Locos from the original batch of twenty Class 47s built with ETH were never common on the Cotswold Line in the 1980s by virtue of their Gateshead allocation, but I did see 47402 Gateshead on the line on two separate occasions. On 8 July 1984 it worked the 16:10 Paddington to Hereford service, seen here passing Chilson. Apart from the lack of lineside vegetation, points to note here are the remnants of the steam age railway: bullhead track, platelayer's hut, and a telegraph pole lying just in front of the loco, as it was only a few years previously that they were felled.

47405 Northumbria races past Wolvercote Junction (near Oxford) with the 1O19 08:30 Liverpool Lime Street to Poole service on 26 January 1986. Note the oversize round plaque below the nameplate which carries the additional wording 'Northumbria Tourist Board Member'. This is the only picture I have of this particular locomotive, for although the original twenty ETH Class 47 'generators' were reasonably common through Oxford, this one evaded me. I obviously got my one picture of it just in time, as it was withdrawn just over month later and cut up at Crewe Works during 1988. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing, which has since been closed.

47436 Buznak passes Narroways Hill Junction, on the outskirts of Bristol with the 6M29 14:00 Taunton to Bescot Speedlink service on 16 April 1991, mainly conveying cider from Taunton Cider's factory at Norton Fitzwarren. This was the start of a busy period for freight activity at this location, with 6B97, 6B20 & 4B74 all seen during the next few hours. 47436 had received the unofficial name Buznak at Tinsley during the previous summer, at a time when the depot way busy applying these painted names (along with the Tinsley rose emblem) to as many Class 47s as it could get away with! The branch line leading off to the right is the line to Severn Beach via Avonmouth.

With the shadows lengthening as the sun dips towards the horizon, 47457 Gazelle passes Narroways Hill Junction with the late running 4B74 16:30 Bristol West to Hereford freightliner on 16 April 1991. It was a very busy day for unofficially named Tinsley Class 47s, as I had already seen 47436 & 47630. This loco was to survive for less than a year after this photo was taken, and after languishing at Old Oak Common for several years was finally cut up on site by M.R.J Phillips.

Under a brooding sky and with the threat of rain, 47457 Gazelle passes the site of Coaley Junction station (closed in 1965) with the 6M29 14:00 Taunton to Warrington Speedlink service on 17 April 1991. The former Dursley branch line curved away to the left at the end of the siding in the background. A new station named Cam & Dursley was opened on this site in 1994 after much campaigning by locals, and therefore this view from the roadbridge is no longer possible. However the view from the new station's footbridge is very similar

47460 arrives at Blair Atholl on 14 July 1983 with the late running 17:35 Glasgow Queen Street to Inverness service. Apart from the sleeper service, this was the last northbound passenger service of the day over the Highland Main Line. Note the Mk 1 buffet car parked in the siding. Although an unnamed nondescript rail blue machine here, this loco started the trend for unofficial namings in 1978 when Stratford applied Great Eastern plates. These were soon removed, but further namings on the locos in the 1980s and 1990s were semi-officially tolerated, indeed, 47460 acquired one of the famous Tinsley unofficial names in 1991, when it was named Triton.

47473 approaches the site of Chipping Campden station on the Cotswold Line with the 18:07 Paddington to Hereford service on 2 June 1984. The evening sun was just fading out into high cloud and there was only a trace of brightness when the train came. Chipping Campden station (which did not acquire the 'Chipping' in its name until 1952) was closed in 1966. Although a small country station it boasted two private sidings.

Viewed from a farm occupation bridge near Shorthampton, on the Cotswold Line on 8 June 1984, 47473 heads west with the 17:05 Paddington to Hereford service. This loco had a strange end to its life, inasmuch that it was still recorded on TOPS three months after it had been cut up! It was officially withdrawn in June 1998, even though workers from M.R.J. Phillips of Llanelly had cut it up at Crewe works during March.

47474 Sir Rowland Hill approaches Islip on the Bicester to Oxford line with the 4C13 11:11 Calvert to Bristol Avon Binliner on 12 December 1997. 47474  was new to traffic in July 1964 as D1602. It acquired its TOPS number in February 1974, and unlike a large number of its class was not renumbered again. It was withdrawn from Crewe in March 2000 and was finally cut up at TJ Thomson's at Stockton in 2005. This was an interesting time for photographing the Avon Binliner, for although a particular loco usually stayed on the train all week, there was a variety of different liveried Class 47s employed on the train at various times, a far cry from the repetitiveness of today!

47482 makes a smoky departure from Oxford on 3 March 1984 with the 13:15 Oxford to Paddington service formed entirely of Mk 2 stock, albeit with a mixture of early and air conditioned types. The train is passing the site of Hinksey North signal box at the north end of Hinksey Yard, which was largely disused at the time. A fine picture from the sadly missed corporate blue era, when Thames Valley passengers had a high quality comfortable train service to take them to the capital! A point of interest for railway modellers is the non-standard arrangement of the former headcode box. Rather than the normal marker lights surrounded by rubber grommets, 47482 appears to just have a pair of painted white dots.

47484 Isambard Kingdom Brunel passes Claydon (near Banbury) with the 1M88 06:33 Poole to Manchester Piccadilly service on 2 June 1984. Surprisingly considering this had always been a Western Region locomotive, this was my first picture of this locomotive, and my only picture of it in blue livery (apart from a light engine shot). The following year it was repainted into brunswick green livery in connections with the GWR 150 celebrations. From then on I saw it frequently! If I've only got one picture of it in blue, at least its a good one, with a very lucky patch of sun illuminating just the train, with a background of dark clouds - perfect!

On a bitterly cold 4 January 1986, with frost on the ballast and vegetation, 47485 passes Kenilworth with the 1S39 07:34 Poole to Glasgow Central service. The 47 would be replaced by an electric loco at Coventry. Even by 1986 rail blue was still the predominant livery on the national network, or during the winter months rail blue and dirt, as seen here! A single InterCity livery coach has appeared in the otherwise uniform rake of blue and grey stock.