170102 was the first three car Class 170 to be painted into Arriva Cross Country livery, although when this photo was taken the interior had still not been altered. The ex-works unit is pictured passing Tredington at speed with the 13:00 Nottingham to Cardiff Central Cross Country service on 13 February 2008. I'm not too sure about the large X on the dark red front end, which at first sight looks like vandalism or some other damage, but otherwise quite an attractive livery.

Catching the last rays of the setting sun, 170109 passes Tredington on 13 February 2008 with the 14:00 Nottingham to Cardiff Central Cross Country service. The unit is wearing the transitional livery, with the Cross Country logo applied to the former Midland Mainline colour scheme.

A hybrid set is pictured at Eccles Heath on 27 November 2006 working the 11:40 Norwich to Cambridge One Railway service. The front coach is from One liveried unit 170207, while the rear coach is from Central Trains liveried 170101. Eccles Heath is situated in the Breckland area, between Attleborough and Thetford.

Shippea Hill station is situated in the middle of the fens, where the Littleport to Mildenhall road crosses the Ely to Thetford line. With only a few scattered farms in the vicinity passenger traffic is virtually non-existence, not helped by the fact that only one train calls in each direction per day. The two units per hour that make up the normal service merely rush through at speed, as in the case of 170273 seen here with the 10:40 Norwich to Cambridge One Railway service on 29 November 2006. The signal box, which when viewed from certain angles has a definite backwards lean, has had a modern extension added to the rear.

The application of the First Transpennine Express livery to certain Class 170s has certainly transformed their appearance. On 14 March 2008, 170306 & 170303 pass Hemingbrough with the 08:41 Manchester Piccadilly to Hull service, passing a surviving relic from the steam age - a cast iron milepost indicating 27 miles from Hull.

170405 approaches Usan and the end of the short Montrose to Usan section of single track on 5 May 2008. It is working the 15:33 Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street First ScotRail service. This short section of single track on an otherwise double track mainline can be something of an operational bottleneck, however the viaduct at Inchbraoch would be a major stumbling block to adding a second track and the present level of service can just about cope with the inconvenience.

You wait patiently at a rural location for a train, then two come along at once! A very lucky passing shot at Boddin (near Montrose) on 5 May 2008, as 170410 heads north with the 07:41 Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen First ScotRail service, passing 170454 working the 08:50 Aberdeen to Edinburgh service. With a closing speed of well over 150 mph there was very little margin for error in taking this picture, and it was pure luck that they passed right in front of my lens!

170414 passes Errol (between Perth and Dundee) with the 06:40 Edinburgh to Dundee First ScotRail service on 6 May 2008. Errol station closed as recently as 1985 and is now a craft shop. As can be seen in this picture, the semaphore signals remain, protecting the busy level crossing.

First ScotRail has applied 'Backing Scotland's bid for first place' vinyls to 170420 to promote the drive for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The colourful unit is pictured passing Lathallan with the 14:30 Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street service on 5 October 2007. This was midway through a productive ten minutes spent at this location, which is in contrast to the long wait with nothing happening that is commonplace today.

The 13:40 Edinburgh to Inverness First ScotRail service approaches Drumochter Summit on 10 June 2005, with 170450 leading a Class 158 unit. A little over six months old at the time, the Class 170s as can be seen here were augmenting the Class 158s which have been the staple of the Highland Mainline since the demise of the loco hauled trains in the early 1990s.