The ideal photographic combination - sunshine and snow, sadly not very common in the south of England. On 19 December 1999, 166201 is pictured coming off the Cotswold Line at Wolvercote Junction with the 12:02 Great Malvern to Paddington Thames Trains service. The cold weather had obviously affected the trackwork, as for a long time nothing was moving onto or off the Cotswold Line. A Railtrack employee eventually arrived to clamp one of the points. Thames Trains were slow to introduce a new livery (partly due to the high quality original paint finish on these units) and 166201 is still carrying its original Network SouthEast livery.

166202 approaches Aynho on 30 March 2002 with the 14:38 Banbury to Paddington Thames Trains service. This location is at its best in late spring, when the sun has got high enough so that the trees don't completely shade the track, and before the leaves appear on the trees which, apart from a short period in the middle of the day, have the much the same effect.

166202 speeds through Radley station on 25 June 2003 with the 17:45 Oxford to Paddington Thames Trains service. Strange contradictory messages here, with a yellow line painted on the platforms behind which you are supposed to stand to be clear of trains passing at speed, and yet the full width of the platform has been deliberately reduced with a low fence! Presumably done to avoid maintaining so much platform area, this is the kind of idiocy that unfortunately pervades much of Britain today.

166203 approaches Moreton-in-Marsh on 15 June 2008 with the 17:40 Hanborough to Worcester Shrub Hill First Great Western service. The Cotswold Line was closed for engineering works between Hanborough and Oxford, with buses providing a connection with the hourly Worcester to Hanborough shuttle train service. This is one of the few remaining locations on the Cotswold Line where there is un interrupted view in both directions, although even here the vegetation growth since the 1980s is quite starling.

Grintleyhill Bridge near Combe, on the Cotswold Line gives an almost aerial view of the surrounding countryside. On 11 February 2008, 166210 is pictured working the 09:37 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service, one of the handful of services over the line still operated by Turbo units.

166213 in the new First Great Western livery is pictured just west of Kintbury with the 15:18 Paddington to Bedwyn service on 2 April 2007. In the background the bridge over the River Kennett can just be seen. Despite the remote looking location, no effort was required to get this picture, as I was sitting on the bonnet of the car!

A lucky picture at Goring on 12 April 2008 shows examples of both classes of 'Turbo' unit. On the left 166214 is rapidly overtaking 165114 whilst working the 08:30 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. On the right, 165114 is traversing exactly the same route, but is having a much more leisurely journey stopping at all stations. It left Oxford before 166214 at 08:21, but will arrive at Paddington exactly half an hour after the 166. Twenty years ago the local services would have been operated by Class 117 DMUs, so therefore a 'Turbo' unit is an improvement, but the Oxford to Paddington 'fasts' were operated by Class 47s or 50s and coaches, so a three car unit is definitely not an improvement!

166215 shows off its striking new livery as it approaches Cholsey on 6 December 2006 with the 12:45 Oxford to Paddington service. Although not a great fan of some of the more outlandish post privatisation liveries, I think this livery suits these units quite well, certainly better than the HSTs to which it is also being applied. The white roof has been retained from the previous livery, an odd choice really considering the effect the exhausts have on it!

166217 approaches the site of Yarnton Junction with the late running 09:37 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service on 27 February 2008. This is one of a handful of Turbo operated services over the Cotswold Line in 2008, the remainder being worked by HSTs, which are supplanting the troubled Class 180 units on the route. This photo is taken from inside the V of the former junction with the Fairford Branch Line, which headed off across the fields to the left of where I am standing. The Fairford Branch closed to passengers in 1962 and freight in 1970.

166218 approaches Hungerford with the 08:37 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service on 30 July 2007. The day started without a cloud in the sky, but already by this time a few little clouds were appearing, and as typically happens in the summer within the hour it was predominantly cloudy with sunny spells.

In dramatic winter lighting on 27 December 1993, 166220 pulls out of Oxford station with the 14:15 Oxford to Paddington service. St Barnabas church stands out clearly against the dark clouds, also Walton Well Road bridge can be seen in the distance beyond the stabled Turbo units. The station visible here dates from the 1990 rebuilding, replacing the inadequate 1971 structure. The footbridge was a new addition in the latest rebuild, a subway had been in use since the original station was built in 1852.

166220 arrives at Kingham with the 13:21 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service on 23 October 2007. This former important rural junction station has lost all its former sidings and associated trackwork, and the impressively large station buildings have long since been replaced by a utilitarian brick office, but as can be seen here, it does retain a well maintained Great Western Railway nameboard.