47302 approaches was is now Cam & Dursley station, but at the time was merely the site of Coaley Junction, with the 9C04 14:54 Gloucester to Bristol East Depot departmental working on 17 April 1991. A welcome but slightly surprising choice of traction, as this train was booked for one of the local DCWA allocated locomotives. Tinsley's 47302 sports the original Railfreight livery with the addition of a red stripe. There were a number of permutations to this livery, but in addition to the larger white bodyside numbers, this loco also carries the Thornaby kingfisher logo, a reminder of its pre 1990 depot allocation. Not only was I lucky with the motive power, but also with the weather, as a brief patch of sunshine for once appeared exactly at the right moment!

In dramatic lighting in between heavy showers, 47304 heads north through Oxford with the 6M23 10:12 Fawley to Longport LPG tanks on 22 April 1986. Note the variety of traction visible in the background, with a HST heading towards the station and Class 117 DMU and Class 50 in the carriage sidings. The gate visible by the notices in the foreground is the location of my only sighting of a steam loco in BR service, when as a child I saw Sir Winston Churchill's funeral train en-route to Handborough in January 1965. My memories from that day are less of the train and more of playing on the edge of the stream in the foreground!

Despite the application of sundry alternative liveries, BR blue was still the dominant colour on the national network in mid 1980s. On 27 June 1986 47313 ambles along the Great Western mainline at Compton Beauchamp (between Didcot and Swindon) with a late running Wolverton to Stoke Gifford ARC stone empties.

47318 passes Milton Trading Estate with the 6B27 Theale to Robeston oil empties on 16 November 1988. Although sunny at this spot, the remains of the early morning fog is still hanging around over Didcot and virtually hiding Didcot Power Station, which would normally dominate the background here. Although partially obscured by steam from the cooling towers, the station's 650 feet tall chimney (in the centre of the picture) is all but invisible.

47344 arrives at the Rover car plant at Swindon on 13 June 1996 with the 6V09 04:20 Longbridge to Swindon car panel empties, comprising a complete rake of the then brand new cube wagons. The train is pictured diverging from the Great Western Mainline at Highworth Junction. The Rover works (formerly British Leyland and latterly BMW) shared this remaining stub of the Highworth Branch with a Shell oil depot (the line just visible in the immediate foreground) and Cooper's scrapyard. Unfortunately all this traffic is now lost to rail. Even 47344 is now no more, having being withdrawn in 1999 and cut up by the Harry Needle Railroad Company at Kingsbury in 2002.

47348 St Christopher's Railway Home passes the south end of Hinksey Yard (near Oxford) with the 1O38 09:10 Edinburgh to Bournemouth Virgin Cross Country service on 14 August 1999. Just one of many Virgin trains that had to resort to freight loco haulage during 1998 and 1999 when the availability of the rostered Class 47/8s reached a low ebb.

Wearing the exceedingly unimaginative all over grey engineers livery that predates the 'Dutch' civil engineers colour scheme, 47352 passes Moira West Junction, on the Coalville Line with eastbound ballast empties on 23 October 1989. The switchback nature of the track here is caused by mining subsidence. The line on the right leads to Rawdon Colliery.

In failing light, 47362 heads south at Radley with a short train of commercial vehicles. I must appeal for help with the identification of this train, as I seem to have mislaid the details! As far as I remember it only ran for a short while in the 1991 period. Possibly Washwood Heath to Southampton? All information gratefully received. Passed Radley (near Oxford at 16:20).

47365 Diamond Jubilee passes Tackley with the 6E30 17:18 Eastleigh to Haverton Hill Speedlink on 19 June 1991, less than 3 weeks before the withdrawal of all Speedlink wagonload services in the UK. At 20:20 even in mid June it is difficult to find a location free from shadows, and I was getting worried here as the area of track in sun was rapidly shrinking, but luckily I managed to press the shutter at exactly the right moment as it appears that the sunlit area is exactly the same length as a Class 47!

A very strange working is pictured passing Cholsey on 12 November 2007. 47375 & 47703 are working the 6Z50 11:35 Gloucester Horton Road to Wembley, comprising just a cargowagon and polybulk wagon! The low autumn sun certainly highlights the rather garish Riviera blue livery, which being clean rather shows up the filthy state of ex Fragonset liveried 47703.

47376 Freightliner 1995 has just passed under the Dixton bridge and is pictured approaching Gotherington with the 12:40 Toddington to Cheltenham Racecourse service on 5 November 2006. This was during the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway's Autumn Diesel Gala. Unlike the Saturday, the sunny weather on the Sunday did not last all day. Around midday the clouds started appearing and 47376 is just faintly illuminated by a the last of the sun as it disappears into high cloud.