now, so it is noteworthy that this was running 15 minutes late. Unfortunately that late running meant that the sun had almost totally faded out into high cloud.

60082 Mam Tor passes through Craven Arms station on 27 May 1996 with the 6V75 09:14 Dee Marsh to Margam steel empties. The photographers behind the loco are waiting for 37521 on the much more interesting diverted 6Z92 05:40 Llanwern to Margam steel coils.

60076 Suilven rounds the curve at Kibworth Harcourt (Wistow Road) on 25 April 1996 with the 6M74 12:23 Temple Mills to Mountsorrel Redland stone empties. The loco is named after the very distinctive 2,398 ft mountain, which rises above the lochan studded moorland of west Sutherland. The nameplates were removed a year after this picture was taken.

56063 Bardon Hill passes Elsham Signal Box on 11 March 1997 with the 7G07 13:39 Immingham to Scunthorpe MGR. Four years after the station closed, only one platform remains, the other just being a grass covered mound.

66091 passes the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham, on 27 February 2019 with the 6B35 09:51 Acton to Moreton-on-Lugg stone empties. Even in full sun conditions like this, I wouldn't go out specifically to photograph a DB Class 66, but I was passing this spot anyway, and the freshly painted (and already vandalised!) wagons certainly make an eye catching picture.

66059 passes Hungerford Common on 27 February 2019 with the 6C58 11:55 Oxford Banbury Road to Whatley Quarry Mendip Rail stone empties. The red Sheds will disappear from these workings when Freightliner take over in November 2019.

59004 Paul A Hammond passes Hungerford Common on 27 February 2019 with the 7C77 12:40 Acton to Merehead Quarry Mendip Rail stone empties. Other than the fact that the train is only a fraction of the length, this looks very similar to the picture I took of this loco on the same train five months earlier.

59005 Kenneth J Painter approaches Hungerford Common on 27 February 2019 with the 6V18 11:25 Allington to Whatley Quarry Mendip Rail stone empties. This was the last day of a record breaking sunny period, with the highest ever UK February temperature (21.2ºC) recorded the previous day at Kew.

165114 approaches Hungerford Common on 27 February 2019 with the 1K16 14:06 Paddington to Bedwyn GWR service. The trees growing on the site of a former gravel pit (presumably in use during the construction of the line), along with the rustic fence in the foreground, make an excellent frame for this picture.

Passing Mendip Rail stone trains at Hungerford Common on 27 February 2019. 59104 Village of Great Elm heads west with the 6C76 14:39 Acton to Whatley Quarry empties, while the 6A83 13:26 Avonmouth Bennets Siding to West Drayton loaded train heads in the opposite direction, worked by 59202 Alan Meddows Taylor MD, Mendip Rail Limited.

60091 Barry Needham passes Ley Court (between Grange Court and Oakle Street) on 26 February 2019 with the 6B13 05:00 Robeston to Westerleigh oil tanks. Not did the uninterrupted blue sky last all day, but it turned out to be the hottest February day on record, with the temperature exceeding 20ºC in some parts of the country.

170637 passes Highnam on 26 February 2019 with the 1V06 09:07 Nottingham to Cardiff Central CrossCountry service. The Cotswold Hills should be visible in the background of this view, but the settled high pressure has meant they have been blotted out by the hazy conditions.

A location that I had meaning to visit for several years, and after doing the evening shot in 2018 from the other side of the line, here is my first picture of Highnam from the south side of the line around midday. 158824 heads westwards with the 2G55 11:46 Cheltenham Spa to Cardiff Central Transport for Wales service.

60015 passes Highnam on 26 February 2019 with the 6B41 11:35 Westerleigh to Robeston empty oil tanks. Although taken in perfect winter sunshine, the picture is still lacking something - the Cotswold Hills, which, because of the haze caused by the settled high pressure conditions, have virtually disappeared from the background of this view. Some scenic locations require a lot of effort to get to, but this one merely requires standing on the footpath next to the A48 Gloucester to Chepstow road!

66305 approaches Tredington on 26 February 2019 with the 4V44 10:47 Daventry to Wentloog Tesco liner. The heat haze in front of the Fiddington bridge in the background is from the loco's exhaust, but it could almost be from the ambient conditions, as this was the hottest February day since records began!

43285 passes Fiddington on 26 February 2019 with the 1Z86 14:20 Birmingham New Street to Taunton CrossCountry service. Closure of the line south of Taunton for major engineering work at Whiteball Tunnel resulted in this being in place of the normal 1V56 07:48 Glasgow Central to Plymouth train.

158959 is still accelerating away from Ashchurch station, as it passes Fiddington on 26 February 2019 with the 2O94 14:50 Great Malvern to Weymouth GWR service. The houses of Ashchurch can be seen in the background, with Bredon Hill rising up behind.

Back from its holiday in Yorkshire! 43190 passes Fiddington on 26 February 2019 with the 5V81 09:56 Hull Botanic Gardens to Bristol St Philips Marsh ECS. This short set (with 43010 at the rear) had been on loan to Hull Trains for several days for crew training, as pending the introduction of Hull's Class 802 DMUs, a GWR HST set will cover for one of their ailing Class 180s. I had already photographed this set on its outward journey, and also whilst on crew training duties on the East Coast Mainline.

68018 Vigilant & 68034 pass Fiddington on 26 February 2019 with the 6M56 15:43 Berkeley to Crewe low level nuclear waste containers. Luckily this was running 24 minutes early, as although there are no longer any lineside bushes to cause a shadow, the low grassy bank has already put the ballast and track in shade.

70812 passes Grove on 25 February 2019 with the 6L39 05:00 Bridgend Ford Sidings to Dagenham vans, containing Ford automotive engines. Half an hour later I photographed a second Colas Class 70, as 70807 passed by with the 6M50 07:55 Westbury to Bescot engineers train. Had I been at Challow, just over two miles away, these trains would have been running just four minutes apart, but 6M50 sat in the loop for nearly half an hour, as booked.

70807 passes Grove on 25 February 2019 with the 6M50 07:55 Westbury to Bescot engineers train. Just half an hour earlier, classmate 70812 had passed by with the 6L39 05:00 Bridgend Ford Sidings to Dagenham vans.

800309 passes Daylesford on 25 February 2019 with the 1P31 12:59 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington GWR service. This should of course have been the 12:09 train from Hereford, but an earlier broken down train had blocked the line between Worcester and Hereford. It didn't even leave Worcester on time, but because this train is booked to stop at Moreton-in-Marsh for ten minutes (which must annoy passengers from further north!), it was virtually back on time here.

Unfortunately early 2019 sees the last remaining Cotswold Line HST services downgraded to DMU operation. 800320 passes Lyneham on 25 January 2019 with the 1W27 13:22 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service.

The bridge railings, and the overhanging branches of the tree make an ideal frame for 800023, as it passes Lyneham on 25 February 2019 with the 1P33 13:55 Worcester Foregate Street to  Paddington GWR service.

57314 passes Steventon on 24 February 2019 with the 1Z35 12:00 Paddington to Swindon Northern Belle luxury charter. On arrival at Swindon, the train immediately became the 1Z36 13:57 Swindon to Paddington, and carried straight on, accessing the Berks & Hants line via Melksham and Trowbridge.

This close up view of 43187 at Steventon on 24 February 2019 clearly shows the power car's Y Cymro The Welshman branding. The train is the 1C15 13:03 Paddington to Taunton GWR service. The Class 800 EMU takeover is almost complete, as this was the only HST seen during a two hour lineside visit.

It may pong a bit, but this is certainly a very colourful train! 66085 passes Steventon on 24 February 2019, running exactly to time with the 6C03 13:14 Southall to Severnside Sita binliner. I'm not quite sure of the environmental benefits of hauling London's rubbish half way across the country to be incinerated at a plant near Bristol, but its probably better than burying it in a hole on the ground, as was done previously!

Great Western on the East Coast! 43190 passes Scrooby on 23 February 2019 with the 5Z43 12:17 Hull to Peterborough crew training run. The short set (with 43010 on the rear) was on hire from GWR to Hull Trains in preparation for HSTs deputising for Hull's ailing Class 180 DMUs. 1970s technology to the rescue, and an upgrade for the passengers!

43310 speeds past Scrooby on 23 February 2019 with the 1A31 13:15 Leeds to Kings Cross LNER service. Photo taken from the very end of Station Road, where a footpath crosses the line, giving access to the flat meadows next to the River Idle. The tiny station at Scrooby closed as early as 1931.

800202 passes Scrooby on 23 February 2019 with the 5Q13 13:22 Doncaster Carr IEP Depot to Kings Cross crew training run. This had left 43 minutes late, but had already knocked 10 minutes off that deficit, and passed Peterborough one minute early.

Hazy early morning light at Little Heck on 22 February 2019. 43206 speeds southwards with the 1E03 05:26 Stirling to Kings Cross LNER service. Just behind the rear of the train is the bridge that carries the line over the Knottingley to Drax line.

The road to nowhere. Since the closure of Heck Ings level crossing, the minor road from the A645 serves no useful purpose, other than, judging by the manure heaps, agricultural! 180110 passes by on 22 February 2019 with the late running 1H01 07:27 Kings Cross to Hull Hull Trains service.

In July 2018, Colas sold its entire Class 60 fleet to GBRf, and although by early 2019 a start had been made to paint the locos into GBRf colours, some locos were put to work still wearing the distinctive Colas livery, albeit with the 'Colas Railfreight' wording truncated to just 'Railfreight'. 60047 Faithful passes Heck Ings on 22 February 2019 with the 6M36 09:54 Drax Power Station to Liverpool biomass empties.

180109 approaches Cliffe on 22 February 2019 with the 1H02 09:48 Kings Cross to Hull Hull Trains service. 155342 can just be seen disappearing into the distance with the 2R08 11:10 Hull to York Northern service.

66775 HMS Argyll passes Cliffe on 22 February 2019 with the 6D72 11:32 Hull Dairycoates to Rylstone Tilcon stone empties. Note that the loco also carries the Royal Navy's F231 number underneath the HMS Argyll nameplate.

170455 approaches Hagg Lane level crossing, Hemingbrough, on 22 February 2019 with the 5Z13 12:41 York to Hull crew training run. The unit, which is still wearing unbranded ScotRail Saltire livery, is part of a batch acquired by Northern from ScotRail, after they were made surplus by the introduction of HSTs to the Highlands.

180111 approaches Cliffe on 22 February 2019 with the 1H03 11:48 Kings Cross to Hull Hull Trains service. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing. This is on the dead straight section of line between Selby and Brough.

ScotRail in Yorkshire! 170455 passes Cliffe on 22 February 2019 with the 5Z14 13:44 Hull to York crew training run. This is to train Northern drivers on their new fleet of cascaded units from Scotland. They will of course be painted into Northern's colours, so it especially important to photograph these workings while the units are still in the distinctive Saltire colour scheme.

A GWR HST in very unfamiliar territory. 43010 passes Barlby on 22 February 2019 with the 5Z53 13:26 Peterborough to Hull driver training run, This is in connection with Hull Trains using shortened HSTs as a back up to their increasingly unreliable Class 180 DMUs. The tracks on the left lead into the Potter Group freight terminal.

66789 British Rail 1948-1997 passes Whitley Bridge Junction in superb light on 22 February 2019 with the 4R21 15:33 Drax Power Station to Immingham coal empties. This was running 12 minutes early, passing me exactly at its booked departure time from Drax. This picture highlights what an excellent livery the large logo colour scheme was, even making a Class 66 look interesting! Given the fine weather, and notable traction, I was surprised to be the only photographer present at this exceedingly well known location.

180111 passes Balne Lowgate on 22 February 2019 with the 1A95 15:12 Hull to Kings Cross Hull Trains service. On the right can be seen the past, and the future of power generation. Drax Power Station is in the far distance, behind one of the increasingly common wind turbines.

166215 passes Badgeworth on 21 February 2019 with the 2G82 09:36 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa GWR service. With most of GWR's Turbo fleet in their uninspiring dark green livery, it makes a pleasant change to photograph one in the older and much more attractive dark blue colour scheme.

37418 passes Badgeworth on 21 February 2019 with the 1Z97 08:00 Cardiff Canton Sidings to Derby RTC Network Rail test train. This was running 25 minutes late, having left Cardiff 80 minutes behind schedule. 37175 is on the rear.

Off for a break in Yorkshire! Due to the chronic unreliability of their Class 180 DMUs, Hull Trains desperately needed to acquire additional stock in early 2019. To the rescue came GWR, who just so happened to be casting aside their HST fleet in favour of Hitachi built IETs. Here we see a shortened set, with 43010 leading, and 43190 at the rear, passing Badgeworth on 21 February 2019 with the 5E19 09:25 Bristol St Philips Marsh to Hull Botanic Gardens ECS.

Fast passenger, slow freight. 222007 passes Cossington on 21 February 2019 with the 1C57 15:00 Sheffield to St Pancras International East Midlands Trains service, overtaking 66770, which is working the 6M23 12:57 Doncaster Decoy to Mountsorrel ballast empties.

Having just passed by its ultimate destination, the 6M23 12:57 Doncaster Decoy to Mountsorrel ballast empties passes Cossington on 21 February 2019, led by 66770. The loco would shortly run round its train at Leicester Humberstone Road.

66615 passes Cossington on 21 February 2019 with the 6M91 11:13 Theale Lafarge to Hope (Earles Sidings) cement empties. It would have been a lot better photographically if it had been on the relief line, but at least the fast line is still more or less free of shadows.

Running eight minutes late due to an unexplained protracted stop at Hanborough, 802101 approaches Finstock on 20 February 2019 with the 1W27 13:22 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street GWR service. This had been, until the previous week, one of the last bastions of HSTs on the Cotswold Line. Note the evidence of some very welcome extensive lineside tree clearance. Whilst waiting to take this picture, I saw three RAF Tornados jets flying in formation from Brize Norton to Marham, as part of their farewell flypast tour.

Small train, small station! Dimensionally challenged ex London Underground unit 230005 passes through the equally diminutive Finstock station on 20 February 2019 with the 5Q13 13:10 Long Marston to Bletchley ECS. This was the unit's delivery run, and I was particularly keen to get a picture of it on the Cotswold Line, as I had previously photographed the other two Vivarail Class 230 DMUs en-route to the Marston Vale line, and wanted a picture of all three on their delivery runs. The platform information screen is displaying its usual helpful message - 'Train information is not currently available. Disconnected - No modem detected' I don't suppose this really matters, as Finstock only sees two daily stopping trains.