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 to the rescue! On 6 July 1991 the 13:15 Waterloo to Exeter Network SouthEast service was double headed after problems were discovered with 50027 Lion. Surprisingly running only 25 minutes late 50046 Ajax arrives at Crewkerne with a dead 50027 Lion in tow. After a long spell in the DCWA departmental sector, 50046 was spending its last year in traffic in the NWXA West of England pool, although its reallocated to passenger duties did not entail a repaint, and its large logo livery was in a terrible state at the end! Crewkerne station still retains a fine station building and goods shed, although now only one platform is in use, as a passing loop was not provided when the line was singled in the 1960s.

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.

50047 Swiftsure races through Hanborough station on 1 May 1982 with the 15:00 Paddington to Hereford service. This loco was one of the few to emerge from refurbishment (note the headlight) still in rail blue livery. Anyone wishing to replicate this view in 2008 will be sorely disappointed. The growth of vegetation means only a head-on shot is now possible. The station house is not now visible at all! In 1982 all was clearly visible, including the redundant down platform on the right, disused since the line was singled in 1971. Interestingly the station was at this time known as Handborough. Only recently have the railways come into line with most maps and road signs by dropping the D in the name of the village.

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?

50048 Dauntless races under the roadbridge at Whitchurch on 17 June 1989 with the 1V17 17:15 Waterloo to Exeter St Davids Network SouthEast service. Pictured here in the revised version of the NSE livery, this loco spent its last few years in traffic working such West of England expresses, before being withdrawn with collision damage in July 1991.

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.

My first picture of the Pathfinder Tours 'Monarch of the Glen' railtour on 5 March 2005 was this almost aerial view of Glenfinnan Viaduct, reached after a very energetic climb, which itself followed a ten hour overnight drive from Oxfordshire! 50049 Defiance on the front & 50031 Hood on the rear slowly traverse Robert MacAlpine's concrete masterpiece. This was the second day of the tour, but I hadn't bothered with the trip up the WCML the previous day, as the West Highlands were what the tour was all about. It is running here as the 1Z23 10:20 Forth William to Mallaig.

50049 Defiance rounds the curve past the little isolated church at Polnish en-route from Fort William to Mallaig with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z23 'Monarch of the Glen' railtour on 5 March 2005, unfortunately in typically West Highland dull weather. 50031 Hood is hidden by the cutting on the rear of the train.

A handy bank at the end of the platform at Arisaig allows this view looking down on the station as 50049 Defiance departs for Mallaig with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z23 'Monarch of the Glen' railtour on 5 March 2005. The short stop for the RETB token exchange had given several members of the crew the chance of obtaining pictures of the train in a surprising patch of sunshine.

50049 Defiance rounds the curve at Beoraidbeg, just a couple of miles from journey's end at Mallaig, with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z23 'Monarch of the Glen' railtour on 5 March 2005. 50031 Hood can just be seen on the rear of the train. Note the 'Scotty Dog' emblem applied to the side of the loco especially for this tour.

During all my years photographing Class 50s when they were in regular mainline service, I never thought I would see one here! However, in preservation all things are possible, and here we see the quite extraordinary sight of the first ever Class 50s to traverse the West Highland Line. The snow covered peak of Beinn Dorian (3530 ft) dominates the view as 50049 Defiance crests County March Summit with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z24 10:30 Fort William to Dalmuir 'Monarch of the Glen' railtour on 6 March 2005. Judging by the smoke, it would seem that 50031 Hood is giving a hefty shove at the rear as well.

Yet again the sun dipped at the critical moment as 50049 Defiance passes Pulpit Rock, near Ardlui with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z24 10:30 Fort William to Dalmuir 'Monarch of the Glen' railtour on 6 March 2005. However, I certainly wasn't going to miss another picture of the first ever Class 50s on the West Highland Line, whatever the weather!

Class 50 sunset. 50049 Defiance brings up the rear of the Pathfinder Tours 1Z24 10:30 Fort William to Dalmuir 'Monarch of the Glen' railtour at Murie (between Dundee and Perth) on 6 March 2005, as 50031 Hood leads the train into the setting sun. Less than a minute after this picture was taken the sun disappeared into a bank of cloud on the horizon.

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.

50050 Fearless snakes through the Wylye Valley at Great Wishford with the 09:45 Victoria to Bristol VSOE special train on 2 September 1998. 50050's return to the mainline was fairly short-lived, being sidelined after a little over a year's use. It worked a number of Orient Express charters during this time, often as here coinciding with gloomy weather!