Completely devoid of any Virgin Trains branding, with even the badge below the windscreen removed, the pioneer 'Voyager' unit 220001 moves from the up relief to the up main line just to the east of Didcot at South Moreton with the 07:24 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth service on 12 November 2007. The franchise had been taken over by Arriva the previous day, but most of the 'Voyagers' seen during the day still carried some Virgin branding. Arriva are retaining the Cross Country name for the route with a new livery to follow shortly.

Pioneer 'Voyager' unit 220001 speeds through Dean with the diverted 10:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly Cross Country service on 21 March 2009. After a dreary start, the sun was finally starting to burn off the low cloud leading to yet another day of hazy sunshine - the final day of a spell of settled high pressure weather conditions.

220001 & 220024 join forces to form the 1M58 14:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service on 16 August 2010, seen here passing through the cutting at South Moreton. This used to be a well frequented photographic spot, due to its clear view in both directions and lack of traffic (being a farm occupation bridge). However, bridge rebuilding has made the location now very hard work, the same applying to the bridge in the village of South Moreton, seen in the background.

220003 passes Abbotswood on 20 March 2009 with the 1V57 13:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Note the extremley low and dilapidated field fence in the foreground (since replaced) and the vintage cast iron milepost.

220004 finds a brief patch of sunshine at Tackley on 8 March 2007 as it heads down the Cherwell Valley with the 08:52 Edinburgh to Bournemouth Virgin Cross Country service . Note the flooded fields in the background, a common feature of this location in the winter and early spring.

220005 passes Little Haresfield on 30 May 2009 with the 09:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads Cross Country service, while 60074 Teenage Spirit sits patiently in the loop with the late running 6B13 05:10 Robeston to Westerleigh Murco oil tanks. As 6B13 had lost its path, instead of waiting in the loop for just one train to pass, it waited for 40 minutes while 3 trains passed!

A more artistic type picture at Spetchley on 8 October 2008. With an impressive cloud formation adding interest to the picture, 220007 heads northwards with the 13:25 Plymouth to Manchester Piccadilly Arriva Cross Country service. A public footpath leads across this field to a footbridge over the railway.

The driver of 220009 gives the windscreen a good wash as he approaches Kings Sutton on 24 November 2010 with the 1V87 10:25 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. This picture is taken from the footpath that leads from the village of Kings Sutton to Twyford Mill, and is one of the few locations in the vicinity that is not shaded by lineside bushes during the winter.

I wouldn't normally take a going away shot of a unit, and certainly not on a dull day, but look what's on the front of this one! 47197 drags 220011 past Croome en-route from Bristol Barton Hill to Central Rivers depot on 31 July 2005. This was due to the unavailability of Virgin's own Class 57 locos.

There are dark clouds in the Oxford direction, as 220011 speeds northwards at Tackley on 16 June 2011 with the 1E68 17:46 Southampton Central to York CrossCountry service. Note the condensation in the headlight clusters.

No, I have not just completed a massive lineside vegetation clearance operation, just to get an uninterrupted view of a Voyager! Network Rail have had a welcome blitz on the trackside bushes and trees near Little Haresfield, opening up the view of northbound trains considerably from the public footpath crossing. 220011 speeds past on 6 April 2012 with the 1M25 07:00 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service.

After a bright start, the clouds are building up at Sandy Lane, Kidlington on 22 September 2012, as 220012 speeds southwards with the 1O10 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Sandy Level Crossing can just be seen behind the rear of the train.

220013 South Wales Voyager speeds past Battledown Flyover on 30 March 2003 with the 1O10 09:40 Wolverhampton to Bournemouth Virgin CrossCountry service. With all of the Class 220 fleet having lost this livery in favour of CrossCountry's brown colour scheme, this image already looks historic!

Although for some odd reason during the whole time I was on the footbridge at Hinksey Yard in ideal photographic conditions on 9 January 2010 not a single railway photographer joined me, there was a constant procession of 'normal' passers by obviously testing their Christmas present cameras in the snowy conditions! Here the driver of 220014 gives a cheery wave to a couple of girls who are taking his picture, as he passes by with the 10:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service.

220015 speeds round the curve near Rousham on 18 April 2010 with the 1V82 13:33 Birmingham New Street to Reading CrossCountry service. 1V82 would normally start from Newcastle, but this is a Sunday, so consequently it starts from Birmingham. I particularly like the composition of this picture, with the train leaning into the curve and the rails lying in the ballast adding some foreground interest. Even the tree on the right is positioned in just the right place to aid the composition. Of course I would say this, because its a bloody long walk to get to this spot!

220016 speeds past Thrupp on 7 March 2011 with the 1O18 12:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. Luckily the gap in the bushes is just right the size for a four car Class 220. A five car Class 221 wouldn't look quite so good with the back end obstructed by the signal!

220017 pulls out of Oxford station on 13 July 2002 with the 05:16 Manchester Piccadilly to Poole Virgin CrossCountry service. Until the late 1990s the classic view of trains leaving Oxford was from the Osney Lane footbridge. However, the car park seen here now ruins the picture. So here is the next best viewpoint, unfortunately including the ever present palisade fencing.

220021 is pictured just north of Heyford station on the Banbury to Oxford line on 18 April 2009. It is working the 06:55 Edinburgh to Reading Cross Country service. Probably not a location that is visited very often, as it requires a lengthy walk from the nearest road, something which puts off the majority of photographers!

Snow lays thickly on the ground and provides a 'load' for the Network Rail spoil wagons in the foreground, as 220021 passes Hinksey Yard on 9 January 2010 with the 1O30 09:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The footbridge in the background always used to be a popular photographic spot, but the nearby trees are now so tall that a patch of shade covers the tracks at this time of year, as can be clearly seen here.

220021 heads northwards past Somerton on 10 April 2012 with the 1M22 06:15 Southampton to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Just behind the trees on the right is an earlier form of transport - the Oxford Canal, opened in 1790.

A brief sunny spell at Greenholme on 19 June 2006, as 220022 heads north with the 9S62 10:46 Bournemouth to Edinburgh Virgin CrossCountry service on 19 June 2006. Note how dark the fells in the background near Tebay are!

Palindromic 220022 passes the Woodbury Lane Industrial Estate near Norton with the 10:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads Cross Country service on 20 March 2009. I had not previously used this location for a southbound train and the convenient tree next to the footpath crossing has made an interesting picture from a mundane subject.

220022 speeds past Upper Heyford on 23 March 2011 with the 1O14 10:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. I haven't seen this location used by other photographers, but then it is a fair walk from the nearest road, which inevitably puts most people off!

The local coal merchant on the site of Bletchingdon station is obviously building up some good stocks for the forthcoming winter. 220024 passes by on 2 September 2010 with the 1V88 11:27 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service.

In nice evening light, with a dark threatening sky in the background, 220027 passes Bishop Wood with the 15:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle Cross Country service on 26 July 2008. Despite being repainted into Cross Country's new livery, the shadow of the former Virgin Railways shield can still plainly be seen on the nose! Overhead electrified lines are particularly difficult for photography, with most viewpoints from bridges being ruined by the wires getting in the way. I am particularly pleased with this location, as not only does the low angle suit the catenary, but the farm track running parallel with the line makes a particularly attractive composition.

Wrong line working at Ashchurch on 4 May 2010. 220027 & 220033 have just used the crossover at Ashchurch station, and are pictured proceeding cautiously northwards up the wrong line during an engineer's possession, resulting in single line working. They are working the 05:20 Plymouth to Edinburgh CrossCountry service.

As 23 March 2011 was a more or less completely sunny day, I ventured out to a location near Upper Heyford that I had not previously visited. It looked OK on Google Earth and so it proved to be, although there is a very long walk from Upper Heyford village. The location ideally suits a short train such as this. 220028 heads south with the 1O18 12:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service.

The weak winter sun glints off the silver bodyside of 220029 as it heads northwards near Yarnton on 2 February 2008 with the 07:45 Bournemouth to Aberdeen CrossCountry service. I certainly wouldn't want to travel from one end of the United Kingdom to the other in one of these units!

220029 heads south at Lower Wick on 25 September 2010 with the 1V47 07:58 Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton CrossCountry service. The bridge in the background carries the Middle Wick to Lower Wick road (yes, there is an Upper Wick as well!), while partly hidden by that, in the far distance is the M5 motorway bridge.

220031 passes the stone terminal at Banbury on 21 September 2009 with the 06:21 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. A surprisingly rural location (apart, obviously from the stone depot), and although surrounded by roads and industrial units, this view gives the impression of being in the countryside.

220032 speeds through Mottisfont & Dunbridge station with the diverted 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth Cross County service on 21 March 2009. The shutter was deliberately pressed a little early so that the train would not obscure the view of the station building (now a private house). The passengers are waiting for the following South West Trains service, which on this day were having to share capacity on the line with both diverted passenger and freight services.

220032 passes Wolvercote on 15 December 2012 with the late running 1V83 06:22 Newcastle to Reading CrossCountry service. It had started out bang on time, but delays at York cost it 20 minutes, which by the time Derby was reached had increased to 36 minutes. Here it was a mere 30 minutes behind time, but it did mean that the following 1O10 08:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth (220002) was running right behind it.

220033 passes Hatton North Junction with the 14:40 Reading to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service on 19 February 2008. The line to the right leads to Stratford-upon-Avon, but sees virtually no traffic. The footbridge here is a pleasant spot for railway photography, well away from any road, although the ever present hum of the M40 motorway rather detracts from the rural atmosphere. The nearest other means of transport is the nearby Grand Union Canal.

220034 speeds past the footpath crossing at Gossington on 5 March 2010 with the 1V57 13:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. Gossington Hall is situated just to left of this picture, a name which will be familiar to readers of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple crime novels.

221104 speeds past Fenwick on 13 September 2003 with the 1V67 14:21 Newcastle to Cardiff Central Virgin Trains service. There is certainly no need to use the tilting mechanism on this section of track, it being dead straight from Temple Hirst Junction to Doncaster, a distance of over ten miles.

Fine autumn lighting at Tredington on 10 October 2008, as 221118 heads south with the 1V55 11:25 Newcastle to Bristol Temple Meads service. This is a totally unbranded set, with no evidence of either the old (Virgin) or new (CrossCountry) operators.

221119 speeds past Claydon on 15 April 2008 with the 1O06 06:00 Leeds to Bournemouth CrossCounty service. The outline of the former Virgin Trains logo is visible on the front end, as was usual at this time, but there appears to be another mark as well. Possibly caused by the plaque's removal?

221119 passes Little Haresfield on 19 January 2011 with the 1V49 09:07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service. The photographers on the bridge (and the small group of us stood at the footpath crossing) are waiting for the bright red apparition that can be seen in the loop in the background. Freshly painted 60011 is working the 6B13 05:05 Robeston to Westerleigh Murco oil tanks, just a matter of days after being returned to service in its new colour scheme.

Palindromic 221122 passes Fiddington (near Ashchurch) with the 14:24 Derby to Bristol Temple Meads CrossCountry service on 18 February 2008. This unit, in common with most of the fleet at this time has CrossCountry branding applied to the bodyside and the shadow of the former Virgin badge just visible on the front end. The low winter sun certainly accentuates this livery.

221123 passes Gossington on a brilliantly sunny 8 April 2010 with the 1M33 10:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Note that the gap in the bushes is exactly the right size for a five coach train!

221125 speeds past Dunston on 29 January 2011 with the 1M22 06:15 Southampton Central to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service. Does that glimmer of weak early morning light catching the side of the train mean things are going to improve by the time the Class 31 hauled railtour appears? No of course it doesn't, it just got worse!

221127 glints in the low winter sun as it passes Kilnhurst on 27 December 2003 with the 06:03 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle Virgin Trains service. The railway at the bottom of the garden is either a railway enthusiast's dream or a bloody nuisance, depending on these householder's views!

Superb evening lighting at Spetchley on 8 October 2008 as 221129 speeds south with the 9V65 12:05 Edinburgh to Plymouth CrossCountry service. Despite the new livery, a sign of the unit's former operator can just still be seen, Note the shadow of the former Virgin Trains logo on the yellow front.

My first railway picture of 2008 shows a pair of de-branded ex Virgin Class 221 'Voyagers' passing at Hinksey Yard, near Oxford in superb low winter lighting on 2 January. 221130 approaches with the 06:00 Glasgow to Bournemouth Arriva Cross Country service, while 221123 slows for a signal check whilst working the 11:45 Bournemouth to Glasgow service. At the start of 2008 most of the 'Voyager' fleet were in this transitional state, although a few sets have received Cross Country branding, and some retain evidence of their former operators.

I went to Heyford station on 29 October 2008 with the aim of taking a picture showing both the railway and canal with a background of autumn colours. Unfortunately only one tree seems to be putting on much of a show at this location. 221130 rounds the curve and passes the narrowboats on the Oxford Canal as it works the 1V94 09:54 Manchester Piccadilly to Reading Cross Country service. The Oxford Canal parallels the railway up the Cherwell Valley between Oxford and Banbury, and although it is basically a contour following canal and therefore wanders about a bit, there are a number of places where both the cut and the line are in close proximity. However, getting good picture with both included is far from easy!

Just the right size gap for a five coach Voyager! On 17 December 2008, 221130 passes the flooded fields near Tackley with the 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth CrossCountry service. The flooding of the River Cherwell is a regular winter occurrence, with huge areas of water appearing between the river and the Oxford Canal, which shares the valley with the river and the railway. One of the bridges over the canal can be seen in the background of this picture directly above the centre coach.

CrossCountry services were diverted away from the Bristol to Gloucester line on Saturdays in the latter part of 2008 due to engineering work. Not long after sunrise on 18 October 2008, 221133 passes Magor with the 06:10 Exeter St Davids to Manchester Piccadilly service, having just reversed at Newport. Note the pink tint to the sky which I hoped was going to herald an improvement in the weather, which although apparently clear as I was driving from Gloucester, was in fact dull and drizzly in South Wales. The colour in the sky however only lasted a short while and then after a period when it looked like it might possibly brighten up, it started raining seriously.

Soft early morning autumnal light at Banbury on 21 September 2009, as 221136 passes the stone terminal with the 06:15 Leeds to Reading CrossCountry service. The lighting was gradually getting brighter, as can be seen on the following train, using CrossCountry's other class of Voyager unit.

221137 passes the site of Stonehouse (Bristol Road) station on a gloomy 15 April 2006. It is working the 08:00 Bristol Temple Meads to Newcastle Virgin CrossCountry service. The rusting siding in the undergrowth was in use long after the passenger station closed, as the coal depot on the site survived right up to the Speedlink Coal era, finally closing in 1987.

A meeting of Class 221 units at Dosthill on 1 May 2004. 221144 heads northwards with the 08:30 Birmingham New Street to Newcastle Virgin Trains services and passes an unidentified unit heading the 06:00 Leeds to Bristol Temple Meads train. 221144 no longer exists, as in 2010 its two centre coaches were removed to allow 221142 & 221143 to be converted into five car units. Therefore the driving car pictured here (and the one on the other end) are now spare. It also leaves 221141 as the only four car 221 set.

Sporting the new East Midlands Trains livery, 222001 passes Barkby Thorpe (near Leicester) with the 09:30 Nottingham to St Pancras service on 26 July 2008. Formerly open countryside between Leicester and Syston, new development can be seen on the horizon, and presumably in a few years time the field behind the train will also succumb to mew house building.

222001 speeds past Sharnbrook on 21 April 2010 with the 13:15 Corby to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. Note the crossover allowing access to the bi-directional freight line. The train is approaching the site of Sharnbrook station, which closed in 1960.

Meridian unit 222003 passes Milton Ernest with the 09:30 Nottingham to St Pancras service on 16 August 2007. Class 222s come in 4, 5, and (as here) 8 coach formations. The train has crossed over the River Great Ouse, which the line repeatedly re-crosses in the Bedford area. The tracks on the right are the freight lines, which take an easier gradient at Sharnbrook a few miles to the north of this location.

222003 Tornado rounds the curve on the approach to Wellingborough on 23 April 2010 with the 13:55 St Pancras to Sheffield East Midlands Trains service. The name Tornado strictly speaking applies just to driving car at this end, as it has the same number (60163) as the newly built Peppercorn Class A1 steam locomotive.

Soft early morning light at Cossington on 22 March 2012, as 222005 speeds southwards with the 1C25 08:27 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. The EMT livery looks particularly effective on these units, especially when kept clean, as here.

222006 receives its only personal spotlighting at is passes Wistow Road near Kibworth Harcourt on 3 February 2011 with the 1C50 13:27 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. Although not to everyone's taste, I quite like the effect where a fully lit train is highlighted against a dark background such as this. The reverse however is a total disaster!

222008 speeds past Barrow Upon Soar with the 11:18 Derby to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service on 12 September 2009. Note the new the footbridge in the background, which replaces the one damaged in an accident by rail contractors that resulted in a train driver being injured when his train ran into the wreckage.

222010 speeds past Barrow-upon-Soar on 15 September 2012 with the 1C42 11:47 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. This conveniently low wall next to the village's car park will no doubt soon have a palisade fence erected for 'safety' reasons!

Not exactly what I was expecting to see at Swarkestone, on the Stenson Junction to Sheet Stores Junction line on 24 November 2008. Presumably working the diverted 08:10 Burton-on-Trent to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service, 222012 passes a few remaining autumn leaves in some welcome early morning sunshine.

222013 speeds past Souldrop on 21 April 2010 with the 10:47 Sheffield to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. The first signs of the year's new green leaves are showing on the trackside bushes, as well as the blackthorn still being in full bloom.

An infrequent visitor to the East Coast Main Line, former Midland Mainline 222021 passes Bishop Wood (between York and Doncaster) with the 17:03 Scarborough to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service on 26 July 2008. This is the only daily East Midlands service from the East Coast resort.

222023 passes non-stop through East Midlands Parkway station on 11 March 2010 with the 09:02 Nottingham to St Pancras East Midlands Trains service. The signals here have recently be repositioned, replacing ones which were much nearer the bridge that I am standing on, and therefore were somewhat in the way, photographically.

Hull Trains had a very small fleet - just four Class 222 4 car units. 222104 is pictured here passing Woodhall (between Selby and Gilberdyke) with the 09:48 Kings Cross to Hull service on 14 March 2008. As can be seen, this is a very straight section of railway. The flat lands to the north of the River Ouse presented very few engineering difficulties to the original builders of the line.