150246 passes Oxford North Junction on 19 August 1989 with the 2A59 07:10 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford Regional Railways service. After the reign of first generation units was over on the Cotswold Line, Class 155s, and then 150s briefly held sway, until Class 165 & 166 Turbo units arrived in 1992.

56038 Western Mail & 37891 take the Westerleigh line at Yate South Junction on 4 August 1991 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z64 17:06 Gloucester to Westerleigh Yard railtour. This was one of a number of specials run in connection with the Gloucester Rail Day. Apologies for the very poor quality of this image. Whilst it would be no problem for today's digital cameras, the failing light on this 1991 summer evening required an exposure of 1/250sec f1.4 on Fujichrome RF50. The bridge abutment on the right is part of the former flying junction, allowing northbound trains on the former Great Western Railway line to access the Midland Railway route without interfering with southbound trains. The former GWR line can be seen directly above the locomotives.

43145 passes Rangeworthy on 5 May 1986 with the 1E30 07:00 Plymouth to Newcastle service. Its amazing just how open this location was in the 1980s. Note the 1960s vintage Massey Ferguson combine harvester in the background, which was probably already out of use when this picture was taken.

A panoramic view of Didcot North Junction, when it was still surrounded by fields. L406 (51383, 59493 & 51341) heads north on 22 June 1989 with the 2C68 16:56 Reading to Oxford Network SouthEast service. It would return an hour later with the 2C69 19:27 Oxford to Reading train.

47623 Vulcan passes Cholsey on 31 January 1987 with the late running 1F24 14:17 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. With no motor drive to makes things easier, it was important to press the shutter at exactly the right moment in the old days. Clearly I left it a little late here!

Verdant spring greenery at Kemble on 21 April 2024, as 802016 leaves the station with the 2B09 14:01 Cheltenham Spa to Swindon GWR service. This was running 16 minutes late, due to the late running of the unit's previous workings - the 5G04 11:10 North Pole IEP Depot to Swindon ECS, and the 2G04 12:30 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa service.

'Black Five' 4-6-0 44871 passes Kemble on 21 April 2024 with the Railway Touring Company 1Z47 15:28 Gloucester to Paddington 'The Great Britain XVI' railtour. This was the final day of a nine day tour of Britain. It was booked to be double headed, but classmate 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier had been removed from the train with brake issues. Fortunately it was running a couple of minutes early, as shortly after it passed the sun disappeared behind a large cloud!

Exactly one hour after sunrise, the perfect low angled light illuminates 165017 & 165006, as they pass Wendlebury on 20 April 2024 with the 1Y10 06:45 Oxford to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. The train has just passed underneath the M40 motorway.

165019 & 165024 pass Wendlebury on 20 April 2024 with the 1Y12 07:12 Oxford to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. The farm access bridge near Charlton-on-Otmoor can be seen in the background, viewed through the M40 motorway bridge.

168106 passes Wendlebury on 20 April 2024 with the 1Y17 07:45 Oxford to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. You can travel from Oxford to London via two different routes. The main difference being that if you travel by Chiltern your train is much more likely to be on time!

165016 & 165034 approach Wendlebury on 20 April 2024 with the 1Y21 0812 Oxford to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. The 22¼ milepost is measured from the junction with the West Coast Mainline at Bletchley, although at present the section from Bicester to Bletchley is still being reconstructed as part of the East West Rail project.

70006 has 66952 dead in tow, as it passes Tackley on 20 April 2024 with the 4O27 06:49 Crewe Basford Hall to Southampton Maritime freightliner. I was investigating new locations, and this turned out to be quite a poor one!

47749 City of Truro passes Islip in the rain on 19 April 2024 with the 5Q75 09:21 Eastleigh to Bicester MoD, conveying brand new South Western Railway EMU 701530 for storage. Although a very tentative move has been made to introduce these new units into traffic, this only amounts to a few trains per day, and so there is the ridiculous sight of the recently delivered units being dragged miles away from their intended area of operation by a 60 year old diesel loco!

60046 William Wilberforce passes Woodborough on 18 April 2024 with the 6Z51 06:49 Tytherington to Appleford Sidings stone train. I was extremely lucky with this picture. Not only had a very large cloud just moved away from the sun, but a couple of seconds later 800315 blocked out the view, as it headed west with the late running 1J73 08:38 Paddington to Westbury GWR service.

After waiting in the loop at Woodborough for nine minutes, 66714 Cromer Lifeboat moves off again on 18 April 2024 with the 6Z59 02:35 Tytherington to Appleford Sidings stone train. This is another load of stone for the HS2 project, Appleford temporarily taking over from Quainton as an unloading point.

66616 slowly pulls out of Woodborough loop on 18 April 2024 with the 6A18 09:18 Whatley Quarry to Oxford Banbury Road stone train. Shortly before this a Network Rail worker had spent some considerable time taking pictures and video of the bushes on the left!

66415 You Are Never Alone & 66517 leave Woodborough loop on 18 April 2024 with the late running 6A50 10:26 Whatley Quarry to Hanwell Bridge Loop stone train. The reason for two locos is that the train splits at Hanwell, forming the 6M52 13:42 Hanwell Bridge Loop to Churchyard Sidings, and the 6L52 14:26 Hanwell Bridge Loop to Dagenham Dock.

66118 passes Coedkernew on 20 July 2000 with the 6B53 17:37 Llanwern to Port Talbot Grange Sidings MGR empties. Before the wires went up this used to be an excellent spot for late evening photography in the summer, with nothing to shade the line. A rural location, with a hint of industry on the horizon.

66095 passes Innerdunning (between Perth and Gleneagles) on 4 October 2001 with the 6D46 13:30 Inverness to Mossend Enterprise, conveying eight cement tanks, and, mostly hidden by the bushes, a rake of Safeway containers from Georgemas Junction. I'm not sure why I didn't find a better location, but I was probably running out of time!

A bright red shunter on a two coach train, is definitely something different, even for a diesel gala! D3014 passes Waterside (near Goodrington) on 21 June 1992 with the 17:15 Kingswear to Paignton service, during the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway's Diesel Gala.

After piloting 50029 Renown on the 1F12 08:20 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service on 4 September 1987, 47557 immediately headed back to Old Oak Common, light engine. It is pictured here passing the backs of the houses on Mill Street, as it leaves the station. 1F12 was often used at the time to test locomotives after repairs at Old Oak Common.

Viewed from the end of the station's platform, 47526 passes Cholsey at speed on 16 August 1991 with the 1F83 18:00 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. The weather beaten loco had just been transferred to Old Oak Common, a move which also entailed the removal of its former Northumbria nameplates, the site of which can clearly be seen on the bodyside.

D1015 Western Champion passes Shorthampton on 14 April 2024, running as the 0Z55 10:20 Kidderminster Severn Valley Railway to Paddington light engine. This was in preparation for the Pathfinder Tours 1Z56 13:52 Paddington to Birmingham New Street 'One Way Wizzo' railtour / loaded test run. As this is a Western, and not a Deltic, wouldn't 0Z52 have been a more appropriate headcode?

Running exactly on time, D1015 Western Champion passes Kings Sutton on 14 April 2024 with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z56 13:52 Paddington to Birmingham New Street 'One Way Wizzo' railtour / loaded test run. Unfortunately the sun had disappeared just a few minutes before the train was due. This is a very popular location, but even so I was surprised at the number of photographers that turned up to see this. I was glad that I had arrived early, in order to claim my spot in the huge gallery!

D1015 Western Champion leaves Banbury on 14 April 2024, after its almost hour long photo stop in the station, whilst working the Pathfinder Tours 1Z56 13:52 Paddington to Birmingham New Street 'One Way Wizzo' railtour / loaded test run. Although the weather was now almost totally cloudy, naturally the sun had come out again by the time that I got back home!

'Black Five' 4-6-0s 44871 & 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier pass Minety on 13 April 2024 with the Railway Touring Company 1Z31 10:03 Margate to Cheltenham Spa 'The Great Britain XVI' railtour. This was day one of a mega nine day round Britain trip. Out of sight at the rear is 47812. This was running 15 minutes late, and although the lighting was a lot better than at the booked time, it was a pity that the train wasn't just a few minutes later, as the sun appeared briefly as I was walking back to the car!

47812 brings up the rear of the late running Railway Touring Company 1Z31 10:03 Margate to Cheltenham Spa 'The Great Britain XVI' railtour at Minety on 13 April 2024. LMS 'Black Five' 4-6-0s 44871 & 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier are providing the power at the front of the train. Until this train appeared, I hadn't noticed the very obvious change of gradient in the background.

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

47828 passes the site of Purton station on 11 April 2024 with the Statesman Rail 1Z60 05:22 Stafford to Windsor & Eton Riverside 'Royal Windsor Statesman' railtour. 47712 Lady Diana Spencer is bringing up the rear. The 1960 built flat roofed former station building has been sheltering this couple of military vehicles for several years.

47712 Lady Diana Spencer brings up the rear of the Statesman Rail 1Z60 05:22 Stafford to Windsor & Eton Riverside 'Royal Windsor Statesman' railtour, as it passes Purton on 11 April 2024, headed by 47828. Worth recording, despite the dull and damp conditions.

43195 passes Defford on 10 August 1995 with the 1M38 15:50 Exeter St Davids to Sheffield service. The bales and the stubble field in the foreground certainly improve the composition, by adding some colour contrast. The wooded slopes of Bredon Hill dominate the background.

Ginsters liveried 158841 passes Spetchley on 20 September 2003 with the 17:00 Birmingham New Street to Cardiff Central Wales & Borders service, just as the 14:13 Plymouth to York Virgin CrossCountry Voyager heads in the opposite direction.

158777 crosses Coopies Lane level crossing, Morpeth, on 23 July 1999. The unit had just arrived at Morpeth station (the roof of which can just be seen above the Parceline van) with the 09:59 train from Metro Centre. The only reason for it crossing the road is in order to use the nearby reversing siding. Just a few minutes later it would head back the way it came, to form the 10:49 Morpeth to Newcastle service.

Running exactly one hour early, 47130 passes through Oxford station on 4 September 1987 with the 4V16 09:35 Washwood Heath to Morris Cowley cartics. 47130 carried this livery for well over a decade, and this picture shows what a white/light grey roof looks like after all that time!

A foogy day in the Thames Valley on 5 November 1983. 47103 approaches Goring with the 3A21 11:25 Malago Vale to Old Oak Common empty newspaper vans. As was often the case, this train includes some regular passenger stock. The second vehicle is a Mk1 BSK, which is clearly not using its passenger accommodation on this train!

37901 Mirrlees Pioneer passes Oddington on 8 April 2024 with the 5Q75 12:00 Bicester MoD to Lydney Up Goods Loop, conveying former Heathrow Express EMU 360203. 37611 Denise is bringing up the rear. Luckily the 1Y41 12:19 Oxford to Marylebone Chiltern Railways DMU has just managed to get out of the way in time!

37611 Denise brings up the rear of the 5Q75 12:00 Bicester MoD to Lydney Up Goods Loop at Oddington on 8 April 2024. 37901 Mirrlees Pioneer is leading the train, which is taking former Heathrow Express EMU 360203 to the Dean Forest Railway, for onward road movement to Onllwyn.

37901 Mirrlees Pioneer slowly approaches Standish Junction on 8 April 2024 with the 5Q75 12:00 Bicester MoD to Lydney Up Goods Loop, conveying former Heathrow Express EMU 360203. 37611 Denise is bringing up the rear. This was running 17 minutes late, after having to wait at Challow for a late running GWR service.

37611 Denise brings up the rear of the 5Q75 12:00 Bicester MoD to Lydney Up Goods Loop at Standish Junction on 8 April 2024. 37901 Mirrlees Pioneer is leading the train, which comprises former Heathrow Express EMU 360203, sandwiched between two barrier vehicles.

56053 Sir Morgannwg Ganol / County of Mid Glamorgan passes Iver on 22 February 1990 with the 6Z07 14:05 West Drayton to Whatley Quarry ARC stone empties. Iver station can be seen in the background, with the then relatively new concrete M25 motorway bridge just behind.

47828 heads south at Clay Cross on 9 August 1995 with the 1V65 16:43 York to Bristol Temple Meads service. It may only be the relief line, but the track on the left is in serious need of a visit from the weedkilling train!

47818 crosses the River Avon at Eckington on 19 June 1989 with the 1M79 15:30 Plymouth to Liverpool Lime Street service. This location is popular with fishermen, and as can be seen in the background, dog walkers.

With Class 202 S60118 Tunbridge Wells leading, 1001 passes Great Bedwyn on 6 April 2024 with the Hastings Diesels Ltd 1Z14 06:30 Hastings to Exeter Central 'Cogload Climber' railtour. Although it was mainly sunny when I left home, and again when I got back, it was completely cloudy the whole time that I was at the lineside!

Freshly painted 59102 Village of Chantry passes Great Bedwyn on 6 April 2024 with the 6V31 09:04 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Merehead Quarry stone empties. The loco had been released from Eastleigh Works the previous day, after becoming the first Class 59/1 to receive the orange Freightliner livery. There were no GWR passenger trains running, due to an ASLEF strike, so with nothing in the way, this train had missed out its booked stop in Towney Loop, and was running 47 minutes early here.

With just over a mile of its journey left to go, 60026 Helvellyn passes Carlton on 2 April 2024 with the 6H12 06:24 Tyne Coal Terminal to Drax Power Station biomass. This was running 16 minutes early. It was a good job that it wasn't any earlier, as the sun had only just come out! This is the site of Carlton Towers station, which was opened by the Hull, Barnsley and West Riding Junction Railway in 1885. It was originally called Carlton, but was renamed Carlton Towers in 1922. That clearly didn't increase patronage, as it closed to passengers a decade later. Freight traffic survived until 1959. The impressive station building, seen here on the left, is now a private residence.

43055 slowly pulls out of Goole station shortly before sunrise on 1 April 2024 with the Midland Pullman 1Z43 05:51 Hull to Paignton 'Torbay Riviera Pullman' railtour. 43049 Neville Hill is bringing up the rear. The clocks had gone forward the previous day, so what would have been a very dull picture on a cloudy and drizzly morning, was instead a picture taken in near darkness!

43049 Neville Hill brings up the rear of the Midland Pullman 1Z43 05:51 Hull to Paignton 'Torbay Riviera Pullman' railtour, as it leaves Goole on 1 April 2024. 43055 is leading. This was before sunrise on a very dull and damp morning.

Former Blackpool Tramways Balloon car 708, pictured in retirement at the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft, on 1 April 2024. The 1934 built tram was withdrawn from service in 2008, and arrived at Sandtoft in November 2023. It sits on a specially prepared concrete pad, and is seen here next to the museum's as yet unfinished miniature railway.

As the clouds start to break up as a prelude to a sunny evening, 803001 passes Little Heck on 30 March 2024 with the 1E84 12:56 Edinburgh to Kings Cross Lumo service. This was running 17 minutes late, after encountering delays in the Newcastle and Durham areas.

'You Belong' liveried 800106 passes Little Heck on 30 March 2024 with the 1A39 15:44 Leeds to Kings Cross LNER service. This is the view looking north from Little Heck Common Lane. The train is just crossing over the Hensall to Gowdall road.

Consecutively numbered 68008 Avenger & 68009 Titan approach the bridge over Little Heck Common Lane on 30 March 2024, as they head northwards with the 4Z44 11:29 Daventry International Railfreight Terminal to Coatbridge intermodal. This train's normal route (as 4S44) would be via the West Coast Mainline. It was diverted via the East Coast Mainline due to engineering works.

A roadside tree next to Little Heck Common Lane provides a convenient frame for 180102, as it heads south down the East Coast Mainline on 30 March 2024 with the 1A67 16:27 York to Kings Cross Grand Central service.

59206 passes Whitley Bridge Junction on 17 September 1996 with a Drax Power Station to Gascoigne Wood coal empties working, on this occasion formed of only 13 wagons. Over a quarter of century later the 59 is still hard at work, although not in Yorkshire. The same cannot be said of the classic BR Freight Rover (British Leyland) Sherpa van parked by the line to Eggborough Power Station, which was scrapped less than two years later.

73125 Stewarts Lane 1860 - 1985 provides the power at the rear of the 16:05 Gatwick Airport to Victoria service, as it speeds through Salfords on 15 March 1986. I haven't got many early pictures of these Gatwick Express trains. A pity, as they weren't all in the correct InterCity livery at the time. To prove the point, a little later a southbound train was hauled by blue liveried 73110.

319058 heads west past Queen Street (near Paddock Wood) on 15 March 1995, with (judging by the 'Not In Service' destination blind) an empty stock working, presumably from Ashford. This made a change from the Class 423 4-VEPs and Eurostars passing this location at the time.

08803 is surrounded by scrap in this view of the Beckett Street scrapyard at Oxford on 29 October 1982. A Volkswagen Beetle, a Mini and a 1960s Mercedes are complete enough to be recognisable amid the piles of rusting metal. The building in the background on the extreme right is the Royal Mail sorting office, which has subsequently been demolished and replaced by flats. Royal Mail didn't move very far, just a few yards around the corner in Osney Lane.

56034 Castell Ogwr / Ogmore Castle passes Waltham St Lawrence on 8 April 1990 with the 6A54 09:00 Brentford to Appleford GLC Binliner. Unsurprisingly, as this was a Sunday, this was the only booked freight train during the entire day on this line. The red flag on the track indicates that the fast lines are closed for engineering works.

Buddleia and other weeds are starting to colonise the disused Malago Vale Carriage Sidings on 5 April 1990, as 47812 heads towards the next stop at Bristol Temple Meads, with the 1M56 12:00 Plymouth to Manchester Piccadilly service. A housing estate now occupies this site.

47810 passes Hinksey Yard on 25 June 1993 with the 1M50 14:20 Brighton to Manchester Piccadilly service. Some photographers ignored the InterCity liveried Class 47/8s at the time, as they were so commonplace. Yesterday's commonplace is tomorrow's history!

59102 Village of Chantry passes Berkley on the misty morning of 12 October 1994 with the 7O38 10:04 Merehead to Fareham stone train. I'm not sure whether its a trick of the light, but it looks like the loco's red lights are lit, as well as the headlight.

37705 passes Iver on 22 February 1990 with the 6L31 09:28 Micheldever to Ripple Lane oil empties. In the background the 1A24 07:36 Swansea to Paddington HST overtakes the 6A08 00:50 Robeston to Langley aviation fuel tanks, which is waiting to enter the oil depot.

47297 passes Claydon on 5 September 1987 with the 1E56 11:00 Paignton to Newcastle service. This was in the good old days, when the UK had an integrated railway, and railfreight resources could deputise for InterCity when required. Although now such trains are DMUs, if there was a problem today the train would just be cancelled!

Grey roof liveried 47295 passes the allotments next to Walton Well Road, Oxford, on 7 April 1990 with the diverted 6E50 09:41 Langley to Lindsey empty oil tanks. The train's normal route at the time was via the Midland Mainline.

A Metro Cammell meeting at Cholsey on 3 July 1991. L204 (51220 & 54371) accelerates away from the station with the 2C68 17:57 Reading to Didcot Parkway Network SouthEast service, while in the background the 2C59 17:15 Banbury to Reading train calls at the station.

45010 passes through Cheltenham Spa station on 17 November 1982 with a test train from the Derby Railway Technical Centre. The distinctive red and blue Derby RTC stock meant that although there was no easily available gen at the time, even if you didn't know where the train was going, you had a pretty good idea where it had come from!

I have only got a few pictures of Class 153s working the Swindon to Cheltenham line, during the period in the mid 1990s when a single coach train was considered adequate for the local trains on the line. 153368 approaches Kemble on 29 August 1994 with the 2B07 08:45 Swindon to Cheltenham service.

D1924 (47810) Crewe Diesel Depot passes Yarnton on 22 March 2024 with the 5Z20 09:47 Eastleigh Arlington to Crewe barrier vehicle move. There was almost no chance of the sun coming out, which was just as well, as this location would have been extremely backlit. Despite the weather, I was surprised that there was nobody on the footbridge in the background, as it is a very well known spot with local photographers.

37611 Denise approaches Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024, running 8 minutes early as the 0V74 08:49 Derby RTC to Reading Traincare Depot light engine. The tubular steel pile giving the appearance of the loco's chimney is a relic of the abandoned Didcot to Oxford electfrication, as is the row of masts in the background.

43277 Safety Task Force moves slowly away from a signal check at Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024 with the 1Q18 07:48 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road Network Rail test train, just as 165118 heads in the opposite direction with the 2M32 12:35 Didcot Parkway to Banbury GWR service. As the HST (which had 43357 bringing up the rear) moved away from the signal, I could hear the Turbo unit approaching from behind me, and I thought the picture was going to be ruined. However, the two trains passed each other exactly where I was going to take the picture, giving me this lucky shot.

Debranded CrossCountry liveried 43357 brings up the rear of the 1Q18 07:48 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road Network Rail test train at Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024. Colas orange liveried 43277 is leading.

59101 Village of Whatley is just a few hundred yards into its journey, as it approaches Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024 with the 6C48 12:49 Appleford Sidings to Whatley Quarry stone empties. A pity the sun disappeared as it approached!

The blackthorn is in full bloom at Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024, as 66734 Platinum Jubilee passes by with the 6Z59 02:25 Tytherington to Appleford Sidings stone train. Terrible lighting, but it's always worth getting a picture of these 'one off' liveried locos.

60028 passes underneath the footbridge at Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024 with the 6Z51 06:50 Tytherington to Appleford Sidings stone train, which was running 15 minutes late, after it encountered a delay in the Cholsey area.

A brief burst of sunshine on what was becoming an increasingly cloudy afternoon. 66591 approaches Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024 with the 6V18 13:38 Oxford Banbury Road to Whatley Quarry stone empties. 165123 can be seen disappearing into the distance with the 2L36 13:34 Didcot Parkway to Oxford GWR service.

73962 Dick Mabbutt passes Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024 with the late running 1Q66 12:16 Woking to Waterloo (via Oxford) Network Rail test train. 73965 Des O'Brien is bringing up the rear. The train would return half an hour later.

60055 Thomas Barnardo passes Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024 with the 6Z23 13:56 Appleford Sidings to Tytherington stone empties. This was running 25 minutes late, as it had been unable to get a path out of Appleford at the booked time, partly due to the late running 1Q66 12:16 Woking to Waterloo (via Oxford) Network Rail test train.

The 1Q66 12:16 Woking to Waterloo (via Oxford) Network Rail test train passes Didcot North Junction on 20 March 2024 with 73965 Des O'Brien leading, and 73962 Dick Mabbutt bringing up the rear. Half an hour earlier I had photographed the train heading towards Oxford from the ridge in the background.

155329 passes Bathampton on 5 April 1990 with the 2O11 09:16 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour service. Unfortunately I only visited this location a couple of times, and only on this occasion did I move from the road bridge in the background to the nearby farm occupation bridge. This excellent viewpoint was a lost a few years later when the bridge was demolished. The northern suburbs of Bath (Lambridge and Larkhall) can be seen sprawling across the hillside in the background.

86102 Robert A Riddles passes Gayton on 15 November 1986 with the 1M05 07:40 Ayr to Euston 'Royal Scot'. The Grand Union Canal crosses the fields in the middle distance, bridged by the road from Gayton to Rothersthorpe. The loco is named after the steam locomotive engineer who was responsible for the design of the BR Standard classes of locomotives in the 1950s.

47587 Ruskin College Oxford passes Culham on 3 July 1991 with the 1F60 18:37 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service. The sun had almost entirely disappeared into high cloud, which unfortunately often happens during periods of settled weather.

43009 leads the 1C62 17:45 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads service past Cholsey on 22 July 1994. This used to be an excellent photographic location prior to electrification, although a row of trees alongside the road from Manor Farm to Lees Cottages annoyingly prevented a wider view than this.

37425 passes Gilfach on 24 April 2004 with the 2R18 10:59 Cardiff Central to Rhymney service. The houses on Eastview Terrace, Gilfach Street and Cardiff Road form an impressive, and distinctly Welsh, backdrop.

Royal Scot Class 4-6-0 46100 Royal Scot passes Churchill Heath in failing light on 16 March 2024 with the Saphos Trains 1Z48 15:50 Worcester Shrub Hill to Northampton 'Cotswold Explorer' railtour. This had obviously made a vigorous ascent of Campden Bank, as although the departure from Worcester was 21 minutes late, it was only running 9 minutes behind time when it passed me. D1935 (47805) Roger Hosking MA 1925 - 2013 is bringing up the rear.

D1935 (47805) Roger Hosking MA 1925 - 2013 brings up the rear of the Saphos Trains 1Z48 15:50 Worcester Shrub Hill to Northampton 'Cotswold Explorer' railtour at Churchill Heath on 16 March 2024. LMS Royal Scot Class 4-6-0 46100 Royal Scot is at the front of the train.

57313 Scarborough Castle passes Chilson on 15 March 2024 with the Northern Belle 1Z24 08:45 Paddington to Evesham 'Gold Cup Special' charter, with 57601 Windsor Castle bringing up the rear. Just as in the previous year, this was running late, owing to having to wait for a late running GWR IET to clear the single track section of the Cotswold Line between Charlbury and Wolvercote Junction. For me this was good news, as at the booked time it was very dull, but after a short period of rain, the sun came out briefly just as the rain passed.

57601 Windsor Castle brings up the rear of the Northern Belle 1Z24 08:45 Paddington to Evesham 'Gold Cup Special' charter at Chilson on 15 March 2024. 57313 Scarborough Castle is at the front of the train. This was running 17 minutes late, due to a late running southbound GWR service. After a brief downpour the rain had cleared and the sun had come out, but with a dark background in both directions, it was obvious that the patch of sunshine only extended a few hundred yards in each direction, so clearly I had picked the right location!

185116 & 185137 hold up the traffic at Appleby level crossing on 12 March 2024, as they head westwards with the 1B77 11:23 Cleethorpes to Liverpool Lime Street TransPennine Express service. The section of brick wall to the left of the train is all that remains of Appleby station, which closed in 1967.

185150 & 185124 pass the Grade II listed Appleby (Lincs) Signal Box on 12 March 2024 with the 1B72 09:19 Liverpool Lime Street to Cleethorpes TransPennine Express service. The signal box was taken out of use in 2015.

66190 Martin House Children's Hospice passes the disused, but preserved, Appleby (Lincs) Signal Box on 12 March 2024 with the 4R50 10:31 Drax Power Station to Immingham biomass empties. This was running 35 minutes late, which was OK, as it meant the rain had stopped!

Nottingham Express Transit tram 206 arrives at Butler's Hill in the rain on 10 March 2024 with the 10:55 Toton Lane to Hucknall service. This Bombardier Incentro AT6/5 tram is wearing National Trust Blossom Watch advertising vinyls.

Nottingham Express Transit Alstom Citadis tram 225 arrives at Butler's Hill in the rain on 10 March 2024 with the 12:00 Hucknall to Toton Lane service. The track behind the fence is the East Midlands Railway Nottingham to Worksop 'Robin Hood Line'.

Nottingham Express Transit Alstom Citadis trams 234 George Africanus & 225 stand at Toton Lane on 10 March 2024. 234 is just about to depart with the 13:10 service to Hucknall, and 225 had just arrived with the with the 12:00 service from Hucknall. Toton Lane is the most westerly point of Nottingham's tram network.

Nottingham Express Transit tram 204 Erica Beardsmore stands at Hucknall on 10 March 2024, after having just arrived with the 13:45 service from Toton Lane. The orange MHR data consultancy livery certainly brightens up the scene on a very dull and rainy day!

66734 Platinum Jubilee passes Uffington on 8 March 2024 with the 6V32 10:22 Tilbury to Trostre Works steel empties. Although there was a lot of cloud around, I thought it was worth the short drive and long walk for a picture of this purple loco. A good decision, as virtually all of the cloud melted away, to leave a perfect early spring afternoon.

66148 Maritime Intermodal Seven passes Uffington on 8 March 2024 with the 6B33 13:53 Theale to Robeston empty oil tanks. The Class 60s have gone, and DB's re-geared Class 66/6s are yet to appear, so early 2024 sees ordinary Class 66/0s on these workings.

No more red Class 60s in the Vale of White Horse, but in 2024 it is still possible to see a blue one! 60028 trundles slowly along the down relief line at Circourt Bridge, Denchworth, on 8 March 2024 with the 6Z23 15:55 Appleford Sidings to Tytherington stone empties.

59003 Yeoman Highlander passes Uffington on 7 March 2024 with the 6M50 07:13 Westbury to Bescot departmental working, which on this occasion was terminated at Hinksey. This was running over an hour early, after missing out its booked stop at Swindon Stratton Green, something which seems to happen quite a lot in early 2024. GBRf's solitary Class 59 is on hire to Colas. This is my first picture of 59003 since it returned to traffic following repairs to the damage caused by the botched attempt to drag a DMU out of Salisbury Tunnel, after the accident in October 2021.

66615 passes Compton Beauchamp on 7 March 2024 with the 6A16 07:44 Whatley Quarry to Oxford Banbury Road stone train. Unfortunately this once excellent photographic location is now totally ruined by the overhead wiring and masts. However, because the masts are only on the south side of the line at this point, there is a reasonable shot from the other side, if there is no sun. As this was forecast to be a completely dull day, I was in position on the other side of the bridge, waiting for this train. Just as it came into view the sun came out (almost the only time it appeared all day!), and so I had to rush across the bridge, to get this properly lit, but untidy picture.