L200 (54081 & 51215) looks commendably clean as it rattles along the down relief line at South Moreton on 21 May 1991 with the 2C68 17:57 Reading to Didcot Network SouthEast service. This was once an excellent location for photography in both directions (at least on the relief lines), but the rebuilding of the bridge (for a second time) has made it difficult due to very high parapets.

Several Class 101 twin sets received Network SouthEast livery in the late 1980s. On 4 May 1990, L201 (51212 & 54070) is pictured passing Wolvercote Common with the late running 17:56 Oxford to Banbury service. This is the site of Wolvercote Siding, and the footpath crossing used to be an excellent place to observe northbound trains in the evening. Unfortunately this is another location that is no longer possible, as the footpath has been closed.

Cambridge depot's set 20 (54372 & 51443) passes Great Paxton on 20 September 1986 with the 07:37 Hitchin to Peterborough service. The extremely early time of day explains how it is possible to have the sun on the front of a northbound train on the East Coast Mainline. The Western Region did not posses many Class 101 units until the late 1980s, and indeed this shows a unit that would soon be moving to the Western. However, it would not remain together as a single unit, the front vehicle (54372) would form part of unit L202, whilst the rear car (51443) would find itself in L205. The original 6x7 slide of this image unfortunately looks nothing like this, as it is one of the few (luckily) pictures that I took on Agfachrome 200RS. It has now turned completely purple! Luckily Photoshop has once again come to the rescue.

Good patronage for L202 (51225 & 54372) as it arrives at Heyford on 17 August 1988 with the 2C15 07:58 Banbury to Oxford Network SouthEast service. This is Heyford station in intermediate form, with the old station building gone and with a new platform surface (at least opposite where the units stop), but before the replacement of the GWR footbridge.

L202 (54372 & 51225) passes Wolvercote on 7 September 1988 with the late running 2M60 17:50 Oxford to Banbury Network SouthEast service. I'm not quite sure of the point of the handwritten set number on the front, or what the mark underneath it has obliterated. This picture is taken from the long since closed footpath crossing that gave access to Port Meadow.

A frosty morning at Walton Well Road, Oxford on 5 November 1988, as L202 (51225 & 54372) heads south with the 2V70 07:58 Banbury to Oxford local service, no doubt having picked up a few Saturday shoppers from Kings Sutton, Heyford and Tackley. The typical early morning autumnal fog is only just clearing, bringing Aristotle Lane footbridge in the background into view.

Until the mid 1990s this distinctive cottage stood next to the crossing at the south end of Tackley station (between Oxford and Banbury). Although unoccupied it still looks in good order as L202 (54372 & 51225) approaches with the 19:23 Oxford to Banbury Network SouthEast service on 23 July 1990. Sadly it was demolished soon afterwards. L202 has not faired any better, being cut up at Gwent Demolition, Margam in 1994.

L202 (51225 & 54372) arrives at Radley on 14 March 1991 with the 2C49 15:15 Banbury to Reading Network SouthEast service. Whilst most Class 101s operated in only semi-permanent  sets, those on the Western Region were kept in more or less permanent formations, and as such were given set numbers. However, it seems that L202 has received a front end repaint, as DMBS 51225 is not carrying any front end identification in this view.

L205 (53155 & 51443) is pictured near Charlton-on-Otmoor on the Bicester to Oxford line on 31 March 1990 with the 11:48 Bicester Town to Oxford Network SouthEast service. The tall white structure visible in the background is in connection with the construction of the M40 motorway. The bridge crossing this line would shortly be built just where the track disappears from view. L205 was withdrawn two years later and cut up at MC Metal Processing, Glasgow in 1993.

To emphasise how much passenger growth there has been in the Thames Valley in recent years, here is a view of Radley station on 21 July 1990 with just a solitary Mini parked in the car park! L205 (51443 & 54385) pulls away with the 06:30 Reading to Bicester Town Network SouthEast service. Note the passengers on the up platform awaiting the arrival of the 07:15 Oxford to Paddington service, the first train of the day in that direction, unless you count the one just after midnight!

For a short period in 1991, Class 117 three car unit L418 had its DMS vehicle (51397) replaced with Class 101 DMBS 51443 from unit L205. With two brake compartments this hybrid unit certainly had plenty of luggage space, especially compared with the Turbo units that replaced it the following year! L418 (51443, 59507 & 51355) is pictured arriving at Heyford on 19 June 1991 with the 2C70 19:26 Oxford to Banbury Network SouthEast service. Close inspection of the original 35mm Fujichrome slide shows the remains of the lead vehicle's former unit number L205, underneath the hastily applied L418. The hedge on the right has grown considerably since this picture was taken, making photography from this spot almost impossible.

Unfortunately I made very few visits to the East Coast Mainline before it was electrified in the 1980s. I particularly regret not visiting this location more often, before it was ruined by the overhead wires. This is the view from New England Bridge, Wennington on 12 December 1985. What a superb location it must have been in the days of the Deltics. The first signs of the end are apparent here, as the new masts have sprung up along the west side of the line. Note how they can be seen curving round to the right in the background, past the isolated Wood Walton church. One of Cambridge depot's twin car sets, 54396 & 51221 rattles along the up relief line with the 12:05 Peterborough to Hitchin 'all stations' service, which in true heritage DMU tradition is showing the wrong destination, in this case Peterborough from where it has just come. This particular unit would become a lot more familiar to me a few years later, as it was transferred to the Western Region, becoming set L207. The bridge in the background is in fact an aqueduct, carrying a small stream across the line.

L207 (51221 & 54396) passes Oxford North Junction on 20 July 1990 with the 2C58 17:43 Oxford to Bicester Town Network SouthEast service. It is just starting to weave across from the down main line, in order to gain the branch, with the front bogie of 51221 actually on the point.

Network SouthEast liveried L700 (53296, 59128 & 53207) arrives at Waterbeach with the 08:27 Kings Lynn to Cambridge service on 14 September 1991. Waterbeach station has staggered platforms either side of the level crossing. This unit was withdrawn a few months later and quickly scrapped with the set number being reused.

I only managed to get a few pictures of refurbished first generation DMUs in their short lived white with blue stripe livery. Any livery with large areas of white is hardly a practical proposition on railway vehicles, and this livery was soon abandoned in favour of the standard blue and grey coach scheme. In gloomy weather conditions, Class 101 Metro Cammell unit B800 (51515, 59549 & 51445) stands at a deserted Kemble station on 26 August 1979 with the 17:05 Swindon to Cheltenham service.

C803 (51450 & 51522) passes Bayston Hill on 3 July 1985 with the 05:40 Swansea to Shrewsbury service, nearing the end of its mammoth 3½ hour journey via the Central Wales Line. Already having lost its centre coach (59546), C803 was to survive for another four years before making way for the new generation of Sprinter units.

Just ahead of an approaching storm, C811 (51801 & 51519) approaches Purton (between Kemble and Swindon) with the 10:30 Cheltenham to Swindon service on 20 July 1985. This unit was withdrawn in 1989 and cut up at Mayer Newman at Snailwell the following year. In common with a lot of Western Region units it had already lost its intermediate trailer (59548) by the mid 1980s.

B812 (51462, 59530 & 51530) passes Stoke Orchard with the 14:57 Worcester Shrub Hill to Gloucester service on 13 March 1982. Note the plated over square section under the centre windscreen - the site of the former two character route indicator panel. On this unit the destination blind is missing, revealing the three bulbs used for illumination! This location is now spoiled by ubiquitous palisade fencing, which together with much lineside vegetation makes this view impossible now. In the 1980s a young couple could take their son to the lineside to watch the trains go by, with just a simple concrete post and wire fence between them and the line.

C812 (51462, 59530 & 51530) is clearly not going to Chepstow, as it leaves Kemble station on 15 December 1984. It is in fact working the 11:52 Cheltenham to Swindon service. The fine Great Western Railway station survives, but all three vehicles of this DMU have now been recycled into who knows what!

How would you fancy a 128 mile trip in a Class 101 DMU? However, despite Crewe being displayed in the destination blind, this is in fact the 15:40 Cardiff Central to Shrewsbury service, a mere 95 miles of rattling and vibration! Western Region sets C814 (53335, 59123, 53319) & C806 (51808, 51799) pass Ponthir on 4 September 1986. This was before the modern housing development encroached on the scene, although even here the JCB on the left looks ominous.

C820 (51512, 59093 & 51500) takes the 'Golden Valley' route at Standish Junction on 11 October 1986 whilst working the 09:27 Cheltenham to Swindon service. Yet again the driver has forgotten to change the destination blind. I wonder if it says 'Swindon' on the other end?

C820 (51512, 59093 & 51500) takes the Westbury line at Fairwood Junction on 20 April 1988 with the 2V59 08:58 Weymouth to Swindon, a nearly three hour journey of rattling and vibration, calling at all stations! Perhaps that is why on close inspection of the original slide, it appears to be virtually empty.

The Cambrian Heritage Railways resident DMU (51512 & 51187) waits at Penygarreg Halt prior to heading back to the line's headquarters at Llynclys on 4 June 2012. Although in working order, 51512 is in severe need of a repaint, especially the roof! In a former life it formed part of the Western Region set C820. Penygarreg Halt opened in 2011 and is situated to the north of the former Cambrian Railways station at Pant.

C821 (51513, 59050, & 51509) arrives at Stonehouse with the 09:30 Cheltenham to Swindon service on 29 October 1983, not that you would know it as the destination blind is missing, revealing three bulbs! This is the former Great Western station at Stonehouse on the Golden Valley line. Originally there was another station on the former LMS line to Gloucester. All three vehicles of set 821 have now been scrapped, 51513 & 59050 at Mayer Newman, Snailwell, and 51509 at Sims Metals, Cardiff.

C821 (51513, 59050, & 51509) rattles away from Cheltenham station (just beyond the bridge in the background) with the 10:30 Cheltenham to Swindon service on 21 August 1985. In common with a number of Western Region Class 101 units, C821 received red buffers beams towards the end of its life. It didn't help though, Sprinterisation was just around the corner!

822 (51495, 59096, & 51510) passes Little Haresfield (near Gloucester) with the 10:30 Cheltenham to Swindon service on 24 April 1986. The blotchy yellow on the front end is not the fault of the early Fujichrome slide (sometimes noted for bizarre colour), but is the result of some inexpert touching up of the paintwork. 822 was split up in 1988 and withdrawn shortly afterwards. 51495 and 59096 were cut up at Mayer Newman, Snailwell, and 51510 ended its days at Vic Berry's, Leicester.

A historic 1980s view of Kingham station, from a viewpoint that is no longer possible due to the rapid growth of those innocuous looking ash tree 'bushes' in the foreground. Also, trees on the other platform now virtually screen off the old Banbury and Cheltenham line platforms, that can clearly be seen here. C823 (51505, 59082 & 51511) calls with the late running 2A81 16:00 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford on 16 October 1983. Class 101s were far less common on the Cotswold Line than Class 117s & 119s, although this particular unit did put in numerous appearances.

Making a change from the more usual Class 117 unit, C823 (51505, 59082 & 51511) passes a rampant lineside buddleia bush and arrives at Charlbury station on 10 August 1987 with the 2A79 07:45 Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford service. Unit, buddleia and foreground grass have all yielded to progress. The 101 has long since been replaced by Class 165 & 166 Turbo units, while the vegetation succumbed to platform and car park lengthening.

L835 (51498, 59530 & 51432) stands at Oxford station's platform 1 on 21 October 1988, after having just arrived with the 2C45 14:45 Banbury to Oxford Network SouthEast service. This view clearly shows the result of the half hearted attempt to modernise the station in the early 1970s. The new canopy above the DMU backed onto a very poor prefabricated structure that was hardly any better than the wooden building it replaced. As you can see, this modernisation only extended half way down the platform, so that after a bizarre gap, a section of the original GWR canopy can be seen in the background.

With the spire of St Paul's church dominating the background, L840 (53322, 59117 & 53311) pulls away from Wokingham station on 17 July 1993 with the 18:50 Reading to Gatwick Network SouthEast service. Unfortunately I have few pictures taken on this route, which has had an interesting variety of traction over the years, starting with the Class 206 'Tadpole' DEMUs, which took over from steam in 1965. Class 119s replaced the thumpers in 1980 and were gradually replaced by Class 101s during the late 1980s. Heritage traction finally gave way to Class 165 'Turbos' shortly after this picture was taken.

Network SouthEast liveried L841 (53332 & 53312) is a long way from its former home as it passes the site of Agecroft Junction (near Salford) with the 07:31 Buxton to Soutport service on 10 June 1994 in the company of a more appropriately liveried Regional Railways Class 101 unit. L841 had been ousted from its Thames Valley workings by the introduction of Class 165 Turbo units a couple of years previously. In the mass shuffling of heritage units in the mid 1990s the repainting into new colour schemes took a low priority on what was considered to be stop gap traction.

P872 (53247 & 53646) rattles past Aller with the 12:45 Exmouth to Paignton service on 7 December 1988. An interesting route for a local service, from one seaside resort to a another, requiring a reversal at Exeter St Davids. Laira's P872 was one of the many 'lash up' DMU sets formed in the late 1980s, in this case made up of two entirely different classes. While the lead vehicle here (53247) is a Metro Cammel Class 101, the second vehicle is a BR Class 108! In this form P872 had a comparatively short life, with 53247 being withdrawn in late 1990 and cut up at Meyer Newman at Snailwell, while 53646 soldiered on for a couple more years until eventually being scrapped at Gwent Demolition in May 1992.

P874 (53330 & 53315) arrives at Lapford on 1 August 1990 with the 12:57 Exeter St Davids to Barnstaple service. The line on the right is the former passing loop, used latterly to service the UKF fertiliser depot, which ceased using rail around the time this picture was taken (the track certainly looks like nothing has ventured along it for some time).

With the 1883 built Stracey Arms Drainage Mill prominent in the background, 101653 (51426 & 54358) crosses the flat expanse of Halvergate Marshes with the 15:20 Great Yarmouth to Norwich Regional Railways service on 29 August 1992. 101653 managed to survive into the 21st Century, one of the few 'heritage' units (as they had by then become known!) to do so. At the time this picture was taken the unit was allocated to Cambridge depot, but like the other survivors of the class it migrated to the north west for its final years in traffic.

101656 (54056 & 51230) approaches Mobberley on 20 July 1996 with the 08:23 Chester to Manchester Piccadilly Regional Railways service. 101656 managed to hang into the new Millennium, being withdrawn in November 2001. Strangely, after having run around together for a number of years these two vehicles were sent their separated was for disposal. 54056 being cut up in Rotherham, and 51230 meeting its end in Caerwent.

The Metro Cammell Class 101s worked their final services on the national network around the Manchester area, with the last units being withdrawn in 2003. Two of the last surviving twin car sets, 101678 & 101662 are seen here a few years earlier at Lostock Gralam. They are working the 08:23 Chester to Manchester Piccadilly on 4 April 1998.

101678 approaches Great Crakehall on the Wensleydale Railway with the 13:30 Leyburn to Leeming Bar service on 14 May 2005. As can be seen from the different bodyside profile and door configuration, the centre vehicle is in fact a Class 117 vehicle (59509). 51210 is leading, with 53746 at the rear. This unit has subsequently been repainted into the railway's own colour scheme.

101678 (53746 & 51210, running with former Class 117 centre car 59509) emerges from the woods at Great Crakehall on the Wensleydale Railway with the 14:30 Leeming Bar to Redmire service on 14 May 2005. 101678 was one of the final 'heritage' DMU on the national network, finally being withdrawn in December 2003. It has since been repainted into a non authentic dark blue and cream Wensleydale Railway colour scheme, but is seen here in a rather faded Provincial Railways livery.

101682 and two unidentified classmates catch the very last rays of the setting sun as they pass Farington Junction with the 18:27 Blackpool North to Buxton North West Regional Railways service, even though it says Manchester in the destination blind. The date is 14 September 1996, and although the rest of the country was busily ridding itself of first generation DMUs at this time, the 101s would be rattling around on local services in the area for a further seven years.

Longsight allocated 101685 was repainted into original green livery in the 1990s (albeit with a yellow warning panel) and thereafter was a frequent visitor to the picturesque Blaenau Ffestiniog line. It is seen here approaching Dolwyddelan on 27 August 1994 with the 12:05 Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno Regional Railways service. Already 38 years old when this picture was taken, the unit would amazingly remain in traffic for almost another decade. Note that the driver has forgotten to alter the destination blind!

The weak early morning sun only just starts to burn through the mist as Tyseley set TS403 (50336, 59114 & 50303) approaches Wolvercote Junction on 27 March 1982 with the late running 07:15 Oxford to Great Malvern service. It had just worked in with the 05:15 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford train, arriving 20 minutes late, which presumably explains why a Midland 101 set is being used instead of the customary Western Class 117 or 119. Obviously a last minute replacement for a non available unit. Both these services were the first trains in their respective directions over the Cotswold Line at the time. 50336 was renumbered 53336 before eventually being withdrawn in May 1989, and almost immediately being cut up at Vic Berry's, Leicester.

Tyseley set TS403 (53303, 59114 & 53336) approaches Bearley on 14 August 1983 with the 10:15 Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon service, even if Walsall is creeping into the destination blind window! These trains ran non-stop on a Sunday, depriving the diminutive station at Bearley of a service. The Stratford-upon-Avon to Henley-in-Arden road passes under the bridge by the rear of the unit. In addition to being the opposite way round from when I photographed this unit the previous year at Wolvercote Junction, it has also had the two driving cars remembered, 50303 to 53303 and 50336 to 53336.

51188 seems to have received some strange front end damage (it looks rather like a shotgun was involved!). It is seen here leading the 11:04 Hunt's Cross to Manchester Oxford Road service past Glazebrook on 2 September 1987. Not much accuracy with the destination blind, as it is mis-wound halfway between Manchester Victoria and Llandudno Junction!

Norwich Crown Point's set 59 (51442 & 54073) approaches Whittlesea station with the 13:50 Cambridge to Peterborough service on 20 May 1991. By this date the majority of passenger trains in East Anglia were operated by Sprinters, with only purely local stopping services such as this continuing to use heritage traction. The signal box in the background has subsequently been repainted into a rather odd mustard and green colour scheme.

Norwich Crown Point depot's set 100 (53181, 59095 & 51508) passes Black Bank (between Ely and March) on 20 May 1991 with the 16:20 Ipswich to Peterborough service. Note the aerial on the front, which indicates that this unit can be used on the East Suffolk line, which is equipped with RETB signaling.

54340 leads a lengthy DMU formation at speed (well, 75mph!) past the Great Northern Railway somersault signal (long since removed) at Havenhouse on 14 June 1986. It is working the 12:40 Skegness to Derby Saturdays only service, which was a real express service, stopping only at Boston and Nottingham. 54340 was withdrawn in April 1991 and cut up almost immediately.