55020 (L120) arrives at Heyford station on 20 February 1982 with the 12:22 Oxford to Banbury local service. It is hauling one of the unpowered DTS vehicles that were built at the same time for use when a single unit was insufficient. Although 55020 is still in use (although not on this route), virtually everything else in this picture has changed. The substantial stone built station building was demolished a few years after this picture was taken and even the road bridge has now been completely rebuilt.

In 2003 Chiltern Railways refurbished 55020 (121020) and painted it into this smart blue livery with silver banding. The work also included the fitting of secondary door locking, which made it exempt from the mass withdrawal of Mk 1 stock at the end of 2005. This work was done to release a Class 165 for refurbishment. On 14 July 2003, it is pictured passing North Lee with the 18:55 Princes Risborough to Aylesbury service. The single car unit was ideally suited to this short distance shuttle service.

55020 (121020) passes milepost 45¾, as it heads through the trees near Little Kimble with the 09:17 Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Chiltern Railways service on 24 May 2010. Nearly fifty years old and still earning a living on the national network - not a bad record and something that a lot of modern units will probably never achieve. However, this vintage unit doesn't exactly have a demanding schedule, being confined to morning and evening peak trains on this quiet local line.

55020 (121020) approaches Little Kimble on 24 May 2010 with the 09:40 Aylesbury to Princes Risborough Chiltern Railways service. This picture was taken two days after the final slam door EMU trains ran on the national network, and proves there are still doors to be slammed! Just a couple of Pressed Steel 121s soldier on lightly loaded branch services. The unit is just crossing over a farm occupation underbridge, the wooden gateposts for which have provided a nest site for a pair of blue tits. Obviously the trains passing within a few feet of the nest did not worry them.

In order to move 55020 (121020) from its Aylesbury depot to the Severn Valley Railway for the following day's Diesel Railcar Reunion, the Chiltern Railways 'bubble car' worked north on 7 October 2010 as the 5M12 12:48 Aylesbury to Kidderminster ECS. Running exactly to time, and almost certainly traveling at its maximum speed of 70mph, 55020 is seen here passing the remains of Ardley Quarry Sidings. Virtually everywhere on the southern part of its route would have been heavily backlit, but this spot is about as good as it gets, plus the inclusion of the rusting siding in the foreground and the M40 motorway in the background make the location a little less bland.

55020 (121020) looks a little lost in the landscape as it passes Fritwell on 11 October 2010 with the 5M21 10:08 Kidderminster to Aylesbury ECS. It is returning from the Severn Valley Railway, where it had taken part in the Diesel Railcar Reunion over the previous weekend. Although this is a Chiltern Railways unit on a Chiltern Railways operated line, this vintage vehicle would not normally be seen this far north, as it is primarily used for peak hour shuttle services between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough.

55021 (L121) heads past Hinksey Yard with the 13:40 Oxford to Didcot service on 22 October 1985. Surprisingly this short distance journey was a non-stop service, ignoring the intermediate stations of Radley, Culham & Appleford. The waste ground behind the corrugated iron fence is the site of Oxford gasworks, the lack of vegetation being the result of industrial contamination of the soil. The white lattice steel bridge visible directly above the DMU allowed the works railway lines to cross the River Thames. This view offers a panoramic view of Oxford, from the Ice Rink (the structure on the extreme left) to the Castle (centre) and the nearby spire of Nuffield College.

Trains approaching Oxford station from the south are not easily photographed from the Osney Lane footbridge. In 1990 is just was possible to take pictures of trains on the down main (it certainly isn't now!), but things were much better for anything using the bi-directional line from Hinksey. The number of trains doing this however was very limited, being restricted to local services that would immediately head back south again, thus being able to use platform 1. On 16 May 1990, 55021 (L121) & 55031 (L131) trundle along the vintage bullhead track with the late running 2C62 17:20 Reading to Oxford Network SouthEast 'all stations' service.

960014 (977873 or the former 55022) is pictured at Hatton North Junction with the 5T51 Bicester to Stourbridge Chiltern Railways route learner on 19 February 2008. The drivers under instruction can just be seen in the cab, highlighted by the low winter sun. In 2008 over half this class of 'bubble car' are in departmental service as route learners or sandite vehicles, albeit with a number of vehicle stored. They must therefore be considered as one of the most successful and useful of the first generation DMUs.

I don't normally take close up pictures of trains after taking the main picture, but this is such an interesting vehicle that I made an exception. Departmental 960014 (977873) passes Hatton North Junction with the 5T51 Bicester to Stourbridge Chiltern Railways route learner on 19 February 2008. The former 55022 is a real blast from the past with its faded blue and grey livery, even though in its later days in passenger service it was painted in Network SouthEast colours. The discrete Chiltern Railways logo and the radio pods on the cab roofs are the only give away that this is not a 1980s picture, and of course the two different departmental numbers carried on the front and the bodyside!

I had been meaning to photograph the 3S74 08:46 Aylesbury to Marylebone Rail Head Treatment Train for some weeks, so when a sunny day was forecast for Saturday 6 December 2008, an early morning trip was made to the Aylesbury area. As the sun would have only just risen when the train was due, it was a good job that I knew a spot that would be ideal, with nothing in the way to shade the train and the sun at the perfect angle. Of course this carefully laid plan was thwarted by a band of cloud that formed just where the sun was! 960014 (55022) & 960010 (55024) are pictured passing North Lee on time and in no light whatsoever! Much careful work in Photoshop has brought out the underframe detail and also retained the subtle tones in the sky. Without the use of layers this picture would either be excessively dark or have the all too common fault of railway pictures on websites - that of a completely blank sky.

In connection with Chiltern Railways taking over the Oxford to Bicester route from First Great Western in May 2011, 960014 (977873 or the former 55022) has been running crew training trips since the end of February. It is seen here heading north between Oxford and Banbury on 14 March 2011, passing the site of Bletchingdon station. A very tight location for a going away shot, but the other direction is much worse and impossibly backlit.

960014 (977873 or the former 55022) crosses the Oxford Canal near Upper Heyford on 23 March 2011 with an Oxford to Banbury crew training run in connection with Chiltern Railway's imminent take over of the Oxford to Bicester line. Not the most inspiring location and very backlit, but the bubble car just fits in the space available here!

960014 (977873 or the former 55022) ambles down the Bicester to Oxford line on 4 May 2011 with the 08:40 Aylesbury to Oxford Chiltern route learner. This daily diagram is in preparation for Chiltern's take over of the route from First Great at the end of May. The location is a public footpath crossing near Wendlebury.

55023 (L123) heads away from the camera at Aristotle Lane, Oxford with the 10:07 Didcot to Banbury local service on 11 February 1985. This unit can still be seen today, not too far from this location, as it preserved at the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway. Directly behind the unit are the Trap Grounds allotments, which have been threatened with housing development for many years, the fact that they are on the wrong side of the railway with only a footbridge crossing has always being a stumbling block, along with the allotment holder's fierce resistance. In the distance is the snow covered expanse of Port Meadow.

A pair of 'Bubbles' at Oxford North Junction on 13 May 1987. 55023 (L123) & 55027 (L127) near journey's end with the 2V70 07:54 Banbury to Oxford Network SouthEast service. A number of the dedicated DTS vehicles had been withdrawn by this time, so where a two car unit was required it was often two DMBS vehicles, as here, rather than the originally intended additional trailer. The units are crossing the well used footpath crossing into the Trap Ground allotments.

Smart looking 55023 (L123) & Class 117 L700 (51332 & 51374) pass Kempston on 2 November 1994 with the 08:40 Bedford to Bletchley service. 55023 had recently been repainted into original 1960s green, with extra embellishments that probably weren't commonplace in the 60s, such as white rimmed buffers.

55024 (L124) approaches Wolvercote Junction on 20 August 1987 with the 2M60 17:50 Oxford to Banbury service. In the mid 1980s a single car unit was quite sufficient for the local traffic on this route, but would certainly struggle today. 55024 has obviously not long returned to service after a repaint, with the exhaust stacks in particular being particularly pristine.

55024 (124) traverses the single track line from Bicester and approaches Oxford North Junction with the 07:59 Bicester Town to Oxford service on 25 June 1988. This was the first up train of the day on the line and at the time was a non-stop service as the intermediate station at Islip was still a year away from re-opening. The curve that 55024 has just traversed is product of the 1970s track rationalisation of the area. Originally this former LMS line carried straight on parallel with the former GWR lines towards Oxford.

The highlight of the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway's Diesel Gala on Sunday 17 October 1999 was the use of Railtrack Sandite unit 55024 (977858). It is seen here just having arrived on the line at Thame Junction, and accelerating away towards Chinnor. I chose a side view from the nearby field to show off the unique livery. Plenty of detail for modelers in this picture. Note that the condition of the roof hardly matches the immaculate condition of the rest of the vehicle!

55025 (L125) heads south from Shiplake, on the Henley-on-Thames branch with the 13:44 Henley to Twyford service on 5 March 1988. This is branch line operation in a barely updated form from GWR days, as the Class 121 'bubble cars' are a direct replacement for the Great Western's pioneering 1930s railcars. Unfortunately I took very few pictures of the branch before the arrival of the Turbo units in the early 1990s, but there was obviously so much happening on the railways in the 1980s that it had a low priority!

55025 (L125) sits in the bay at Salisbury station on a very wet 12 December 1993. The previous year it had been withdrawn from Network SouthEast passenger duties and transferred to the departmental sector, gaining the new number 977833 and the unofficial name Ben. It would later become even more colourful, being repainted into a strange lime green and blue livery and swapping the name Ben for Pandora! As 960011 it was fitted with large high power lights below the buffers for track video surveillance.

Hallen Marsh Junction, near Avonmouth is a location that has changed dramatically in the last few years. In 1987 the signal box controlled a forest of semaphore signals around the junction area, with well over a dozen signals in view here. Unfortunately all this steam age equipment has now been swept away. On 15 August 1987, 55026 (B126) passes the junction with the 17:36 Severn Beach to Bristol Temple Meads service. The lines leading off to the right went to Commonwealth Smelting and ISC Chemicals, while the lines branching off right in the background head towards Filton, and still see freight traffic today. Between the Filton line and the line to Severn Beach can be seen the rail served Chittening Estate.

55027 (L127) & 55029 (L129) approach Woburn Sands on 29 August 1998 with the 08:50 Bletchley to Bedford service. Two coaches was the order of the day at the time on this route, either a pair of 'bubble cars', as here, or a Class 117 unit, which after their move from Thames Valley services in the early 1990s, generally lost their centre trailers, becoming two car units. L702 (originally Western Region three car set L419) worked the following service on this occasion.

55029 (L129) calls at Woburn Sands station on 16 July 1994 with the 10:50 Bletchley to Bedford Network SouthEast service. Virtually everything here has changed. Although the station is still open, not only the 'bubble car', but also the quaint wooden station shelter and semaphore signals are no more. At this time NSE were tarting up their Class 121 units for use on what became known as the Marston Vale line, giving them red buffer beams and white cab roofs.

In 1994 the Network SouthEast liveried 55029 was smartened up with the addition of a white cab roof (which the class originally carried when they were in green livery), red buffer beams, and silver buffers and exhaust stacks. It is seen here leaving Ridgmont on 16 July 1994 with the 11:40 Bedford to Bletchley service. At the time the Bedford to Bletchley line was something of a time warp, not only with classic traction, but semaphore signalling and hand operated level crossing gates.

55029 (L129) arrives at Lidlington station on 16 July 1994 with the 12:50 Bletchley to Bedford service. I would not normally take going away pictures of DMUs, even if they do look the same from both ends, albeit with red tail lights to give the game away. However, not only would the foreground grass ruin a more conventional shot at this location, but also the photographic composition of a train on the far track is much better here. Note how quickly the signalman has returned the signal to danger.

55029 (L129) & 55027 (L127) pass Kempston in glorious evening light on 11 July 1996 with the 18:40 Bedford to Bletchley service. Although both units carry the later version of Network SouthEast livery, 55029 has been spruced up with a white roof, black window surrounds and a red buffer beam. Although an ideal photographic vantage point, this is not a very pleasant spot to wait for any length of time, as it is on the Bedford bypass, and the traffic is both heavy and constant.

55029 (121029) & 55027 (121027) approach Millbrook on 29 August 1998 with the 11:46 Bedford to Bletchley service. Just visible in the background are some of the numerous brickwork chimneys that once were such a feature of this route. After running for several years in a spruced up NSE livery, towards the end of its working life 55029 even acquired white rimmed buffers.

The well known Oxford railway photographic vantage point of Walton Well Road bridge is shown off to advantage in this picture of 55031 (L131). It is working the 2V60 17:12 Banbury to Oxford service on 24 April 1984. Note the smaller arch on the right, which formerly accommodated the LMS tracks that paralleled the four GWR lines into Oxford, from the point of divergence near the Aristotle Lane footbridge (just visible in the background). This picture is taken from a now impossible position, up against the fence near the bridge over a backwater of the River Thames.

An odd combination at West Drayton on 22 June 1991 that proves the usefulness of the first generation DMUs. 55031 (L131) has been made into a three car set with the addition of a Class 101 DTCL and a Class 117 DMBS. It is pictured on the up fast line with the 12:10 Reading to Paddington Network SouthEast service. This train is an all stations service as far as Slough, from where it becomes non-stop to Paddington. Due to the closure of the relief lines just east of this point for engineering works, this Class 121/101/117 DMU lash up has been let out onto the main line to rattle its way to the capital at 70 mph in a gap between the HSTs!

The keen guard already has the door open and is looking out as 55032 approaches Droitwich Spa station on 27 April 1991 with the 09:41 Barnt Green to Worcester Foregate service. Although no longer rail served, the coal yard on the right was still in use at this time, although remarkably still unfenced off from the railway. It has since been replaced by the inevitable car park.

55033 emerges from the fog at Blackwell on 25 May 1992 after having just climbed the Lickey Incline whilst working the 07:26 Bromsgrove to Barnt Green service. This is the only photo I have of this unit in its Midline livery, but note that it has had a door replaced with one from a standard blue and grey unit! Also the Tyseley set number (TS013) seems to have been hastily applied on top of its former designation (T133). I presume it is supposed to read TO13 but it actually shows TO133!

Although I managed to photograph all the Class 121 DMBS 'bubble cars', I only ever saw 55035 twice. Withdrawn from revenue earning stock in 1978, it survived in departmental use as route learner ADB975659 until 1992. Initially it carried the set number L103, but by 1988 this had changed to L135. On 20 April 1988 it is pictured approaching Bathampton, between the River Avon and the Kennet & Avon Canal with a Southampton to Bristol route learning trip. Luckily it just managed to beat the approaching clouds!

54283 (283) is propelled by 55031 (131) towards Oxford on 25 June 1988 whilst working the 07:58 Banbury to Oxford service. They are pictured approaching Oxford North Junction with the up relief line (which runs from Wolvercote to Oxford) prominent in the foreground. Although both vehicles carry Network SouthEast livery, note the slight differences in livery between them, with slightly different widths to the grey bands and what appears to be a red rather than orange cantrail stripe on 54283. While in common with most Class 121 DMBS vehicles 55031 survives in departmental use, unfortunately the same cannot be said of 54283, which like most of the DTS vehicles has since been cut up, in this case at Gwent Demolition at Margam in 1992.

In addition to the 15 single car Class 121 DMBS vehicles, 10 additional unpowered DTS vehicles were also built. These were normally used with a Class 121 to form a two car unit, or as a spare vehicle for a Class 117 three car set. 54286 (L286) is seen here approaching Combe station on the Cotswold Line, being pushed by 55027 (L127) on 21 August 1982 whilst working the 06:10 Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford local service. The very high occupation bridge in the background is Grintleyhill Bridge, while on the left the piles of timber are on the premises of the Blenheim Palace Estate timber mill and workshops.