An easy race! 50001 Dreadnought runs parallel with a Mk2 Ford Escort estate on the approach to Combe with the 08:00 Hereford to Paddington service on 4 October 1986. Although by this date Network SouthEast had been launched, the Cotswold Line was still predominantly rail blue, with just one Inter City coach breaking up the uniformity here.

With the church of St John the Baptist prominent in the background, a filthy 50001 Dreadnought pulls away from Tisbury with the 09:15 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids service on 2 February 1991. I had taken very few photos on the Waterloo to Exeter line prior to this, but the impending withdrawal of the Class 50s meant that virtually all free time during 1991 was devoted to photographing them on this former Southern Railway route. Obviously in previous years there were plenty of 50s in my native Oxfordshire to keep me busy!

50002 Superb passes FWP Matthews flower mill at Shipton with the 1A18 07:00 Hereford to Paddington service on 19 July 1986. The lamposts on the right indicate the presence of Shipton station, but neither this nor most of the other services on the line stop at this diminutive halt. Apart from the vehicles (both road and rail!) this view is pretty much the same nowadays, if only one could see it, as uncontrolled tree growth has now obstructed this viewpoint. However, FWP Matthews is still a thriving family owned business producing high quality organic flower.

50002 Superb certainly lives up to its name as it races through Winchfield on 28 August 1987 with the 1V15 15:10 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service. Although a bit of a shock at the time, the original version of Network SouthEast livery was certainly impressive on the Class 50s, and in my view preferably to the later version. It has to be said the inclusion of so much white in the livery was bound to show up the dirt, but at least the roof was painted black!

50002 Superb climbs Goodrington Bank with the 16:30 Paignton to Kingswear service on 16 October 1993, whilst taking part in the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway's Class 50 Spectacular. Perfect low autumnal lighting, waves on the beach, and a blue almost unrefurbished (if you ignore the headlight) Class 50, what more could you ask for? Perhaps the Goodrington Water Park in the background above the train doesn't exactly add to the view, but otherwise an excellent picture.

50003 Temeraire could always be recognised from a distance in the early 1980s by its white window frames. It is seen here arriving at Kingham on 4 June 1983 with the 07:05 Hereford to Paddington service. This was the time before Kingham became a busy commuter station and well before the era of the full properly surfaced pay and display car park! Note the old bridge abutment in the background, which was an excellent spot for photography in the 1980s, prior to the rampant tree and bush growth of recent years.

50004 St Vincent speeds past Stoke Orchard with the 1V72 09:00 Leeds to Penzance service on 13 March 1982. Bredon Hill can be seen on the right above some of the old orchards from which the nearby village is obviously named. This is near the site of Cleeve station, so called to avoid confusion with Bishops Cleeve station on the nearby former GWR Cheltenham to Stratford line. The village of Bishops Cleeve is located between the two routes.

50005 Collingwood passes Evenlode on 16 February 1985 with the 07:05 Hereford to Paddington service. This is on the double track section of the Cotswold Line just south of Moreton-in-Marsh. The snow had been around for several days, but hadn't completely disappeared by the time the weekend came, and luckily the sun came out creating these ideal photographic conditions.

A work stained 50005 Collingwood passes Chilson with the 1B16 09:55 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill service on 31 August 1986, running approximately 20 minutes late. This location, which is incidentally the site of Charlbury water troughs, has become progressively more grown up since this photo was taken, although the dead elm tree in the background had gone by the following year. It used to be a favourite photographic spot of mine, as it is one of the few locations on the Cotswold Line where the sun is on the nose as early as midday (as here) for northbound trains. 

50006 Neptune darkens the sky as it departs from Gloucester with the 1S61 07:47 Cardiff Central to Edinburgh service on 6 July 1985, which it would work as far as Birmingham New Street. Classmate 50004 St Vincent can be seen on the right waiting to follow it out with the 09:15 Gloucester to Swindon parcels. Gloucester cathedral dominates the skyline in the background.

50007 Sir Edward Elgar passes Old Basing with the 09:55 Honiton to Waterloo service on 28 April 1991. This celebrity loco was withdrawn a few months later, but was reinstated with the engine from 50046, and so lived on until the end of the class on the mainline in 1994. This section of line is virtually dead straight all the way from Basingstoke to Farnborough and was well known for fast running in the last days of Southern steam.

After reversing at Exeter St. Davids, the Pathfinder Tours '50 Terminator' railtour is seen here passing through Totnes, hauled by 50007 Sir Edward Elgar & 50050 Fearless, running as the 1Z07 13:17 Exeter St. Davids to Penzance on 26 March 1994. This was the farewell tour to the Class 50s on the mainline. Ironically I turned up at this spot to see 50031 Hood return to the mainline in Autumn 1997 in similarly perfect sunny conditions.

A real blast from the past! 50008 Thunderer approaches Ufton Crossing with the 1B74 12:23 Paddington to Paignton service on 16 September 1978. The loco had only been named two weeks previously, and was to wait another year before the ship's crests were added. It is still in unrefurbished condition, and at this time less than half way through its career on the national network, having being transferred from the London Midland Region to the Western Region two years before as a replacement for the Class 52 'Westerns'. This was one of my earliest railways photos, taken using a Praktica PLC2 and Kodachrome 64 film.

50008 Thunderer speeds through Radley station with the 3A88 09:00 Oxford to Old Oak Common empty newspaper vans on 16 August 1987. Although the load of four empty vans may seem a ridiculous use of a Class 50, this train was actually booked for a pair of 50s, and indeed this is one of the few occasions I saw a single loco on it. The use of two locos was purely to get them back to Old Oak Common for the Monday morning rush hour trains. 

I do not normally bother photographing light engine convoys, but with one of my favourite Class 50s providing the power this one just had to done, despite the gloomy weather. Passing the site of Coalpit Heath station on 25 May 1991, celebrity pair 50008 Thunderer & 50015 Valiant haul 31511, 37904, & 37889 from Bristol Bath Road to Coalville, where all the locos would be on display at the open day. At this time both 50s were in the NWXC (Network SouthEast reserve) pool. In June 1991 they were both transferred back into the DCWA departmental pool, from which they had both been taken to be repainted into these one off liveries in January 1991. However, in their second time in the DCWA pool they did virtually no departmental work.

Shortly after sunset on 23 November 1991, 50008 Thunderer & 50015 Valiant pass through Bodmin Parkway station with the 1Z37 14:20 Newquay to Manchester Piccadilly 'Valiant Thunderer' railtour. Geoff Hudson, the BR area fleet manager who did so much to maintain the Class 50s during their last years at Laira can be seen standing up inside Thunderer's cab.

50009 Conqueror makes a smoky departure from Oxford with the 1F07 07:08 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service on 1 August 1986. Despite being loco hauled, this was a not an express service, taking 80 minutes to reach the capital, and calling at Radley, Didcot, Cholsey, Goring & Streatley, Pangbourne, Tilehurst, & Reading. Before the large car park was constructed on the site of the yard on the right in the 1990s, I used to visit this location frequently, often getting there at the crack of dawn (as here)!

A dull day at Wolfhall on the Berks & Hants Line on 2 July 1985 sees 50010 Monarch heading east with 09:32 Penzance to Paddington service. Monarch is one of the few 50s that I have only got a few pictures of, and I certainly never saw it when it had its blue roof whilst in 'large logo' livery. This was carried out at Landore Depot in 1983, allegedly because they hadn't got the correct paint!

Still in original unrefurbished condition, 50011 Centurion passes Circourt Bridge, Denchworth with the 12:40 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads service on 27 October 1982. This was in the era when I never met any other photographers at what is now a very popular photographic spot. Even this rural location has changed considerably since this photo was taken. In addition to the obvious fact that the former relief lines have now been reinstated, other changes include the rebuilding of the bridge in the background, and the installation of a signal gantry just in front of it. Also both the PW hut and the dead elm trees have disappeared.

50012 Benbow passes Ascott-under-Wychwood station under stormy skies on 10 May 1986 with the 1B46 17:05 Paddington to Hereford service. After passing over the level crossing next to which I am standing, the train will join the double track section, which continues as far as Moreton-in-Marsh. Very few trains actually stop at Ascott, which is obviously unfortunate for the villagers, as unlike some of the smaller stations on the Cotswold Line, it is actually situated in the village it is meant to serve.

50013 Agincourt gathers speed as it leaves Oxford and passes Hinksey Yard with the 08:05 Oxford to Paddington service on 4 July 1985, while 31272 waits in the up loop with the 6V19 06:32 Bescot to Speedlink. A nice sunny morning, but very hazy. The footbridge here offers excellent views in both directions, but I kept wishing it was wider, as this is as far to the side as you can get on the east side, whereas on the other side, for afternoon trains, one has a choice of viewpoints.

Unrefurbished 50014 Warspite rolls into Charlbury station with the 16:33 Paddington to Hereford service on 16 May 1982. This was shortly before most of the loco hauled trains on the Cotswold Line were replaced with units, leaving only a couple in each direction. Unfortunately I only have a few pictures from this era, and when you consider that at the time all services were worked by either Class 47s or more notably unrefurbished Class 50s it was a serious mistake not to take more. I am standing here on the site of the former down platform that was longer than the up platform, but of course was removed when the line was singled in 1971.

50015 Valiant passes the south end of Hinksey Yard, near Oxford (Hinksey South in railway parlance) on 12 May 1984 with the 14:15 Oxford to Paddington service. Note the luxury accommodation available on Oxford to London trains in the 1980s compared with today. Nine Mk 2 coaches (mostly air conditioned), three of which are first class. Over twenty years of progress has resulted in this being replaced by a three coach DMU, or two if you are lucky!

On a miserably dull 14 November 1990, 50015 Valiant passes the remains of Tiverton Junction with the 9C05 08:27 Bristol East to Exeter Riverside departmental working. 50015 was allocated to the DVWA engineers pool from May 1988 until January 1991 and its normal duties were workings such as this around the Gloucester, Bristol & Exeter areas. After repainting into 'Dutch' livery to work a railtour in January 1991, it was again placed in the DCWA pool, although it did very little work afterwards. Note the oil depot in the background of this picture, which had just recently had its rail connection removed

50015 Valiant & 50008 Thunderer round the curve at Marazion with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z16 'Cornish Centurion 2' railtour on 4 May 1991, just a few miles from their destination - Penzance. These two machines were repainted into 'Dutch' and 'Laira blue' liveries respectively for Pathfinder's 'Cornish centurion' tour earlier in the year and at the same time were transferred from the DCWA engineers pool to the NWXC Network SouthEast Waterloo to Exeter reserve pool, although in reality they did very little work other than railtours after their repainting.

Lovely evening light near Cassington on 16 May 1986 as 50016 Barham works the 1B46 17:00 Paddington to Hereford service. There is plenty of luggage accommodation on this train as the first two vehicles are BG vans! This location is approximately half way between  the site of the former Yarnton Junction and the first station on the Cotswold Line - Handborough., and is on the long single track section from Wolvercote Junction to Ascott-under-Wychwood.

50017 Royal Oak pulls away from Whitchurch station on 20 April 1991 with the 1O32 06:45 Exeter St Davids to Waterloo Network SouthEast service. The LSWR architecture is still much in evidence. 50017 was to only last another four months in traffic, failing with the Class 50's achilles heel - a main generator flashover.

50017 Royal Oak (running as 50117) & 50015 Valiant catch the last rays of the setting sun as they accelerate away from Blue Anchor with the 17:25 Bishops Lydeard to Minehead service on 19 September 1998. This was during the West Somerset Railway's Diesel Gala. 50017 is running with the number and livery (Railfreight General) which would have been applied to members of the class, had they followed the example of 50049 and been converted for purely freight use.

50018 Resolution approaches Kingham with the 08:05 Hereford to Paddington service on 4 June 1983. This photo is taken from the abutment of the former Banbury to Cheltenham direct flyover bridge, which in the 1980s before the bushes grew up was an excellent vantage point for the two southbound loco hauled trains in the morning as well as the two northbound trains in the evening, although I never once met another photographer there!.

50019 Ramillies weaves across from the up relief line at Hinksey North and crosses both up and down lines to gain access to Hinksey Yard on 23 July 1989. It was bringing a train of spent ballast from an engineering possession on the Banbury line, and departed north again shortly afterwards with a loaded ballast train. This is an extremely rare appearance of a DCWA allocated Class 50 to the Oxford area, and probably the only time that 50019 visited whilst in its 'Laira Blue' livery, which it had received a couple of months previously.

A panoramic view of the north end of Hinksey Yard on 3 March 1984. 50020 Revenge heads south with the 14:15 Oxford to Paddington service. The Oxford skyline in the background is still free from the visually dominant Ice Rink which was to open later in the year. Hinksey Yard was constructed during World War 2, but by the 1980s had become very little used, however over twenty years after this picture was taken it is once again busy, in its new role as a ballast stockpile.

50020 Revenge spent its last two years in revenue earning service allocated to the DCWA pool, working engineers trains around the Gloucester, Bristol and Exeter areas. On 13 March 1989 it had charge of the 9C04 14:54 Gloucester to Bristol East Depot, seen here passing the remains of Charfield station. Note the rake of freshly painted wagons at the head of the train. The bridge in the background was the site of serious accident in 1928.

50021 Rodney heads along the down main line at South Moreton with the1F38 15:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service on 6 August 1988. It will shortly have to weave across the relief lines to gain the east curve at Didcot, as this particular service was not booked to call at Didcot. The hourly NSE loco hauled trains only called at Reading, leaving the Class 117 DMUs to serve the intermediate stations. A DMU Reading to Oxford local took approximately an hour, almost exactly the same time this 50 took from Paddington to Oxford.

50022 Anson emerges from the fog at Great Bedwyn on 23 September 1986 with the 3A27 06:25 Plymouth to Paddington empty vans. Luckily the fog was just starting to clear, and gives an autumnal look to the picture rather than being so dense that you would just see the loco and no train, as it had been a short while before!

50023 Howe approaches Ufton Crossing at speed with the 1F14 10:47 Paddington to Newbury Network SouthEast service on 3 March 1990. Although in earlier years Class 50s had dominated this line on through services to the West Country, by 1990 they only worked the NSE services to Newbury or Westbury. Howe only had a few more months in traffic. After a short spell in the NWXC West of England pool, the loco spent its final days as a DCWA loco, finally being withdrawn on 15 October 1990.

Snowplough fitted 50024 Vanguard passes Uffington loops with a Swindon to Old Oak Common ECS comprising various test coaches on 14 March 1989. It was a very dull day, so I was taking the opportunity to use this location which as can be seen from the small copse of Scots Pine trees on the south of the line, is totally useless if the sun is out. At the time 50024 was allocated to the NWRA sector, and was therefore obviously taking a break from working its more normal Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast passengers services.

50025 Invincible is well away from home territory on 15 March 1986, as it passes through Stonegate station with the Southern Electric Group 1Z25 07:55 Paddington to Folkestone Harbour 'Vulcan Van Train' railtour. This was the first standard loading gauge train to traverse the Tonbridge to Hastings line. The former restricted loading gauge had been eased by singling the line through the tunnels, and consequently the slimline 'Hastings' DEMUs that had used the route since the 1950s were about to be replaced by conventional EMUs (note the newly laid but still unused and rusty conductor rails). Also note the abrupt change of gradient under the bridge.

50026 Indomitable ambles along the up relief line at South Moreton on 12 September 1985 with a short test train, including the distinctive high speed track recording coach DB999550. It is about to be overtaken by 31117 on Bristol to Old Oak Common vans. It had been a sunny but very hazy day, but the sun was now disappearing fast, but luckily I stayed on the bridge until the light finally went, thereby getting this perfectly timed picture.

50026 Indomitable & 50032 Courageous pass through Kemsing with the Hertfordshire Railtours 1Z44 08:08 Watford Junction to Deal 'Malt & Hops' railtour on 29 October 1988. An impressive sight and something not often seen on railtours nowadays - a complete rake of stock and both locos in the same livery! This is the original version of Network SouthEast livery, with upswept stripes on the locos and a lighter shade of blue than subsequently used.

Under a cloudless sky, 50027 Lion & 50017 Royal Oak stand in Kemble station with the 3A16 15:40 Gloucester to Paddington empty vans on 16 August 1987. The locos are waiting for the 15:43 Swindon to Cheltenham unit to clear the single track section which extends from here to Swindon. During 1987 there were Class 50 double headed van trains booked from both Gloucester and Oxford to Paddington on a Sunday, a convenient way of getting the locos back to the capital for the start of the week.

Not a technically very brilliant picture, but one that sums up a winters day on the Cotswold Line in the early 1980s. With the sun struggling to break through the clouds in the background and provide a little backlighting, 50028 Tiger runs alongside the River Evenlode at Bruern on 5 January 1980 with the 08:00 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill service. Still running in its original condition, 50028 was to wait another two years before being called to Doncaster Works for refurbishment. Note the vintage bullhead track, long since replaced. 

50029 Renown passes through Botley with the 538 Railtours 'South Western 16CSVT' railtour on 26 October 1991. The tour had followed a devious route on its return from Weymouth to Waterloo, having traveled via Westbury, Swindon & Basingstoke before it reached Botley. Unfortunately the light had just about gone by the time it was due. Note how the unloading line for the stone terminal in the background is on the opposite side of the running lines to the works!

50030 Repulse approaches Fairwood Junction on 11 March 1986 with the 1C29 10:25 Paddington to Paignton 'Torbay Express'. Although the sun has finally broken through the fog, there is still mist about giving a cold blue light, and the visibility is still very poor. Note how Westbury cement works chimney had only just been seen in the distance. The Westbury avoiding line curves off to the right. Repulse is in the original version of 'large logo' livery without the later orange cantrail stripe.

50030 Repulse approaches Ascott-under-Wychwood at speed with the 18:07 Paddington to Hereford service on 21 June 1984. Note the vintage bullhead track which must have been of considerable vintage even before this section of the Cotswold Line was singled in 1971. The train was a few minutes late, and I was hoping there wasn't a major problem delaying it, as on a late summer's evening those long shadows that are already touching the rail in places move with considerable speed!

50030 Repulse approaches Grateley at high speed with the 11:00 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service on 1 February 1992, no doubt trying to make up time, as it was running 15 minutes late. This was during the last few months of Class 50 operations on the West of England line. There is no mistaking that we are in former Southern Railway territory, with the very characteristic concrete PW hut on the left.

50031 Hood passes Puriton on 2 July 1990 with the 6C55 14:37 Bristol East to Taunton Riverside departmental working. The unmistakable landmark of Brent Knoll can be seen in the background, and if you look carefully in the bushes between the hill and the Class 50, the rusting remains of the branch line serving the MoD depot at Puriton can just be seen. This line has since been lifted. The junction with the mainline can also just be seen in the background. It is probably just as well that this working no longer operates with Class 50s, as I would cover an awful lot of mileage traveling down to this line every available sunny day!

50031 Hood passes Flax Bourton with the 6C55 14:37 Bristol East to Taunton Riverside departmental working on 21 September 1990. This loco had been a regular around the Oxford area until May 1990, latterly in the NWRA Network SouthEast pool. After eight months working on undemanding engineers jobs such as the one pictured whilst in the DCWA pool, it was to finish its career back with NSE, this time in the NWXA West of England pool. Even then it always seemed to appear when I was out photographing on that line, so it was almost a case of 'Oh no, not 31 again!'

50031 Hood is pictured at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway on 6 August 1994 while GWR 2-6-0 7325 leaves the station with the 10:25 service to Bridgnorth. Hood is parked on the connecting line that leads to the Railtrack (as it was then) main line, which can be seen on the right. At this time the loco was painted in the variation of 'large logo' livery with a blue roof, which during the class's main line career was only ever carried by 50010 for a short while during 1983.

Viewed from the other side of the valley, 50031 Hood passes Brithdir with the 1Z10 09:55 Rhymney to Treherbert service on Sunday 9 August 1998. Cardiff Railways ran these additional services on three weekends to tap into the heritage traction enthusiast market. Numerous vantage points were available along the valley, but I chose this spot to place the train directly below this distinctive group of houses, with a telephoto lens used to bring up the mountain in the background.

I doubt if you will see many pictures taken from this location, and no I didn't arrange to have all the trees cut down to open up the view! It requires a long walk from the nearest road to get to this spot near Urchfont (between Westbury and Pewsey) and it is only of any use late in the afternoon and is even then backlit. However, on 13 April 2002 that hardly mattered as it was a very dull day, although there must be some light in the sky to the west to highlight the loco and coach roofs. 50031 & 50049 (running without names as 431 & 449) head east with the 1Z92 16:40 Westbury to Paddington railtour. This was in connection with a steam hauled Birmingham to Paddington railtour.

50031 Hood rounds the curve at Cheney Longville, on the approach to Craven Arms with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z50 11:05 Gloucester to Worcester via Shrewsbury and Hereford 'Christmas Diner' railtour on 16 December 2003. Hardly a railtour in the normal meaning of the word, as apart from pathing stops it didn't stop anywhere. As the name suggests it was purely a chance to enjoy a meal and watch the scenery go by!

I don't often bother with going away shots, but the snaking curves and changing camber of the train in this case makes a particularly interesting picture. 50031 Hood brings up the rear of the  Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 05:58 Cardiff Central to Redmire 'Redmire Rambler' railtour on 25 March 2006, as it passes Harmby on the Wensleydale Railway. 50049 Defiance can just be seen at the front of the train heading for Redmire.

50031 Hood is pictured near the quaintly named village of Ainderby Steeple on the little used Leeming Bar to Northallerton section of the Wensleydale Railway with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z28 14:20 Redmire to Cardiff Central 'Redmire Rambler' railtour on 25 March 2006. Note the vintage milepost and the poor state of the track (some sleepers had virtually rotted away).

My first chosen location for the Pathfinder Tours mammoth Scottish Class 50 'Orcadian' railtour of 2006 was the small farm bridge between Blackford and Gleneagles, which considering it is an excellent location within easy reach of the A9 (seen here in the background), I assumed would be heaving with photographers. Not so! I was the only person here to witness the passage of 50031 & 50049 (masquerading as scrapped 50028 Tiger & 50012 Benbow respectively). This was Friday 16 June 2006, and at this point the train was running as 1Z27 06:40 Swindon to Inverness.

After over a two hour break in Perth, 50031 Hood & 50049 Defiance with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 06:40 Swindon to Inverness 'Orcadian' railtour approach Pitlochry on 16 June 2006. As it does for much of the way between Perth and Inverness, the railway runs close to the A9 here. A long lens was used here to bring up the hills in the background, and to be honest to clear an awkward bush in the foreground! Just before the train came the late evening sun came out, and as can be seen there is nothing on the right side of the line to cast shadows. Unfortunately I wasn't that lucky, and the only sun when it came was on the trees in the background.

The marker lights in the former headcode box give an indication as to how dark it is, as the Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 06:40 Swindon to Inverness 'Orcadian' railtour passes Slochd on 16 June 2006. At not far short of 22:00, even in Scotland it was virtually dark, necessitating an exposure of 1/500sec f2.5 at ISO1600. In the previous couple of hours the 50s had tackled two of the most fearsome gradients on the national network, the over six miles of continuous 1 in 70 to Drumochter Summit, followed by the 1 in 60 and 1in 70 climb to Slochd Summit.

The avalanche shelter near Attadale looked to be a good vantage point to see the Pathfinder Tours 1Z19 18:00 Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness 'Orcadian' railtour on 17 June 2006. Unfortunately I couldn't see any way to climb up onto the top of it, so had to resort to this slightly lower vantage point half way up the bank on the approach to the shelter. 50031 Hood winds along between the A890 (yes, that really is a main road!) and Loch Carron, with Bad a Chreamha in the background. 50049 can just be seen on the rear of the train. Although by this time it had stopped raining, there was no prospect of the sun coming out.

The landscape at the top of Scotland is surprisingly featureless, and there are very few good locations between Wick and Georgemas Junction. 50031 Hood crosses the low embankment near the head of Loch Watten at Quoynee with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z21 13:15 Wick to Thurso section of the 'Orcadian' railtour on 18 June 2006. There was almost a little sun here before the train came, but the grey clouds are a portent of the heavy rain that was to follow shortly.

50031 & 50049 (masquerading as long scrapped 50028 Tiger and 50012 Benbow respectively) cross Slochd Viaduct with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z23 08:15 Inverness to Swindon 'Orcadian' railtour on 19 June 2006. The weather was miserable, but at least the thick fog that I encountered on the A9 south of Inverness was beginning to lift a little. Note the Highland Stag emblems on the cab side of each loco.

Even allowing for the poor weather conditions, I was surprised I was the only person at this spot near Drumochter to witness 50031 Hood & 50049 Defiance pass with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z23 08:15 Inverness to Swindon 'Orcadian' railtour on 19 June 2006. Considering the location is a lay-by next to the A9, allowing chasing photographers to just stand next to their car to take the shot, I would have thought someone would be there!

Gleneagles station is a very grand design considering its remote location. Previously accustomed to wealthy patronage in connection with the world famous golf course, and formerly a junction for the Crieff branch (note the old platform on the left), it now sees very little use, but still retains all its original fittings. On 19 June 2006, 50031 Hood & 50049 Defiance speed through with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z23 08:15 Inverness to Swindon 'Orcadian' railtour.

50032 Courageous takes a break from front line passenger work on 28 July 1983, when it works what is presumably the 6A50 13:56 Bicester to Morris Cowley Speedlink trip, seen here passing Hinksey Yard, near Oxford. I say presumably because 31233 which can be seen in the distance is also a likely candidate for that working! This was certainly a busy five minutes for freight traffic, as the 31 which is in the up loop was surprisingly let out in front of 56070 on a MGR coal train for Didcot Power Station which can just be seen standing on the up main line in the background. This then followed directly behind the 31. This kind of activity (to say nothing of traction variety!) would be unheard of today.

50032 Courageous rounds the curve at Wolfhall on 2 July 1985 with the 13:40 Paddington to Penzance service. Note the embankment of the former Midland & South Western Junction Railway (closed inn 1961) which crossed over the Great Western main line at this point. There was formerly a pair of junctions here, allowing traffic to head south over the MSWJR from either direction off the GWR line, a facility that was used extensively during the Second World War.

50032 Courageous is still wearing the original version of Network SouthEast livery, albeit in extremely scruffy condition as it passes Willand with the 6C55 Bristol East to Exeter Riverside departmental working on 1 August 1990. At the time It was the only member of the DCWA fleet to wear this inappropriate livery. Just beyond the bridge in the background is the site of Tiverton Junction, where the branches from Tiverton and Hemyock joined the main line. The station remained open after the branch lines closed but was finally closed in 1986 and replaced by new station a few miles to the north close to the M5 called Tiverton Parkway.

The setting sun gives a golden glow to 50033 Glorious as it passes Claydon with the 1V90 14:15 Edinburgh to Cardiff Central service on 1 July 1986. The 50 would have taken over from an electric loco at Birmingham New Street, and as is often the case with these long distance trains, was running 35 minutes late at this point.

50033 Glorious passes St Dennis Junction en-route to Newquay with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z37 00:30 Manchester Piccadilly to Newquay 'Valiant Thunderer' railtour on 23 November 1991. The sidings on the right are the truncated remains of the Meledor Mill branch. Out of sight round the corner in the gorse of Tregoss Moor, 50015 Valiant & 50008 Thunderer were on the rear of the train (hence the tour's name).

In typical Settle & Carlisle weather, with the clouds hanging low over the fells, 433 (50033) & 400 (50050) cross Smardale Viaduct with the 1Z42 Class 40 Appeal 06:58 Birmingham New Street to Glasgow Central 'Midland Scotsman' railtour on 2 February 1994. This was one of numerous Class 50 hauled railtours in early 1994, just before the class was finally withdrawn from traffic.

50034 Furious is surrounded by Cotswold dry stone walls as it passes Coates (between Stroud and Kemble) with the 09:15 Gloucester to Swindon parcels on 30 April 1983. Despite the line having been converted to colour light signalling many years before, the steam age telegraph poles still survived into the 1980s at this location.

In superb late afternoon lighting, 50034 Furious speeds underneath the road bridge at Evenlode with the 16:10 Paddington to Hereford Network SouthEast service on 5 April 1987. 50034 was an early recipient of the original Network SouthEast livery, but this was my first sighting of it in its new colour scheme. It retained this livery until the autumn of 1989 when inevitably it was repainted into the somewhat less flamboyant revised NSE colours. Evenlode was one of my favourite Cotswold Line locations in the1980s, with good views from the bridge and the nearby fields. Unfortunately most of these viewpoints have now been lost due to uncontrolled tree growth.

50035 Ark Royal weaves through Harbury cutting with the 10:10 Birmingham New Street to Paddington service on 25 April 1987. It was a fine warm day, but as it typical with settled high pressure, it was very hazy with a very flat look to the lighting. At least the original Network SouthEast livery on 50035 is in clean condition and adds a spot of colour to the otherwise drab scene.

50036 Victorious speeds past Radley with the 1F35 09:30 Oxford to Paddington Network SouthEast service on 6 August 1989, a working which was officially booked for a pair of Class 50s at the time. The uniform rake of Network SouthEast Mk 2 coaches is slightly mismatched with the tatty large logo livery of the locomotive, although the red buffer beam does add to the colour scheme and did make 50036 instantly recognisable from a distance during the late 1980s.

50036 Victorious passes Iver with 1F18 12:15 Paddington to Oxford Network SouthEast service the on 22 February 1990. Although it is hauling a full rake of Network SouthEast liveried stock, the loco itself only has the addition of a NSE flash on the former headcode box to proclaim its ownership. 50036 was transferred to the DCWA engineers fleet a few months after this picture was taken, and then in early 1991 was withdrawn after a brief resumption of passenger work on the Waterloo to Exeter line.

With a little bit of snow still lying on the ground, 50037 Illustrious approaches Grintleyhill Bridge, Combe on 31 January 1987 with the 1A18 07:00 Hereford to Paddington 'Cathedrals Express'. Unlike so many trains on the Cotswold Line twenty years later under the aegis of private operator First Great Western, this train, like the majority of the loco hauled trains I photographed on the line in the 1980s was running exactly to time. Admittedly this long section of single line doesn't help when things go wrong, but it is not in itself a cause of late running as First Great Western would have us believe.

50037 Illustrious in original Network SouthEast livery with matching Mk 1 coaches, makes a fine picture as it passes under the farm occupation bridge at Walcot (near Charlbury) with the 1B33 14:00 Paddington to Hereford Network SouthEast service on 10 April 1988. Strangely this is the only photo I have ever taken at this location!

50037 Illustrious heads north past the vegetable fields in the Vale of Evesham near Bredon's Norton on 7 August 1988 with the Pathfinder Tours Swindon to Scarborough 'Yorkshire Venturer' railtour. The 50 worked the train as far as York, where it handed over to 9F 92220 Evening Star, it then traveled light engine to Hull to take over the tour for the return to Swindon.

50038 Formidable bursts out from beneath the road bridge at Evenlode while working the 1A18 07:00 Hereford to Paddington 'Cathedrals Express' on the misty morning of 25 April 1987. Although with a Class 50 there is always plenty of audible warning of its approach, this type of picture where you can't see the train until the last second is always a worry, as your timing has to be so exact.

50039 Implacable is pictured at Charlbury with the 1B46 17:07 Paddington to Hereford service on 9 May 1987. The only evidence of nearly a year's Network SouthEast operation of the route are some discreet stickers on the coaches, otherwise it is a classic Cotswold Line train, mainly composed of Mk 1 stock, with the obligatory GUV on the rear. This was before the extension to the platform, which could only accommodate less than half of this train. What would present day health & safety make of this, with a train too long for the platform and no central locking!

50040 Leviathan approaches Shipton in sub-zero temperatures on 16 January 1982 with the 10:50 Paddington to Worcester service. 50040 was renamed Centurion in 1987 upon the withdrawal of 50011. This view is no longer possible due to rampant lineside vegetation, which has also also ruined a number of other locations on the Cotswold Line.

50040 Leviathan heads south from Moreton-in-Marsh with the 08:00 Hereford to Paddington service on 25 April 1987. The view from the bridge in the background is a little restricted for southbound trains, so I decided to go for a more arty picture, by including the tree as a foreground frame. It was a very hazy morning, but the weak sun is just about casting shadows by the time the 50 appeared under the bridge.

With the early morning fog still obliterating the background, and a very week sun struggling to come out, 50041 Bulwark passes Fairwood Junction on 11 March 1986 with the 3A27 06:25 Plymouth to Paddington empty vans. It is taking the Westbury avoiding line, one of the many 'cut off' routes added by the GWR in the early nineteenth century.

Class 50s were never particularly common in Wales, but during 1987 the 3A12 Milford to Paddington empty vans was booked for the class, and on 15 August 1987, 50042 Triumph is seen rounding the curve at Duffryn with this working. At the time it was just one more bit of variety in what was a varied and busy freight scene, sadly now virtually all gone.

50042 Triumph whilst allocated to the DCWA engineer's pool between 1988 and its withdrawal in 1990 performed numerous duties such as this. It is pictured heading east from Didcot and approaching South Moreton on 24 October 1989 with the 11:50 Bristol to Old Oak Common, comprising HST power car 43140 and a barrier vehicle. Presumably this would have been switched to the relief line at some point.

A totally unrepeatable sight. On 6 July 1990, DCWA allocated 50042 Triumph moves slowly out of the permanent way yard at Ashton Gate and heads for Bristol East Depot with the Severn Tunnel inspection train. All track in this yard has now been lifted, although the barely visible track through the old station on the left has been re-laid and now serves the new freight terminal at Portbury Dock. 50042 was one of the handful of departmental allocated Class 50s that spent 1989 & 1990 pottering around on workings such as this. Note the Clifton Suspension Bridge partly visible through the trees in the background.

50043 Eagle passes Potbridge (between Woking and Basingstoke) with the 1L13 14:15 Waterloo to Salisbury Network SouthEast service on 16 March 1990. With 50s working both the Salisbury and Exeter trains (along with a few Class 33s), a few freights and an endless procession of slam door EMUs, this used to be a an excellent location for a day's photography.

Exeter meets Zulu Warrior! I was trying to recreate B. J. Freeman's 'First of the Day' painting with this picture, replacing his GWR 'Saint' with a Class 50. Sadly no fisherman in my picture, but the viewpoint is identical, although with artist's licence he has ignored the PW hut. 50044 Exeter heads north alongside the Oxford Canal at Wolvercote with the 1S61 06:45 Paddington to Edinburgh service on 17 June 1983. The Class 50 would be on the train as far as Birmingham New Street.

The low winter sun is casting long shadows as 50045 Achillies approaches Circourt Bridge at Denchworth with the 3A03 13:15 Bristol Temple Meads to Paddington vans on 18 December 1985. Of particular note to anyone used to this location nowadays (apart from the obvious fact that in 1985 there were only two tracks!0 is the fact that the background is completely open, as this is prior to the tree planting of the 1990s.

50046 Ajax pulls away from Moreton-in-Marsh on 24 April 1988 with the 1A67 16:15 Hereford to Paddington Network SouthEast service. By this time Ajax was becoming a bit a celebrity as it still  retained 'large logo' livery when most Network SouthEast locos naturally were in NSE livery. In fact it kept this livery (in a progressively more decrepit state) until the very end. 

50046 Ajax poses in the autumn sunshine at Grateley whilst working the 10:00 Waterloo to Salisbury service on 14 November 1991, running 30 minutes late. This was the loco's penultimate day in traffic. The following day after working the 22:15 Exeter St Davids to Newton Abbot Fridays only local it moved to Laira with the 23:00 Newton Abbot to Laira ECS - its final working. Although in full working order, it had been taken out of traffic to donate its engine and generator to GW150 green 50007 Sir Edward Elgar, which had been out of traffic at Laira since 9 July 1991 with a main generator flash over. Latterly 50046 had been a bit of a celebrity itself as it still carried large logo livery amid a sea of Network SouthEast liveried machines.

27 June 1986 was one of those hazy summer days when the sun just get hazier and fades out rather than actually setting. As can be seen from the track just in front of the loco and the very weak shadow of the coaches on the cutting side, the sun was just about gone when this photo was taken. 50047 Swiftsure passes Compton Beauchamp with the 1C71 18:47 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads service, one of a couple of Friday only loco hauled trains on the GWML in the evening in the mid 1980s. However this was a bit of a bonus, as this train was booked for a Class 47.

One of my favourite Thames Valley Class 50 pictures. 50048 Dauntless is pictured near Baulking (between Swindon and Didcot) with the 1A22 08:36 Cheltenham to Paddington service on 10 December 1986. With the tree making a perfect frame, the sun out, a touch of frost still visible in the field, and of course top traction on the train, what more could you ask for?

The last rays of the setting sun highlight 50049 Defiance as it passes the site of Challow station with the 17:27 Paddington to Cheltenham service on 14 April 1984. This is long before the reinstatement of the relief lines, and consequently the disused platforms are still intact. This station, along with all the others between Didcot and Swindon closed on 7 December 1964.

50049 Defiance & 50031 Hood pass Pulford, on the single track Chester to Wrexham line with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z70 16:47 Chester to Reading railtour on 16 August 2003. The tour had worked to Chester earlier in the day as the 1Z35 07:15 from Reading. The bridge in the background is the relatively new A483 road which now bypasses the villages of Rossett and Pulford.

50049 Defiance & 50031 Hood approach the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham on the Great Western mainline with a football special taking Chelsea fans to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for FA Community Shield match against Arsenal on 7 August 2005. The locos still carry their Scottie Dog logos from their unbelievable Scottish railtour earlier in the year.

50049 Defiance & 50031 Hood pass Milford Junction, heading north with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 05:58 Cardiff Central to Redmire 'Redmire Rambler' railtour on 25 March 2006. The sidings here are used as a staging point for Aire Valley power station coal trains. Ironically this was the sunniest it was all day, just where I didn't want the sun out due to the strong backlighting!

50049 Defiance crosses the River Swale at Morton-on-Swale with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 05:58 Cardiff Central to Redmire 'Redmire Rambler' railtour on 25 March 2006. This section of the Wensleydale Railway sees little use, as no passenger services currently operate between Northallerton and Leeming Bar.

50049 Defiance passes Harmby on the Wensleydale Railway with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z27 05:58 Cardiff Central to Redmire 'Redmire Rambler' railtour on 25 March 2006. For such a long line through such a scenic area, the line has surprisingly few good photographic locations. The bridge in the background is obviously a popular spot, but the view is very restricted, and if the sun had come out (some hope!) would have been completely in the shade.

I wasn't going to bother to photograph 50049 Defiance on the ECML with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z28 14:20 Redmire to Cardiff Central 'Redmire Rambler' railtour on 25 March 2006, as by that time it was getting dark. However, as my route home crossed the line anyway, I thought I might as well watch it pass through. Liking a technical challenge, I decided to photograph it anyway even though there was no light and it was starting to rain. Here it is passing South Otterington photographed at ISO 1600. The dark sky and the loco's bright lights show up the conditions.

In the pouring rain, 50049 Defiance crosses the A835 at Garve with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z18 06:51 Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh 'Orcadian' railtour on 17 June 2006. One of the few occasions when a moderate wide angle lens comes in useful for railway photography, to include not only the un-gated crossing in the foreground, but the station and distant hills as well.

50049 (masquerading as long scrapped 50012 Benbow) goes where no Class 50 has been before. Winding round the reverse curves at Kinbrace in the wilds of the North of Scotland, it heads the Pathfinder Tours 1Z20 06:00 Inverness to Wick 'Orcadian' railtour on 18 June 2006. I probably should have ventured further south for this first shot of the day, as there was some sun around Brora, but I didn't want to miss this location, through having to chase the tour on the very narrow roads.

The only sunny shot of the entire four day Scottish Class 50 railtour. 50049 (masquerading as long scrapped 50012 Benbow) stands at Forsinard waiting for the RETB token to proceed to Georgemas Junction with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z20 06:00 Inverness to Wick 'Orcadian' railtour on 18 June 2006. I hadn't planned on getting this picture, as I thought by the time I drove from the previous location at Kinbrace the tour would be gone, so was surprised to see it stopped across the crossing at Forsinard as I drove up, and even more surprised that I had time to get to the front of the train for this picture.

You can't get further north than this! While classmate 50031 has the honour of being the most northerly traveled Class 50, as it sits at the other end of the train under the roof at Thurso, 50049 waits to head the Pathfinder Tours 1Z22 17:00 Thurso to Wick and Inverness 'Orcadian' railtour on 18 June 2006. With a few minutes to go before departure, the last of the passengers has just rejoined the train, and are probably glad to get out of the rain!

The Tytherington Branch must be one of the least photogenic stretches of railway in the country. Every single vantage point is completely obstructed by trees. It is difficult to spot the rails at all from one of the bridges! After having stopped to operate the barriers, 50049 Defiance slowly crosses the B4058 at Iron Acton with the Railway Children 1Z25 15:15 Tyherington to Bristol Temple Meads (via Gloucester and Chepstow) 'Bristol Coal-Stone Haul' railtour on 3 June 2007.

50049 Defiance passes Crubenmore on the Highland mainline with the Railway Touring Company 1Z55 08:20 Inverness to Kings Cross 'Autumn Highlander' railtour on 8 October 2007. Unfortunately, although it was fairly bright, I just missed the sun here, which was a pity, as I noticed the train was in sun as I passed it at Kingussie. This was not a location I had tried before, being slightly south of the more normal location at Crubenmore, but on seeing the black clouds to the south and a convenient layby on the A9, it had to be done. To get a slightly more elevated viewpoint I was standing on the lower rung of an electricity pylon!

D400 (50050) passes Dinton on 6 April 1991 with the 1O86 09:45 Plymouth to Waterloo service. This was its first passenger duty after being reinstated to service in a virtually 'as built' condition, with nameplates removed and carrying its original number. The readers of Rail magazine sponsored its repainting into BR blue livery, and despite the fact that it was a very dull day, it still makes a fine picture passing the long closed Dinton station. Although it appears to be running wrong line, the track on the right is actually a headshunt for the MoD depot on the left.

26 March 1994 was a sad day for Class 50 enthusiasts, as it was the date of the final run of the class on British Rail, although little did we know then that less than four years later a preserved Class 50 would return the mainline! The Pathfinder Tours '50 Terminator' railtour ran from Waterloo to Exeter via the old Southern Railway route, and then after reversal at Exeter St. Davids carried on to Penzance via the former Great Western mainline, thus covering both routes that were home to the class in their latter years. The tour then returned via the Great Western to Paddington. Luckily the day turned out to be perfectly sunny, and here 50050 Fearless & 50007 Sir Edward Elgar are pictured rounding the curve at Oborne (near Sherborne), at this point running as 1Z40 08:52 Waterloo to Exeter St. Davids.