L420 (51358, 59510 & 51400) is most unusually paired with a London Midland Region Class 116 unit (sadly unidentified) as it pulls away from Shipton station with the 06:24 Great Malvern to Oxford service on 5 May 1984. This was one of only two up trains to call at Shipton at the time and being a purely local all stations service often didn't even utilise a standard 3 car DMU, as most other service on the Cotswold Line did at the time. A Class 121 single car, sometimes with a trailer added was quite common, so this is definitely out of the ordinary! This view (now completely obscured by trees) gives a clear view of FWP Matthews flour mill, which is still a flourishing business.

What's all this then, a Thames Valley Class 117 at Stenson Junction in Derbyshire! L420 (51400, 59510 & 51358) is well off the beaten track as it heads north on 16 October 1986 with an Old Oak Common to Derby Litchurch Lane ECS move in connection with its repainting into Network SouthEast livery. This is therefore probably one of the very last pictures taken of this unit in its blue and grey livery, which it had worn since the late 1970s. Derby obviously did a swift job, as less than two months later it was spotted back on its old stomping ground, in its new colour scheme.

In ex-works condition, L420 (51400, 59510 & 51400) approaches Didcot North Junction on 9 December 1986 with the 11:21 Oxford to Didcot service. It had only just emerged from repainting at Derby Litchurch Lane, which it had entered on 16 October 1986. New paint job, but the same old careless use of the destination blinds, with Oxford still displayed from the previous journey.

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.

C422 (51360, 59512 & 51402) passes Bruern on 2 July 1987 with the 2A79 07:45 Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford 'all stations' service. As can be seen from the crudely altered set number prefix letter, the unit has just been reallocated from its long term duties in the Thames Valley and has at least in theory migrated to Wales. L of course being the prefix for London sets (actually allocated to Reading) and C being the Cardiff allocation. This was only a very temporary measure, as very soon after this picture was taken the unit moved away from the former Western Region entirely, and spent the rest of its working life at Tyseley.

Just after a heavy rain shower on 28 May 1983, L423 (51361, 59513 & 51399) & L407 (51384, 59494 & 51342) pass Ruscombe with the 11:01 Paddington to Oxford 'all stations' service. At nearly two hours this train took nearly twice as long as the loco hauled direct services also running at the time! Different fates awaited these two units, with L423 being cut up at Mc Metals, Glasgow, whilst L407 survived into preservation.

L423 (51361, 59513 & 51399) was easily recognisable from a distance in the mid 1980s by virtue of the plated over headcode box on the front of DMBS 51361. The unit is seen here passing Appleford Crossing Signal Box (since demolished), and still accelerating away from the Appleford station stop with the 09:24 Oxford to Paddington 'all stations' service on 12 September 1985.

L423 (51361, 59513 & 51399) passes Wolvercote on 10 July 1987 with the 2M60 17:50 Oxford to Banbury 'all stations' service. Unfortunately this viewpoint long ago succumbed to lineside tree growth, and although the view in the other direction is still OK, this is now hopeless.

L424 (51362, 59514 & 51404) approaches the site of Adlestrop station with the 2B60 16:35 Reading to Moreton-in-Marsh service on 21 July 1984. This was the only train of the day in this direction to call at all of the local stations. During the 1980s there seemed to be a very casual attitude to the destination blinds on Cotswold Line DMUs. This one is quite clearly wrong, as the train has already passed through Oxford! The nineteenth century Daylesford church can be seen in the background.

L424 (51404, 59514 & 51362) passes Woodley (near Reading) on Sunday 14 June 1987 with the 2A35 08:45 Didcot to Paddington service, which according to the destination blind is terminating at Maidenhead, presumably due to engineering work further east. Note that on a Class 117 unit the first class accommodation is in the centre of the train (half of the centre coach), whereas their replacements have the small first class sections directly behind the driver at one end (Class 165) or both ends (Class 166) of the train.

Whiteout conditions at Kingham on 19 January 1985. B425 (51363, 59515 & 51405) arrives with the 09:07 Didcot to Hereford service. The fog is limiting visibility to less than 100 yards and with packed snow underfoot and the temperature well below freezing the photographic conditions are certainly not ideal! Note the newly erected HST stop board just under the bridge, a consequence of these trains (which had just been introduced to the route) being too long for the platforms.

With the village of Stonesfield as a backdrop, L425 (51363, 59515 & 51405) heads north with 09:23 Oxford to Hereford service on 25 January 1986. The village of Stonesfield was once a centre for the production of stone roof tiles, which split naturally by the action of frost. The last slate mine closed in early years of the twentieth century.

L425 (51405, 59515 & 51363) passes Hinksey Yard on 17 August 1988 with the 2C45 14:30 Oxford to Reading Network SouthEast service. Two years into NSE's rebranding of Thames Valley services, and the only visible change here is a little three colour sticker on the front of the unit! L425 did however acquire the new 'toothpaste' livery the following year.

The last of the afternoon's sun highlights the autumnal colours at Hinksey Yard on 24 October 1989 as L425 (51363, 59515 & 51405) completes the last mile of its journey with the 16:10 Reading to Oxford Network SouthEast service. Always a good location for late afternoon photography due to the open nature of the location, it was even better in 1989 than now owing to the fact that at the time there was virtually nothing stored in the yard that would cause a shadow.

L721 (51405 & 51363) passes Kempston on 12 October 1998 with the late running 07:50 Bletchley to Bedford service. Happily this unit lives on in preservation and can be seen at the Mid Hants Railway. With the addition of centre car 59515, this was originally Reading allocated set L425.

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.

On 2 January 2010, 51405 & 51363 amble past Soldridge on the Mid Hants Railway with the 10:50 Alton to Alresford service. Along with centre car 51915 this used to form Western Region set L425. This view would not have been possible originally, as one of the typical Southern Railway concrete permanent way huts can bee seen in the foreground, although completely collapsed, with just the roof resting on the ground. Railway photographers have a reputation for lineside clearance, but a reinforced concrete hut is surely beyond the capabilities of even the most determined!

51363 & 51405 pass Gundleton on the Mid Hants Railway with the 11:43 Alresford to Alton service on 2 January 2010. The first couple of days of the new year were completely sunny, although where the sun didn't reach (as in the shade of the hedge here) it remained frosty all day. 51363 is carrying the mid 1960s livery with small yellow warning panel, which superceded the original front end whisker design. Unlike 51405, it carries neither British Railways logo nor running number (at least on this side).

51405 & 51363 emerge from the shadows at Chawton on 2 January with the 12:50 Alton to Alresford service. At this point the Mid Hants Railway runs very close to Jane Austen's house, where the novelist lived between 1809 and 1817. The only thing that spoils the mid 1960s atmosphere of this picture is the centrally placed headlight on the front end of the unit, a fitting from its Network SouthEast days when it used to work between Paddington and Oxford.

Newly arrived on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, former Western Region set L425 (51405, 59515 & 51363) poses underneath Toddington station's footbridge on 28 January 2012 during an EMRPS photo charter. Although based for a long time in the London area, it is possible that this unit worked on this line during BR days.

A slightly different angle on 51405 during the EMRPS photo charter at Toddington on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway on 28 January 2012. Neatly framed not only by the footbridge, but also by the trees and the vintage lamp, this makes an interesting picture, which also shows off the unit's interior. Luckily this was an absolutely still night, as can be seen from the pin sharp leaves, which haven't moved at all during the fifteen second exposure. 51405 forms part of the former L425 set, along with 59515 & 51363.

22:15 at Toddington station on 28 January 2012. 51363, 59515 & 51405 (the former Western Region set L425) makes a splendid picture as it stands at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's immaculately restored station during an EMRPS photo charter. The bridge that carries the Toddington to Stow-on-the-Wold road over the railway can just be seen in the background.

Unusually, Sapperton Tunnel has short open section part the way along its length. This is conveniently situated near a main road, and in the early 1980s 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. As can be seen here, the vegetation was luxuriant even then and got worse, to the point where photography was impossible. Happily clearance work has now completely removed everything.

B426 (51364, 59516 & 51406) slows down on the approach to Clink Road Junction on 11 May 1985 with the 2O58 13:10 Westbury to Weymouth service. It is about to take the Frome line, which diverges to the right just past the bridge I am standing on. Rather than displaying the wrong destination, as was often the case with these heritage units, the driver is taking no chances here, and is not showing anything at all!

Former Tyseley set T304 (51365 & 51407) was back on the Western Region in 1993 working the Cornish branches in place of the disgraced Class 142 Pacers (branded Skippers in Cornwall). On 31 May 1993 it arrives at Sandplace in the rain with the 15:10 Looe to Liskeard Regional Railways service. This unit had started life as a 3 car set with centre trailer 59517, working local services out of Paddington, and eventually acquiring the set number L427, which changed to B427 when it moved to the Bristol area in 1984. Along with a number of the Bristol allocated sets it moved to Tyseley in 1987. This unit was withdrawn with minor accident damage in late 1993, but is happily now preserved not from this spot, at the Plym Valley Railway.

With the Cotswold Hills in the background, two thirds of the former Western Region set B427 (51407 & 51365) passes Stanton with the 10:30 Toddington to Laverton service, on the second weekend of operations over the new extension (9 April 2011). The unit is on loan from the Plym Valley Railway for the 2011 season, as the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is effectively split into two by a landslip near Winchcombe. While a steam service operates from Winchcombe to Cheltenham. This DMU shuttle operates over the new extension.

51365 & 51407 (the former B427 set) head back to Toddington past Stanton on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway with the 10:30 Toddington to Laverton round trip on 9 April 2011. The train has just reversed at the present limit of the line, a little way past the Stanton Fields Bridge, seen in the background here. This unit is on loan from the Plym Valley Railway to work services over this newly opened extension. This unit's original centre car (59517) is now on the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway.

51365 & 51407 (formerly Western Region set B427) passes under the B4632 Toddington to Broadway road near Station on 9 April 2011 with the 11:30 Toddington to Laverton round trip, returning to Toddington. This is on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's newly opened northern extension. Note the continuously welded rail. Set B427 left the Western Region in 1989 and became Tyseley set T304, before returning to the West Country at the very end of its main line career. It is preserved at the Plym Valley Railway, who have kindly loaned it to the GWR to operate their northern extension, while steam trains work between Winchcombe and Cheltenham, a landslip near Winchcombe having prevented through running between Toddington and winchcombe.

A perfect spring day at Stanton on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's recently opened northern extension, as 51365 & 51407 rattle their way back to Toddington with the returning 12:30 Toddington to Laverton round trip. The date is 9 April 2011, the second weekend of operations over the new line. The unit is on loan from the Plym Valley Railway.

B428 (51408, 59518 & 51366) passes Whitehill (between Combe and Finstock) on 22 August 1985 with the 14:28 Oxford to Great Malvern service. Unfortunately this remote location has become progressively more grown up, but in the mid 1980s a clear view was possible all the way to the village of Combe, which cam just be seen on the horizon in the centre of the picture.

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.

L428 (51366, 59518, 51408) passes Hallen Marsh Junction on 15 August 1987 with the 18:37 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads service. Of course this is nowhere near the area covered by Network SouthEast at the time, and so this livery is totally out of place here. However, careful inspection of the original 6x7 transparency reveals the L in the set number is painted over the top of a B, indicating a former Bristol allocation. Therefore in its days as a blue and grey unit, it may well have passed this way before. A three car unit is not often justified on this line and indeed the more usual Class 121 single unit was also running on this day. Unfortunately the mass of semaphore signals at this location has long since been removed.

L428 (51366, ????? & 51408) approaches Wolvercote Junction on 11 July 1990 with the 2C60 17:05 Paddington to Banbury Network SouthEast service. Obviously there is a problem with L428's centre vehicle (59518), as it has clearly been replaced by a Class 119 trailer. A fairly common practice (although less so on the Western Region), this shows the versatility of first generation DMUs.

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.

L429 (51367, 59519 & 51409) passes Aynho on 15 September 1990 with the 2C23 09:15 Banbury to Reading 'all stations' Network SouthEast service. On the left is the former Aynho station building, while in the background the bridge carrying the Chiltern line over the Banbury route can be seen. A pair of upper quadrant semaphore signals complete the scene.

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 2A79 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.

Now this is what you call a real multiple unit train! In dismal weather T305 (51410, 59520 & 51368) heads an impressive nine coach formation past Moira West Junction with a Derby to Coalville shuttle on 5 June 1988 during the Coalville Open Day. This was my first picture of the erstwhile B430 set after its transfer off the Western Region to Tyseley. You can just make out a darker shade of yellow where the front end has been patch painted and the set number T305 applied.

117305 (51410, 59520 & 51368) passes Portway on 5 June 1993 with the 15:56 Nottingham to Birmingham New Street service. This was formerly Bristol allocated set B430 and was repainted into this attractive chocolate and cream livery to mark the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway in 1985. Its unique livery didn't help it once it was withdrawn a few years after this picture was taken, with both power cars going for scrap and only the centre trailer finding its way into preservation.

B431 (51369, 59521 & 51411) passes Little Haresfield on 16 April 1983 with the 12:45 Cheltenham to Swindon service. What is particularly interesting about this picture is the missed opportunity that it highlights. In the background can be seen a farm occupation bridge (incidentally of the same cast iron design as the one from which the picture is taken). Unfortunately this bridge was demolished shortly after this picture was taken and I never managed to investigate what would presumably have been an excellent photographic viewpoint in both directions. The bridge had certainly been removed by 1986 and even here it looks like there is fencing by the tree on the left blocking off access.

B431 (51411, 59521 & 5369) arrives at Honeybourne station under a threatening sky on 22 June 1985 with the 2A61 09:39 Hereford to Didcot service. In the 1980s the reopened Honeybourne station was on the south side of the line, with the disused up platforms slowly succumbing the weeds.

The last passenger climbs aboard as Ernie Akers, the Charlbury stationmaster watches from the shadows on 14 April 1984. B432 (51412, 59522 & 51370) prepares to leave Charlbury with the 2A77 06:24 Great Malvern to Oxford service. Plenty of details for the modeller here. Note the missing grab rail below the driver's window and the crudely touched up patches on the yellow front end. The glass in the headcode box could also do with some repairs.

Bristol disposed of its Class 117 units long before they disappeared from the Thames Valley area. They mostly went to Tyseley, and here we see T307 (51412, 59522 & 51370), which in its former existence was set B432. It is just about to pass under the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal aqueduct at Bearley with the 14:22 Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham New Street service on 16 April 1990.

B433 (51413, 59509 & 51371) approaches Finstock station with the 15:40 Great Malvern to Oxford service on 22 August 1985. Although I have a large collection of Class 117 pictures, this particular unit seems to have evaded me, and this is one of just a handful of pictures I have of it. This picture is taken from the remains of the former down platform, disused since the line was singled in 1971. Notice how the up platform appears to be too far away from the track. When the line was relayed shortly before this picture was taken, the line was slewed towards the middle of the formation, and a temporary platform extension was added to the up platform. Subsequently a new platform was constructed on the down side. Presumably this is why the scheduled re-doubling of the line is not going to reach this far, as the station would have to be rebuilt yet again with two platforms and the level of traffic certainly doesn't warrant that!

B434 (51372, 59490 & 51414) takes the 'Golden Valley' route at Standish Junction on 11 October 1986 with the 10:34 Cheltenham to Swindon service. Its hard to believe now that this was once a completely open location, with just a few small lineside bushes to create shadows!

Tyseley set T309 (formerly B434, comprising 51372, 59479 & 51414) passes Wetmore Sidings on 11 August 1990 in company with one of Tyseley's Class 116 four car sets, as it heads for the seaside with the 08:48 Tamworth to Skegness service. Well over three hours of rattling and shaking probably meant that the holidaymakers were looking forward to some sea air when they arrived. Lets hope the return trip didn't have an effect on all those fish and chip lunches! 08829 can be seen in the background, engaged in a spot of MGR wagon shunting.

After transfer away from the Western Region, the former Bristol set B434 (51372, 59479 & 51414) became Tyseley set T309. In this guise it is pictured approaching Albrighton with the 13:51 Chester to Wolverhampton service on 4 September 1991. The leading DMBS vehicle has survived into preservation but the centre trailer (a Class 118 vehicle) and the DMS coach at the rear have both been scrapped.

The sun struggles to make an appearance as B438 (51382, 59492 & 51339) accelerates away from Shipton station after calling briefly with the 10:55 Worcester Foregate Street to Oxford service on 29 December 1984. In the 1980s this was an excellent photographic location, but unfortunately tree growth has made this view impossible today.

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.

L450 (51394, 59547 & 51352) was immediately recognisable from the rest of its classmates by the fact that its centre trailer was a Class 101 vehicle. The clean roofline without any ventilators can clearly be seen in this view as it passes a very misty Daylesford with the 11:00 Oxford to Worcester Shrub Hill service on 19 February 1983. Although I took a few pictures from this spot in the 1980s, looking at this wonderfully open location with various vantage points along the trackside I regret not using the location more before it became hopelessly overgrown.

One of my photographic regrets is not having made more of an effort to photograph the former Western Region Class 117 units after they had moved away from their former home region. In the case of the ones that went to Scotland, that was partly excusable by the distance involved! Unfortunately therefore this is the only picture that I have of a ScotRail operated 117. On 27 April 1998, 117311 (51352, 59500 & 51376) approaches Greenhill Lower Junction with an empty stock working. The lead vehicle (51352) is a replacement for the then recently withdrawn 51334, hence the hastily painted last figure of the set number. The original 117311 was the former WR set B436, with the new DMBS coming from former set B450.