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.

166201 passes Whitehill (between Combe and Finstock) with the 08:48 Paddington to Great Malvern Thames Trains service on a very murky 21 February 2004. At this point on the Cotswold Line the railway is constantly re-crossing the River Evenlode. The river follows the far edge of the field on the left and crosses under the line a short way down the track. However, the line crosses it twice more before it reaches the tall occupation bridge which can just be seen in the far distance.

Charlbury's new down platform is pictured under construction on 21 April 2011, as 166201 departs with the 1W41 14:21 Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh First Great Western service (the only train on the line not to travel at least as far as Worcester). Note the large base for the new footbridge on the extreme left of the picture. I presume the reinforced circular steel sections that one of the workmen is sitting on are the footings for the footbridge. They had only just been delivered when I took this photo, and in fact the surprisingly clean white lorry they came in had only just driven out of the car park a matter of minutes before the train came into view. A scene full of clutter, but history in the making, or should that be in the remaking, as of course the station originally had two platforms until 1971 anyway!

Immaculate (well almost!) 166202 speeds through Shipton on 25 June 1995 with the 15:20 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill Network SouthEast service. Note the new rails lying on the ballast, ready to replace the vintage bullhead track on the down line. This viewpoint is not always possible, as occasionally the lorries from the neighbuoring flour mill are parked on the road on the right. On this occasion they were on the opposite side of the road, and their presence is only felt by the reflections in the train's windows.

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.

Both classes of BREL built Turbo unit are pictured here speeding through Appleford on 2 July 2009. 3 car Class 166 166202 leads 2 car Class 165/1 165132 on the 1P53 15:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great service. Appleford is a very quiet location to take photos, especially now that First Great Western has reduced the number of trains stopping there. I would like to think that the fact that the up platform lights are on during the middle of the day (not too apparent in this picture) is the result of incompetence, rather than a cynical attempt to distort the running costs of the station to use as an argument for possible closure, as happened so frequently in the 1960s.

166202 passes through the recently cleared cutting near Aldington on 29 October 2009 with the 09:21 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street First Great Western service. The arch bridge in the background carries a no through road to a farm and hotel, while the more modern bridge that can just be seen in the background is the A46 Evesham by-pass.

166202 passes Lower Moor on a very dull 16 April 2010 with the 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service. Its amazing what gets dumped in fields near railway. Old van bodies are common enough, but here we also have the remains of an unidentified sports car!

166202 passes Moreton-in-Marsh's down outer home signal on 23 June 2010 with the 09:29 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. This is one of only two trains on the Cotswold Line that originates from Moreton-in-Marsh, although unlike in former times it does not stable there overnight, but works in ECS from Oxford shortly before departure time. This picture is taken from a seldom used farm occupation crossing, and I was going to include some foreground foliage to frame the picture, but amazingly just five minutes before the train was due a Network Rail employee paid what is probably his yearly visit to the location and with his strimmer completely cleared all the vegetation away!

166203 is pictured at a rather deserted Kingham station with the 13:08 Worcester Shrub Hill to Oxford Network SouthEast service on 13 June 1993. Admittedly this is a Sunday, but it is still before Kingham became a really busy commuter station with a large car park packed to capacity on weekdays. Note that the original pre war 95lb per yard bullhead track is still in use here.

166203 arrives at Kingham on Sunday 15 June 2008 with the 14:40 Hanborough to Worcester Shrub Hill service. Due to engineering works at the extreme southern end of the Cotswold Line, all trains were working as far as Hanborough only. Note the HST stop boards for both 7 and 8 coach formations in the up direction.

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.

A row of wooden pegs seems to be the only sign of the imminent Cotswold Line redoubling at Aston Magna on 23 June 2009. 166203 round the corner with the 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service. Just as this train was due a Network Rail van drove onto the trackside and parked right in the picture. I could hear the Turbo hoot just around the corner as I quickly changed the 35mm lens for a 100mm one to exclude the van. In the end I think it makes a better picture, as the longer lens accentuates the hills in the background. The ironic thing is that as soon as the train had passed the van drove off up the track, therefore only being in the way for less than a minute just as the train passed - unbelievable!

With the sun chasing it along from Kingham station in the distance, 166203 passes Churchill Heath Wood on 11 January 2012 with the 1P47 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service. Although obviously the wood has always been there, it is now the encroaching bushes on the left that limit photo opportunities at this location.

166204 passes Bishopton on the Stratford-upon-Avon branch with the 11:55 Stratford to Oxford Network SouthEast service on 17 May 1993. This was the first day of Class 166 Turbo operation on the line. This largely rural scene has been completely transformed since this picture was taken. The hawthorn, cow parsley and buttercups have given way to an industrial estate, although surprisingly the small stream meandering through the field on the right has not been piped but is now sandwiched between the new buildings and an approach road. The field to the left of this picture has also now succumbed to the inevitable housing estate.

The dark clouds in the background mean that Oxford definitely isn't getting any sun, however, a few miles north at Yarnton the sun is out as 166204 heads northwards with the 16:51 Paddington to Banbury First Great Western service on 27 July 2006.

166205 calls at Radley on 8 October 2009 with the 2P68 16:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. Plenty of autumn colours on the trees, which have enveloped the road bridge in the background considerably since I started taking pictures here in the early 1980s.

With a wave from the driver, 166205 passes Shorthampton on 12 November 2009 with the 1W21 09:21 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street First Great Western service. As can be seen from the neatly trimmed bushes, this cutting has being blitzed in preparation for relaying the former double track.

166205 speeds through Ascott-under-Wychwood station on 1 September 2010 with the late running 1P37 08:58 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the work going on to reinstate the second track and platform.

166206 finds a brief patch of sunshine as it rounds the curve near Bishops Itchington on 16 July 2001 with the 14:04 Stratford-upon-Avon to Paddington Thames Trains service. Although there are now plans to reopen a route to Stratford via Honeybourne, a decade after this picture was taken there is now no longer a direct service between the tourist centres of Stratford and Oxford.

166206 approaches Banbury on 17 August 2002, while an unidentified 3 car and 2 car Class 165/0 combination heads in the opposite direction. 166206 is working the 17:37 Stratford-upon-Avon to Paddington Thames Trains service, whilst the other train is the 17:10 Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service. Although hardly a very picturesque viewpoint, this location does have the advantage of being clear of obstructions for a late evening shot, that is until the shadow of the wall by the stone terminal on the left starts creeping across.

Under clear blue skies on 22 May 2010, 166206 pulls away from Bedwyn station and passes Great Bedwyn village (hidden behind the bushes). It is working the 1K45 09:38 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing.

166206 passes a short section of newly reinstated double track at Shorthampton on 19 March 2011, whilst working the 1P40 09:43 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. The section of the Cotswold Line between Ascott-under-Wychwood and Charlbury is being redoubled to increase capacity. As I do not really remember the line before the 1971 singling, I was keen to get a picture of a train running past newly laid track, on what will effectively soon by the wrong line.

83¾ miles to go! 166206 rounds the curve at Churchill Heath (near Kingham) on 11 January 2012 with the 1P43 11:51 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. This picture is taken from a public crossing on the footpath between Lyneham and Bledington. Although the dark clouds in the background form an ideal backdrop, irritatingly the sun decided it wasn't going to stay out for this train!

On a very gloomy 29 November 2010, 166207 passes Hinksey Yard with the 2P54 13:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service, while in the background sequentially numbered 166208 gets the feathers to cross over to head into Oxford's platform 1 with the 2N32 11:27 service from Paddington. Note the reflection of the Hinksey Lakes footbridge (and myself!) in the windscreen of 166207. This will obviously be replaced by a much more photography unfriendly design when the line is electrified.

Monday 6 June 2011 saw the opening of the new section of reinstated double track on the Cotswold Line from Charlbury to Ascott-under-Wychwood. With a wave from one of the many onlookers, 166207 pulls away from the newly commissioned down platform at Charlbury with the 1W10 05:48 Paddington to Great Malvern First Great Western service. This being the first passenger train to use the newly installed line. Note the approach ramp to the new footbridge and the customary bunting between the lamp posts.

166207 accelerates away from Oxford station on 16 January 2012 with the 1P49 14:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. In addition to the stabled Turbo unit in the background, 66617 can just be seen as it heads north with the 6M40 11:56 Westbury Virtual Quarry to Stud Farm ballast empties. Unfortunately, although this location is still reasonably good for southbound trains, the same cannot be said of the view from the other side of the bridge. Therefore there is no possibility of a picture of northbound trains here in the afternoon.

166208 approaches Kingham on 12 March 1995 with the 15:32 Worcester Shrub Hill to Paddington service. Although this section of the Cotswold Line, in contrast to much of the route, avoided being singled in 1971, for a long time it retained 95lb per yard bullhead track, as seen here. Since this picture was taken not only has this vintage track been replaced, but also 166208 has lost its Network SouthEast livery. Unfortunately, this viewpoint is nothing like as clear of vegetation now either!

Plenty of autumn colours in evidence at Norton on 25 October 2003, as 166208 heads towards Worcester with the 10:48 Paddington to Great Malvern Thames Trains service. You can tell it is a Saturday, as the M5 motorway in the background is not busy with lorries!

The gulls on the fence and yard lights at Hinksey take no notice of 166208 as it passes by with the 12:31 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service on 30 December 2008. The high fence in the foreground was built to act as a noise barrier following complaints from residents after Network Rail started to use Hinksey Yard for ballast operations, after several decades of virtual disuse. Obviously the local populace is less tolerant of noise nowadays, as up until the 1950s this yard was used extensively for shunting loose coupled freight trains!

Very nearly a Cotswold Line passing shot. 166208 accelerates away from Moreton-in-Marsh on 20 April 2009 with the 17:00 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service, while in the background 165120 can just be seen as it approaches the station with the 17:31 Oxford to Worcester Foregate Street service.

166208 crosses over the level crossing next to Ascott-under-Wychwood station on 1 September 2010, whilst working the 2P42 09:29 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service. This scene will shortly be transformed, with the reinstatement of double track. This will obviously see the repositioning of the barriers on the right and the removal of the portacabin. At present the double track ends a short distance behind the train. Ascott's sole surviving semaphore signal can just be seen in the background, controlling the down line. Incidentally, the redoubling is not the only construction work going on in the area, note the construction site on the extreme left. Some more houses are being squeezed into the small plot of land next to the railway.

The low winter sunlight provides perfect illumination for 166208, as it passes Shorthampton on 6 January 2012 with the 1P35 08:26 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service. It is travelling over the recently reinstated double track, and makes an interesting comparison to 166206 pictured from a similar viewpoint a few months previously.

166209 passes Shorthampton on 1 February 2010 with the 09:21 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street First Great Western service. I had carefully chosen this position to frame the train between the fence and the overhanging branches, but it wasn't until afterwards that I noticed that if you look carefully, you can see St Nicholas church, Chadlington directly above the first class compartment of the leading vehicle.

A large truck overtakes a skip lorry on the A34 Oxford by-pass in the background, as 166209 passes Wolvercote with the 1P47 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service on 4 May 2011. There is actually palisade fencing on both sides of the line here, but the vegetation is so luxuriant, that it is all but hidden.

On 12 September 2011, 166209 passes the new signal on the approach to the reinstated double track section of the Cotswold Line near Charlbury station. Unfortunately the new double track, welcome though it is, has not eliminated late running. This is the 1W29 11:20 Paddington to Great Malvern First Great Western service, which is due to depart Charlbury at 12:36. Here it passing Cornbury Park, with a few hundred yards still to go, at 12:50 - fifteen minutes late.

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.

166210 seems to be gradually loosing its number at one end. Just the last two digits remain after the rest of the panel seems to have been covered with black plastic or paint. I have seen pictures where this only covers the left part of the panel, leaving the number intact. I'm not sure what's going on here, but presumably it will soon be anonymous! On 12 November 2009 it passes Chilson with the 08:52 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service.

166210 passes Hinksey on 9 January 2010 with the 13:37 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This deliberate broadside view clearly shows the frozen lake, which was created during the construction of the railway in the middle of the nineteenth century. Note the distance spire of Oxford's Nuffield College in the background. Although not apparent here, there was a large bank of cloud approaching from the south east, which was a perfect excuse for me to stop standing around in the freezing cold!

The vegetation clearance work along the Cotswold Line during 2009 has opened up a number of previously unobtainable viewpoints, and one that I have had my eye on for a while is the view looking west towards the roadbridge at Shorthampton. The morning of 1 February 2010 dawned clear and with the added bonus of a light snowfall during the night, the short trip was made to Shorthampton for my first ever picture from this spot. I had guessed that the shadows would just be clear of the track, and I was almost right! 166210 heads east with the 08:58 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service.

On 28 June 2010, 166210 rounds the curve past Cornbury Park as it accelerates the 09:29 Moreton-in-Marsh to Paddington First Great Western service away from Charlbury station, the car park of which can just be seen in the background. This is approximately the point where the projected double track section of the Cotswold Line will end.

Does 166210 have an aversion to front end numbers? Over a year after seeing it with virtually no numbers at Chilson, it looks little better here at Culham on 27 April 2011, as it heads southwards with the 1P53 15:01 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. I'm not quite sure what useful purpose the warning notice in the foreground serves, as there is no public footpath crossing at this location.

166210 passes the site of Moulsford station on 27 April 2011 with the 2N52 16:27 Paddington to Oxford First Great Western service. Moulsford station closed as long ago as 1892, when the line was quadrupled. A new station named Cholsey and Moulsford (still open today and now just called Cholsey) was built a little further west, opening on 29 February 1892, with Moulsford station closing the same day. Behind the laburnum bush are some of the original station buildings.

166210 slows down on the approach to Tackley station whilst working the 2M56 17:25 Paddington to Banbury First Great Western service on 16 June 2011. Until the lineside vegetation once again grows up to obscure the track, this is an excellent location to photograph northbound trains in the evening with the sun 'on the nose'.

166211 & 166205 leave Oxford station on 13 May 1995 with the 08:45 non-stop service to Paddington. An average speed of 61 mph doesn't seen particularly impressive, especially as a decade earlier a Class 50 on a similar train was also booked to cover the distance in 58 minutes, but that included a stop at Reading! I suppose on the plus side, the Class 166s do have air conditioning, even if the seats aren't as comfortable as a good old Mk 1 coach. Incidentally, this is one of the last occasions that I visited this long term favourite Oxford viewpoint before the disused sidings on the right were ripped up and replaced with a car park, thereby virtually ruining the location for photography.

The early morning mist is still a little reluctant to clear in the background on 12 July 1994, as 166212 passes Wolvercote Junction with the 07:40 Banbury to Paddington Network SouthEast service. The Cotswold Line can just be seen diverging to the left under the bridge in the background. I haven't taken many pictures from this location, as it is definitely not a very pleasant spot to stand for any length of time, being on the very busy Oxford ring road.

166212 speeds through Claverdon station on 24 May 1997 with the 09:07 Paddington to Stratford-upon-Avon Thames Trains service. Interestingly, this is one of the few occasions that I have seen a Class 166 running as a two car unit. Presumably the centre coach was removed at some point for maintenance, but I don't suppose that it had anything to do with the fact that on this day the train was 35 minutes late.

On 8 June 2003 the Cotswold Line Promotion Group celebrated 150 years of the line with a special train from Oxford to Evesham. On the return journey the train was stabled in the bay platform at Moreton-in-Marsh for a while, before continuing onwards to Oxford. The special is pictured arriving at Kingham station with appropriate headboard. Thames Trains had provided 166212 for the trip, which tied in with various CLPG events at the line's stations.

Railway photographers are always complaining that lineside photographic locations are disappearing under the onslaught of unchecked vegetation, with once favourite spots vanishing completely. Well, here is the reverse situation. 166212 passes Shorthampton with the 08:52 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service on 10 September 2009. Ever since I started taking pictures in the late 1970s, this location has been completely useless, with the line barely visible in a tunnel of trees. This mega clearance is in readiness for the reinstatement of double track between Ascott-under-Wychwood and Charlbury.

A superb show of autumn colours at Daylesford on 1 November 2010. 166212 speeds by with the 1P47 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service. I find it very hard to find a lineside location that includes a reasonable display of foliage in an autumn photograph without the trees shading the line, and there are certainly very few local locations that are as good as this. The brilliant orange of the trees on the left (growing next to the River Evenlode) is especially striking.

166212 is about to pass under Grintleyhill Bridge, Combe on 11 August 2011, whilst working the 1W41 14:21 Paddington to Charlbury First Great Western service. This train, which would normally carry on to Worcester, terminated early due to final preparations for opening of the new double track section of the Cotswold Line.

166212 speeds past Shorthampton on 1 October 2011 with the 1P43 10:58 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. This view is taken from a farm occupation bridge, that prior to clearance work in connection with the reinstatement of double track was completely inaccessible due an impenetrable mass of brambles and dense bushes. I was surprised to find that the view had already become blocked again by a rapidly growing tree, and I had to do some severe 'gardening' in order to be able to take this picture. I predict that this location will soon become impossible once more, as even if the tree can be kept pruned, just look at what's growing all along the side of the cutting!

Miserable weather at Lower Basildon on 5 February 2005, as 166213 heads towards the capital with the 08:24 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western Link service, while 165104 heads into the mist with the 08:03 Paddington to Banbury train. Both these trains are (with a few omissions) all stations services.

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!

166213 rounds the curve near Aldermaston on 23 November 2007 with the 10:18 Paddington to Bedwyn First Great Western service. This location is photographically ideal, with clear views free of vegetation in each direction. Unfortunately it is on a very narrow and busy road, which makes dashing from one side of the road to the other a risky business!

166213 nears journey's end on 9 February 2008, as it passes Little Bedwyn with the 09:18 Paddington to Bedwyn First Great Western service. Turbo units only travel as far as Bedwyn along the Berks & Hants Line, with HSTs operating all long distance services further west.

There was a light fall of snow during the night on 1 February 2010, and although it had mainly melted by mid-morning in areas that weren't shaded, there was still a noticeable covering in the field near Shorthampton, on the Cotswold Line. 166213 is pictured heading down the Evenlode Valley with the 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. It was the local roads that seemed to have the most snow and ice, with the road leading down to Shorthampton and Chadlington being particularly bad. I had managed to turn the corner onto the road with no trouble, but when I looked in the mirror, I noticed that the Land Rover that was following me was sliding sideways across the road - so much for four wheel drive!

166213 passes Shorthampton on 8 March 2010 with the 09:54 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. This recently cleared location will soon be receiving a reinstated second track (it was singled in 1971), and so the opportunity was taken on this brilliant sunny morning to record the location before the new track is laid and the trees grow again!

166213 accelerates past Moreton-in-Marsh's up advanced starter signal on 23 June 2010, as it heads south with the 08:58 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. This picture is taken from a diverted public footpath, which originally used to cross the line at this point (note the old warning sign post). On the extreme left the very rarely used down refuge siding can be seen being slowly overtaken by the lineside vegetation.

The gap in the bushes at Yarnton is just sufficient for a three car Turbo! 166214 heads north on 6 July 2006 with the 1D47 16:51 Paddington to Banbury First Great Western service. Notice the First Group branding on the obsolete (but stylish) Thames Trains livery.

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!

A slightly different view of the railway near Heyford. Narrowboats are reflected in the still waters of the Oxford Canal, as 166215 accelerates away from Heyford station with the 07:40 Banbury to Paddington Network SouthEast service on 13 March 1995. Obviously this was regarded as a slightly more unusual railway photograph at the time, as it was featured as a double page centre spread in Rail magazine. Unfortunately, in the intervening years the bushes have grown considerably, and it would now be very difficult to replicate this picture.

Shortly after sunrise on 30 May 2005, 166215 heads north from Tackley with the 2L22 05:55 Oxford to Banbury First Great Western. Unsurprisingly, this is the first local train of the day on the line. What is slightly more surprising is the use of a Class 166, rather than the more customary Class 165. This is one of the very few locations on the Cherwell Valley Line that is free of shadows at this ungodly hour in the morning.

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!

With hindsight I should have taken more pictures of the Class 165 & 166s in their attractive Thames Trains livery. I suppose with so much else going on at the time they got a little overlooked! However, this view shows the livery off to full advantage. 166216 leaves Kingham station on 8 June 2003 with the 15:43 Paddington to Great Malvern Thames Trains service.

166216 crosses the River Evenlode near Combe on 11 August 2011 with the 1P56 15:05 Charlbury to Paddington First Great Western service. With the line beyond Charlbury closed for a week to allow the completion of the double track reinstatement, the station becomes a temporary railhead, with coaches providing services to Worcester. At present there are no plans to redouble this section of track, presumably not only due to the cost, but also the problem of Finstock station, which would have to be rebuilt yet again. The small building just visible in the distance on the extreme left marks the site of North Leigh Roman Villa.

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. At this time this was one of a handful of Turbo operated services over the Cotswold Line, the remainder being worked by HSTs, which were supplanting the troubled Class 180 units. 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.

The first signs of some autumn colour is showing in the trees at Aston Magna on 17 October 2008, as 166217 rounds the curve with the 09:37 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service. Strangely, Aston Magna never had the luxury of a station, despite the fact that the village is adjacent to the line. Even in the early twentieth century the GWR did not consider it worthwhile opening a halt here, despite both Moreton-in-Marsh and Blockley stations being some distance away. The latter was nearly two miles from the village of Blockley and actually nearer the small village of Paxford!

There is an abundant crop of haws on the trackside hawthorn bushes at Dorn (near Moreton-in-Marsh) on 6 September 2010. 166217 is pictured passing by with the 1P37 08:58 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. This section of line, between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh will shortly be redoubled.

166217 swings around the curve at Aston Magna on 25 March 2011 with the 1P37 08:58 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. In the foreground is the recently laid but not yet commissioned new up line, part of the Cotswold Line redoubling programme. Ironically I photographed the same unit at this location on what was essentially a similar train just over two years previously. Note that one of the scourges of modern railway photography - a radio mast has appeared in the background in the intervening time.

166217 passes the hawthorn bosom at Culham on 27 April 2011 with the 2P62 15:07 Oxford to Paddington First Great Western service. This picture is taken from an occupation bridge at the end of a long very rough track, which is just about passable in an ordinary car, as long as you drive slowly!

Ascott-under-Wychwood station was completely transformed during 2011, with the provision of a new up platform in connection with the reinstatement of double track. The new platform is seen here on the left, complete with a mock GWR style seat. 166217 rushes through with the 1W13 07:21 Paddington to Great Malvern First Great Western service. The strange sight of passengers waiting on the new platform on a Saturday, when normally there is no service is explained by the fact that the 07:10 Hereford to Paddington is about to make an additional stop.

166218 speeds through Appleford station with the 11:30 Oxford to Paddington Thames Trains service on 13 April 2002. Until recently the station was noteworthy for retaining its original Great Western Railway pagoda corrugated iron shelters, which were provided when the station opened on 11 September 1933 as Appleford Halt. This was at a time when the GWR was trying to combat increasing competition from local buses. Interestingly, there had previously been a station on the site, which was opened when the line to Oxford was opened in 1844. However, it was closed just a few years later and the residents of Appleford had to wait nearly ninety years for its replacement!

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.

166218 passes Shorthampton with the late running 09:55 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service on 10 September 2009. The delay was caused by the 09:21 Paddington to Worcester Foregate Street being 25 minutes late, and consequently this train had to wait at Ascott-under-Wychwood. The soon to be reinstated double track will help ease such delays. Note the new rails in front of the unit, presumably added during the recent slewing of the formally centered single track.

With the completion of the Cotswold Line track improvement plan in 2011, Moreton-in-Marsh has become even more of a railhead, with an increase in the number of local terminating services. With the commencement of the revised timetable in September, three weekday trains head back from whence they came after arriving at the station. This has required the installation of a new semaphore signal to allow trains heading back towards Oxford to regain the correct running line. As it is on a short post, it is virtually hidden by the train in this view. 166218 leaves the station on 28 September 2011 and weaves across onto the up line with the 1P37 09:51 First Great Western service to Paddington. It had arrived a short while earlier with the 2E93 08:58 Oxford to Moreton-in-Marsh. Not only has a GWR style lower quadrant signal been installed here as part of the new works, but the points have been replaced with vintage style bullhead rail track! Both sidings have now been disconnected.

On the hottest October day on record (29.9c in Kent), 166218 passes Shorthampton on 1 October 2011 with the 1P40 09:51 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. I make no apologies for taking yet another picture at this location, as it will shortly disappear again due to the rapidly growing vegetation on the left hand side of the track. After many years of being useless for photography, the clearance work for the double track has opened up the view tremendously. This is my first picture here with both tracks in use.

166219 passes Walton Well Road, Oxford on 13 June 2010 with the 09:00 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. Considerable work has been done to upgrade the relief lines at this location, although the former LMS tracks, which used to run parallel to these lines are now lost in the bushes on the right.

166219 pulls away from Moreton-in-Marsh station on 6 September 2010 with the 2P42 09:29 Fist Great Western service to Paddington. This is one of only two daily trains that start from Moreton, rather than running the full length of the Cotswold Line. The empty stock works in from Oxford just prior to departure. Although gradually losing its Great Western atmosphere, thanks to the new footbridge, various portacabin, etc, the semaphores hark back to GWR days, as indeed does the track!

166219 passes a field of flowering oilseed rape as it approaches Charlbury on 21 April 2011 with the 1P61 14:35 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. The newly laid track has yet to be ballasted, but at least the rails are now in place. Compare this picture with the view just over two months previously, when only the sleepers had been laid.

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 sweeps round the reverse curves near Tackley with the 15:02 Banbury to Oxford First Great Western service on 8 March 2007. Unfortunately this location is getting progressive more difficult due to lineside bush growth.

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.

Old and new liveries at Wolvercote Junction on 21 May 2001. 166221 approaches with the 16:48 Paddington to Stratford-upon-Avon Thames Trains service, sporting that company's new livery, while in the background, 165137 (still in original Network SouthEast livery) heads south with the 17:27 Banbury to Oxford service. At this time Turbo units could be seen at this spot heading for three different destinations - the two seen here, plus the Cotswold Line route to Worcester and Great Malvern.

166221 passes Ruscombe on 17 April 2008 with the 1K41 08:40 Bedwyn to Paddington First Great Western service. Note the amount of vegetation clearance that has taken place at this location, although it won't take more than a couple of years for it all to return!

166221 was the final Turbo unit to enter traffic, in September 1993. It is seen here accelerating away from Charlbury station and passing near to Cornbury Park on 19 March 2009 with the 12:06 Worcester Foregate Street to Paddington First Great Western service. After nearly four decades as a single track railway, this section of the Cotswold Line is about to regain a second track, although bizarrely only to a point a mile or so south of this point.

166221 slows down for the approach to Moreton-in-Marsh station, as it passes Dorn on 1 August 2011 with the 1P61 14:35 Great Malvern to Paddington First Great Western service. As the newly reinstated up line has not yet been brought into use, the train is using the single line which has had to suffice on this section of the Cotswold Line since 1971. Unfortunately this train was running well behind time, due to the previous down train being delayed. This is just the kind of problem that the reinstatement of double track should alleviate. If 166221 had appeared at the correct time it would have been in full sun, rather than the hazy light seen here.