168001 passes Hatton North Junction on 19 February 2008 with the 13:20 Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service. 168001 was naturally the first of the class to enter traffic (in May 1998), but it was initially a three car unit, gaining the fourth vehicle a few months later, although that vehicle was swapped with another unit in 2002. Unlike thier predecessors Classes 165 & 166, the 168s have had numerous unit reformations, even so early in thier careers.

The shape of the clouds oddly matches the front end of 168001, as it hurries south past Kings Sutton on 28 April 2008 with the 07:30 Kidderminster to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. This photo is taken from a public footpath crossing on the path which connects Kings Sutton village to Twyford Mill, on the Adderbury road.

Cherwell Valley pastoral. The gate in the foreground hasn't opened for a very long time, and is gradually being overtaken by the surrounding vegetation. 168001 heads south near Tackley with the diverted 1V54 16:10 Birmingham Snow Hill to Oxford Chiltern Railways service on Sunday 20 June 2010. This would connect with a First Great Western train at Oxford, allowing passengers to reach London. The Chiltern Line was closed for engineering works.

There is certainly no mistaking where this is! 168001 approaches Tackley station at high speed on Sunday 20 June 2010 with the 1G50 17:55 Oxford to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service. As the Chiltern Line was closed for engineering works, trains were running to Oxford to connect with First Great Western services to London. This brought the unusual sight of Class 168 units to the Cherwell Valley Line.

168002 pulls away from Quainton Road with the Hertfordshire Railtours 'Quainton Clubman' railtour on 17 October 1999. This tour which started from Marylebone, then traversed the freight only line to Calvert, Bicester and then on to Oxford. The Buckinghamshire Railway's site at Quainton is unusual in that is bisected by an operational mainline, albeit one that apart from specials such as this, sees a very infrequent freight service

168002 passes under the Marylebone to Banbury line at Bicester, as it heads along the normally freight only Calvert to Oxford line with the Hertfordshire Railtours 'Quainton Clubman' railtour on 17 October 1999. This tour which started from Marylebone, had earlier called at Quainton Road. 168002's normal route would of course be on the line going over the bridge in the background , rather than under it. In 2010 Chiltern Railways have plans to construct a link line between these two routes in readiness for Marylebone to Oxford (via Bicester) trains.

168002 passes Claydon (near Banbury) with the 08:10 Kidderminster to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service on 15 April 2008. As with most of early April 2008, the day started without a cloud in the sky, and on this day stayed that way well into the afternoon. There was formerly a level crossing at Claydon, but now the lane ends in an access gate for Network Rail to gain access to the track, which was included along with the young ash tree to add some foreground interest to the picture.

168002 passes the footpath crossing at Kings Sutton with the 06:46 Stratford-upon-Avon to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service on 28 April 2008. Another typical April day with a bright start, quickly followed by clouds rolling in from the west. The footpath at Kings Sutton runs alongside the line for a short distance before crossing the line, this picture being taken from the stile crossing the railway boundary fence.

Superb afternoon autumnal lighting at Kings Sutton on 14 November 2007, as 168003 emerges from under the road bridge near Kings Sutton and heads south with the 1H42 13:12 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. It would not always be possible to take this picture at this time of year without wellies, as this field is very susceptible to flooding!

Engineering work on the Chiltern Line on Sunday 20 June 2010 saw a revised service operated by Chiltern Railways from Birmingham to Oxford, to connect with First Great Western trains for London. 168003 speeds through Tackley station with the 1V42 13:10 Birmingham Snow Hill to Oxford service. Obviously the leading vehicle of 168003 will require some cosmetic front end attention soon, as it has presumably hit something chipping a piece off the edge of the faring and punching a large hole on the corner of the moulding.

168003 approaches Tackley at speed on 20 June 2010 with the 1G54 18:54 Oxford to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service. Due to engineering works on the Chiltern Line, a hourly procession of these diverted Class 168 units brought some welcome variety to the Oxford to Banbury line.

A little bit of low tech improvisation here. 168004 has a yellow plastic bag over its front coupler, and even though I was a long way away shooting on a long lens, I could hear this non-standard accessory flapping about above the sound of the engines! It is pictured rounding the curve past the site of the long closed Ayhno Park Platform, and approaching Ardley Tunnel with the 12:52 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service on 11 February 2008.

168004 speeds through Kings Sutton station with the 13:12 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Trains service on 23 April 2009, coincidentally the same train that I had photographed at Claydon the previous day. Patronage is good at this station, but if it increases still further as other rural stations have done recently, at least there is plenty of room for a car park extension by using the waste land on the right!

In a brief patch of evening sunshine, 168005 passes Banbury stone terminal with the 17:10 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service on 17 August 2009. The Lafarge stone depot normally receives a weekly train from Mountsorrel.

168005 approaches Tackley in superb late evening light on Sunday 20 June 2010 with the 1G58 19:58 Oxford to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service. The Chiltern Line was closed for engineering work, with trains being diverted to Oxford, from where passengers could travel onwards to London via First Great Western trains. Although a virtually completely sunny day (at least in the afternoon), typically just before this train was due a small cloud decided to find the sun. As there was little wind, it wasn't moving very quickly, and I thought the shot would be lost. However, just as the train came into view in the distance the sun gradually dropped out of the cloud. Talk about a close run thing!

168005 passes under Hennef Way, Banbury on 3 July 2010 with the 2G06 06:15 Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service. Due to engineering works, trains were running to a modified timetable, and while this train's Banbury departure was exactly the same time as normal, it in fact replaces the normal 06:24 service from Maryleone. Dramatic changes have taken place in this viewpoint since I started taking railway pictures, as can be seen in this view of 25297 taken in 1984.

168107 crosses Souldern No.2 Viaduct in a lucky patch of sunshine on 12 March 2005 with the 1H21 07:14 Kidderminster to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. This viaduct is considerably more hemmed in with bushes and trees than its neighbour to the south, Souldern No.1.

168107 passes Oxford North Junction on 13 June 2010 with the 1V31 10:10 Birmingham Snow Hill to Oxford Chiltern Railways service. This was one of a number of shuttle that ran throughout the day to connect with First Great Western trains at Oxford, the Chiltern Line being closed for engineering works.

A stranger in the Cherwell Valley! Chiltern Railways 168107 passes the site of Bletchingdon station on Sunday 20 June 2010 with the 1V46 14:10 Birmingham Snow Hill to Oxford service. Due to engineering work on the Chiltern Line, services were diverted to run to Oxford to connect with First Great Western trains to London. The coal yard on the site of the station is obviously still doing good business.

168108 speeds past Bishops Itchington with the 09:52 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service on 23 June 2009. Although largely sunny to start with, the inevitable mid morning cloud build up was just starting, as can be seen in the background.

168108 begins to slow down for the Banbury station stop, as it passes the stone terminal just to the north of the town with the 09:42 Stratford-upon-Avon to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service on 21 September 2009.

168111 is pictured at Kings Sutton a few minutes before sunset on 14 November 2007 with the Chiltern Railways 14:12 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone service. It was a sunny evening, but just as the sun was going down a bank of dark clouds rolled in from the north east and for a few minutes this unusual lighting transformed the scene, with the low sun giving everything a golden glow, contrasting with the dark menacing clouds.

168112 passes the unmistakable location of Kings Sutton on 24 July 2006 with the 1K47 17:00 Marylebone to Kidderminster Chiltern Train service. This has run non-stop from London, and its first stop will be Banbury, a few miles further north. From there on it will become an 'all stations' service.

168112 passes near to the once rail served Ardley Quarry on 11 February 2008, as it works the 11:12 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. Note how, in common with many modern units, the high tech destination display doesn't photograph correctly, no doubt due to the scanning nature of the display.

168214 passes Claydon (near Banbury) on 22 April 2009 with the 13:12 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. The line of trees in the background that the rooks are using for nest building marks the course of the former Stratford-upon-Avon & Midland Junction Railway.

With the hawthorn in full bloom, 168214 passes through Kings Sutton station on 28 May 2010 with the 1H49 14:52 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service. Even at this rural location (or more likely because of its peacefulness) it seems someone thinks it's any ideal place to watch the trains go by.

168215 passes Hatton North Junction with the 14:52 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service on 19 February 2008. The line diverging here is the route to Stratford-upon-Avon. The shadows are a real problem here, but I realised this would be the last train of the day that I would be able to get a picture of with the whole train more or less evenly lit. Note that some of the trees are still covered in frost, from the freezing fog that had covered this area in the morning.

168216 approaches the site of Dorton Halt with the 10:52 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone Chiltern Railways service on 24 May 2010. This small station opened in 1937 and closed in 1963, along with a number of other rural stations on the route. At least the line itself survived, and after a period of stagnation that saw it reduced to a single track, is now once again thriving.

168216 passes Walton Well Road, Oxford on Sunday 13 June 2010 with the diverted 1V26 09:10 Birmingham Snow Hill to Oxford Chiltern Railways service. Because of engineering works on the Chiltern Line, various Chiltern Railways trains were booked to run to Oxford to connect with First Great Western services to London. If Chiltern Railways plans come to fruition, this will soon no longer be an occasional sight at Oxford, as the company aims to run regular services to London via a new chord at Bicester.

An unusual visitor to the Oxford area on Sunday 13 June 2010. Due to engineering works on the Chiltern Line, some Chiltern Railways services were diverted to run to Oxford, where passengers would continue their journey onwards to London via First Great Western trains. 168217 passes Oxford North Junction with the 1V22 09:19 Banbury to Oxford service - the first of the day's diverted trains. The line to Bicester can be seen in the background diverging to the right.

Sunday 13 June 2010 brought some variation to the type of DMUs to be seen in the Oxford area, with Chiltern Railways Class 168s visiting on trains diverted off the Chiltern Line. Trains worked down from the north to Oxford to connect with First Great Western trains to London. 168217 heads back north with the 1G18 10:10 Oxford to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service, pictured here less than a mile into its journey, approaching Oxford North Junction.

168217 speeds through Heyford station with the 1V50 15:10 Birmingham Snow Hill to Oxford Chiltern Railways service on 20 June 2010. This is one of the hourly services diverted away from the Chiltern Line, which was closed for engineering works. It is not very often when you visit a station that you see one of your own pictures! However, my picture of 165120, taken from this footbridge was used as part of the poster at the entrance to the station advertising what is now branded 'The Oxford Canal Line'.

168218 catches the last rays of the setting sun as it passes Great Bourton on 23 April 2010 with the 17:30 Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill Chiltern Railways service. The picture is taken from a public footpath crossing.