The doyen of Class 117 Pressed Steel units, L400 (51332, 59484 & 51374) passes Evenlode with the 16:33 Reading to Moreton-in-Marsh service on 25 April 1984. This and a similar service in the morning was the only train to call at the smaller Cotswold Line stations: Combe, Finstock, Ascott-under-Wychwood & Shipton. Note that there is slight inattention to detail here, as the destination blind displays Oxford, through which the unit had already passed nearly an hour previously!

Despite this being a picture of a humble DMU, this is one of my favourite Cotswold Line pictures. From a vantage point seldom used by other photographers, and with an uninterrupted view of Charlbury station in the background, L400 (51332, 59484 & 51374) pulls slowly away from the station with the 07:45 Moreton-in-Marsh to Reading (or Reading General according to the 1960s destination blind) service on 16 May 1986. This was one of two early morning up local services calling at all stations.

Islip station, on the Bicester to Oxford line was reopened by Network SouthEast on 13 May 1989. L400 (51374, 59484 & 51332) & Class 101 L207 (51221 & 54396) are pictured departing from the station with the first up service - the 12:27 Bicester Town to Oxford. The station has probably never been as busy since, with numerous local people gathering on the platform to witness the event, which included several stalls and a group of Morris dancers! The station was originally opened by the LNWR, but closed on 30 December 1967, when all passenger trains on the route were withdrawn. Network SouthEast had reinstated the Oxford to Bicester service in 1987, but Islip had to wait a further two years before their station was reopened.

Oxford is justifiably world renowned for its fine architecture, but until the 1990s rail travelers from London were greeted with this as their first view of the city as their train arrived at Oxford station. A Hillman Avenger, Morris Marina, Mini and other 1970s cars meet their end in the scrapyard on the site of the old good yard, as L401 (51333, 59485, & 51375) leaves the station with the 11:00 Oxford to Didcot Network SouthEast service on 20 August 1989. The cars at this location nowadays are hopefully in better condition, as it is now the station car park.

L405 (51381, 59491 & 51340) passes Handborough station, on the Cotswold line on 30 August 1987. These units were a regular sight on local trains on the line at this time, but here it is strangely working one of the few normally loco-hauled trains - the 16:10 Paddington to Hereford service. Note that the disused down platform makes an excellent vantage point for photography. This view would now be dominated by the Oxford Bus Museum which took over the former yard area, behind the train.

The former Western Region set L411, minus the centre trailer composite coach is seen here in use on the North Norfolk Railway on 2 May 1998 with DMS 51388 leading and DMBS 51346 at the rear. It is passing Sheringham Golf Course with the 16:00 Sheringham to Holt service. Subsequently the unit moved to the Swanage Railway. It is pictured here repainted into late 1960s condition with a small yellow warning panel replacing the original 'speed whiskers' and the roof all over black instead of the original white ends.

L418 (51355, 59507, & 51397) prepares to stop at Radley station with the 13:15 Banbury to Reading Network SouthEast service on 11 December 1991. At this time the station still retained its original GWR footbridge, although minus its canopy. In December 2007 a new footbridge was installed in a slightly different position, after an intervening period when an ugly temporary footbridge was in use

Neatly framed by the road overbridge at the south end of Culham station, L421 (51359, 59511, & 51401) calls at the station with the 09:42 Oxford to Reading 'all stations' service on 12 May 1987. This picture is taken from the A415 road which is well known for the good vantage point for northbound trains, but also provides this close up view of the old bridge. Hangars from the old Culham Airfield can just be seen in the background. This whole site was taken over by the UK Atomic Energy Authority in 1960.

Somebody obviously appreciates Class 117 traction! Two thirds of former set L425 (51405 and trailer 51915) leads Class 122 55003 on the 12:50 Alton to Alresford service, seen passing Soldridge on the Mid Hants Railway on 9 February 2008. 51405 looks splendid after a recent repaint, but at the moment does not carry any numbers (at least on this side). The DMBS vehicle from former set L425 (51363) is also preserved on the Mid Hants Railway.

Unusually, Sapperton Tunnel has short open section part the way along its length. This is conveniently situated near a main road, and until the rampant vegetation growth of recent years it was possible take a picture as a train emerged from the long (1864 yards) tunnel, and just before it disappeared into the short (352 yard) tunnel. On 4 September 1983 B426 (51406, 59516 & out of sight in the tunnel, 51364) emerges briefly into the light with the 16:30 Cheltenham to Swindon service.

L428 (51366, 59518, 51408) accelerates away from Ascott-under-Wychwood with the 07:45 Moreton-in-Marsh to Reading service on 18 June 1986. This was one of two early morning up services that called at Ascott, along with the other local stations on the line at that time, although strangely there was only one corresponding down evening service. The unit has just started on the 14 mile single track section to Wolvercote Junction, the double track ending the other side of the level crossing seen in the background. The coal yard is obviously still thriving, but the siding that served it had just been removed.

Catching the last rays of the setting sun, B429 (51409, 59519 & 51367) approaches Collins Lane Level Crossing near Purton with the 16:42 Swindon to Cheltenham service on 21 October 1983. The telegraph poles indicate that well into the 1980s some evidence of the steam age infrastructure still survived on secondary lines.

Before its days as a celebrity GWR 150 chocolate & cream repaint, B430 (51410, 59520 & 51368) passes under the roadbridge at Croome on 14 May 1984 with the 14:05 Worcester Shrub Hill to Cheltenham service. Many thousands of photos have been taken from the roadside by this bridge of trains coming under the occupation bridge visible in the background, but this is a slightly different viewpoint, which works especially well with a short train such as this.

In 1985 Bristol based set B430 (51410, 59520 & 51368) was repainted into Great Western chocolate & cream livery as part of the GW150 celebrations. It is certainly pictured at an appropriate location here, as it leaves Moreton-in-Marsh with the 07:45 Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford service on 3 July 1987. This station retains much of its GWR character, with original station building and semaphore signalling. This train was the second of the two daily up local services, calling at all stations between Moreton and Oxford.

B438 (51339, 59492 & 51382) passes Chilson on the long section of single track between Ascott-under-Wychwood and Wolvercote Junction with the 09:32 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford service on 16 June 1985. This was the first service over the Cotswold Line on a Sunday at the time.

In crisp early autumnal light, B439 (51390, 59500 & 51348) is pictured in the Oxfordshire countryside near Stonesfield on the Cotswold Line with the 11:20 Great Malvern to Oxford service on 17 September 1983. This unit had a relatively short life as B439, previously being allocated set number 453, and after only a few years as a three car unit the centre car was removed, before it became one of the first 117 units to migrate away from the Western Region, when it was allocated to Tyseley.