An extremely grubby 66003 passes Brentingby (near Melton Mowbray) on 25 June 2008 with a Corby to Toton departmental working. Bretingby's tiny church can just be seen on the horizon directly above the second wagon. Note the unusual consist with a shark plough brakevan in the centre of the train with five seacow ballast hoppers on either side.

On 1 December 2007 I visited a new location (for me) on a footpath across the fields between Uffington and Knighton. It proved to be an excellent location for a train of this length. 66008 heads west with the 4V14 Dollands Moor to South Marston empty Honda covered car wagons. The loco returned east shortly afterwards as 0V14 Swindon to Didcot.

In dramatic evening lighting at Goole on 4 October 2007, 66016 departs with the 6D88 14:39 Goole Docks to Scunthorpe steel empties, running over two hours late and consequently departing at the booked time for the 6H93 Goole to Peterborough sand empties, which was held on the glass factory line behind me, unable to gain access to the main line! Luckily the large bank of dark clouds stayed just to the north, so the sun remained out with an impressive dark background.

A filthy 66016 passes South Moreton with the 6Z35 Moreton-on-Lugg to Hothfield stone train on 8 May 2008. This train is easily recognisable as it always seems to run with a couple of ex RMC hoppers in an otherwise uniform rake of EWS wagons. You can understand Network Rail's insistence on erecting high security lineside fencing everywhere (although not yet at this location), when you can see the amount of potentially lethal materials left lying by the side of high speed lines. Just look at the amount of old rail sections lying next to the 125 mph line in this picture!

After seeing 47787 on the Royal Scotsman at Linlithgow, I drove to Lathallan (near Polmont) to see it again. During the ten minute wait, the first train to turn up was 66018 with the 6J13 12:22 Longannet Power Station to Hunterston MGR empties. It makes a nice change to see the vintage HAA 4 wheel wagons rather than the high capacity bogie HHA type.

On 22 December 2001. 66020 is just about to pass under the M40 motorway at Overthorpe, near Banbury with the 5Z12 10:45 Tyseley to Old Oak Common ECS comprising just two First Great Western Mk 2 coaches. This look a pleasant sunny shot, but it was absolutely freezing, and apart from certain days on the Settle & Carlisle line, I have never felt so relieved to get back to the car! If you drink instant coffee, the chances are it came from the building emitting steam on the left in the background. This is the giant Kraft Foods plant producers of  Kenco, Maxwell House, and Mellow Bird's instant coffees.

66024 heads down the ECML at Heck with the 6D47 10:49 Wardley to Doncaster Decoy Yard MGR on 20 March 2000. The weak spring sunshine seen here didn't last long, just look at those black clouds rolling in from north! The train is just about to pass under the M62 motorway bridge, and the site of the following year's terrible accident caused by a Land Rover driver falling asleep and crashing down onto the line, subsequently being hit by a southbound GNER service.

Catching the last rays of the setting sun, 66032 climbs out of Patchway Tunnel with the 6G81 14:36 Machen to Westbury Yard Hanson stone train on 11 December 2004. Note that in the background the two lines are on different gradients, the difference in level become quite marked at the two single line tunnels. This view clearly illustrates the difficulty of railway photography in the winter. Although there are only a few low bushes on the lineside, at this time off the afternoon even they start to shade part of the train.

66035 ambles along the up relief line at Langford on 12 May 2008 with the 6L69 Peterborough to Bow Plasmor block train. This train originates from the block works at Heck. Although settled high pressure brings sunny conditions, it does result in the misty pale sky as seen here. Although it doesn't look as good as a sky full of fluffy white clouds, at least you are confident one of those clouds is not going drift across the sun as the train comes!

Having noted 37410 stabled at Didcot earlier in the day on 24 May 2007, I assumed it would work back north on either the 6M28 18:10 Hinksey to Bescot engineers or the  6M65 18:07 Didcot to Carlisle 'Enterprise'. After the former had passed Yarnton with 60091 in charge, I was not at all surprised to find 37410 dead in tow behind 66035 on 6M65. I was however a little surprised at the miniscule load - a single VGA van! Unfortunately the sun dipped slightly when this ridiculous train passed Yarnton.

After being delayed by the late running 6D88 Goole to Scunthorpe steel empties, 66037 pulls out of the loop at Goole with the 6H93 17.04 Goole to Peterborough sand empties on 4 October 2007. The train had been held for a considerable time on the glass factory line, which can be seen in the foreground. Luckily a very smart run round was performed and the train was only a little late leaving, but even so the shadows were lengthening requiring a different viewpoint from the previous train.

66044 is pictured shunting steel wagons in Goole Docks on 13 March 1999. Next to the loco are the wagons brought in on that morning's 6D50 07:37 Rotherham to Goole Docks service, which have been unloaded on the dock lines to the right. The loco is setting back onto the wagons from the previous day's trip before leaving as the 6J50 11:38 Goole Docks to Rotherham. Class 66s are not liked by enthusiasts because they have displaced more interesting heritage traction, and they are equally disliked by their crews due to their poor driving environment, high noise and general poor build quality. This would explain the 'Yanks go home' message scrawled in the dirt below the cab window!

Viewed from the top of White Horse Hill, 66057 passes Uffington with the 4V14 Dollands Moor to South Marston empty Honda covered car wagons on 5 April 2008. Uffington's 13th Century St Mary's church with its distinctive octagonal tower can be clearly be seen in the foreground. Foreground being a relative term, as it is two miles away! The tower was formerly topped by a spire until it was brought down by a storm in 1740. The use of a long lens has compressed the perspective, with various details in the distance becoming visible. On the right is Kitemore House, Shellingford (5 miles), in the background on the left, Bampton church (11 miles), and near the horizon, the industrial units at Witney (15 miles). It had started as a sunny morning, but as can be seen from the patchy shadows, clouds were starting to build up. In fact the sun had only just reappearing on the village in the foreground shortly before the train came into view.

66079 approaches Creykes Crossing  to the south of Goole with the 6H93 17:04 Goole to Peterborough Yard sand empties on 13 March 2007. Unfortunately the glorious evening light which was turning the willow bushes along the ditch a rich fiery red had just faded out. If the train had just been a couple of minutes earlier! In the background the three major landmarks of Goole can be seen (not counting the huge new glass factory from which this train has come, which is off to the left). On the extreme left are the two water towers (Salt and Pepper Pot), in the gap in the bushes are the dock cranes, and just behind the rear of the train is the parish church.

66081 passes Yarnton, just to the north of Oxford, with the 4M04 16:36 Southampton Eastern Docks to Washwood Heath imported Ford cars on 2 June 2004. A recently constructed footbridge has created this new vantage point, which is handy for northbound trains in the evening, as from around 18:30 the sun is on the front of the loco. It is also a good location to watch the stationery rush hour traffic on the A34 a few fields away!

Despite the atrocious weather, a brief visit was made to Hatton on 27 November 2007 to see if any autumn colour was left on the trees. A few trees still retained a little colour which adds to this picture of 66096 on the 6M31 10:26 Banbury to Mountsorrel Lafarge self discharge stone empties. Considering this was around midday, this looked more like dusk, as it was already virtually dark!

With frost still covering the tracks, 66110 ambles across the flat Fenland landscape at Westry with the 6L38 07:29 Mountsorrel to Broxbourne stone train on 22 January 2005. Naturally this flat landscape has plenty of level crossings (note the one just behind the train), but very few bridges or other means of gaining a more elevated view, so full use was made of this new bridge which carries the March by-pass.  Typically this good lighting had disappeared by the time the Class 40 hauled railtour turned up 40 minutes later!

66121 finds a gap in the procession of early morning HSTs to lumber slowly up the Great Western Mainline at Compton Beauchamp with the 6D09 06:43 Avonmouth to Didcot Power Station coal train on 14 April 2008. It will no doubt be put onto the relief line at Challow to allow following First Great Western services to pass. The extra wide trackbed here is a clue to the fact there was also an up relief line at this point in steam days, extending from Shrivenham to Knighton Crossing.

In a brief patch of sunlight before the ominous dark clouds in the background arrived heralding more rain, 66128 stands in the unloading facility at the Guardian Glass Works at Goole on 26 June 2008, as it prepares to start unloading the 6H92 04:00 Peterborough to Goole sand train. This massive float glass works is a significant employer in the area and produces in excess of 700 tons of glass daily, although sadly only the raw materials arrives by rail, with the finished products leaving by road onto the conveniently situated M62 motorway.

66137 crosses the Forth Bridge with the 7G70 14:40 Hunterston to Longannet Power Station coal train on 18 April 2003. Considering this is one of the world's engineering masterpieces, very little effort has gone into making a viewing area for the bridge from the north side of the Forth. This picture is taken from a road in a housing estate through a gap in the trees.

A most unwelcome sight at Uffington on 12 February 2008. Instead of the usual Class 60, 66145 turned up on the 6B33 13:30 Theale to Robeston Murco oil empties. Whether this poor choice of traction for this heavy train (admittedly now within the capabilities of a 66, as it is empty) had anything to do with what happened next I am unable to say.

With Rogiet church in the background, the last rays of the setting sun illuminate 66156 as it passes Severn Tunnel Junction with the 6M68 08:33 Burngullow to Warrington china clay slurry on Saturday 22 February 2003. This train would then work forward the following day as the 6S55 17:00 Warrington to Irvine, a very rare Sunday revenue earning freight train. The overgrown area on both sides of the line here is the site of the once extensive Severn Tunnel Junction Yard.

66158 passes Closeburn in nice early morning light with the 6E85 05:21 Hunterston to Drax Power Station coal train on 9 June 2007. The mist had just cleared, although the hills in the background are still partly obscured.

On 2 May 2005, 66159 took over from 37427 in Workington station (just out of sight in the distance) and then worked the Pathfinder Tours 1Z78 04:56 Cardiff Central to Whitehaven 'Cumbrian Warrior' tour to the docks junction. The docks branch is seen diverging to the right here. To think I drove all the way to Cumbria to photograph a 'Shed'!

The horses in the field show no at all interest in 66164 as it approaches Circourt Bridge, Denchworth with the 6Z98 Hayes to Moreton-on-Lugg stone empties on 23 November 2007. The train is running slowly along the down relief line, as it will be stopping at Challow a mile further on, where the relief lines end. It is being rapidly overhauled by 43127 on the late running 13:30 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads First Great Western service, which can just be seen approaching under the bridge in the background.

66194 pulls slowly away from a signal check at Didcot North Junction with a Hinksey to Didcot ballast train on 12 November 2007. The loco returned to Oxford light engine shortly afterwards in readiness to work that evening's 4L40 Cowley to Purfleet BMW Mini car carriers.

One of the few named EWS Class 66s, 66200 Railway Heritage Committee passes Baulking on 28 March 2007 with a rake of empty HTA coal wagons returning from Didcot Power Station to Avonmouth. Although it was a sunny day, by the afternoon it had got so hazy that it hardly looks like the sun is shining at all. Note the very weak shadow to the left of the loco.

66200 Railway Heritage Committee passes under the A423 Oxford ring road and approaches Hinksey with the 6M58 14:10 Southampton Western Docks to Bescot Ford Transits on 2 May 2007. The line on the extreme right is the approach to Hinksey Yard, which is used by car trains from BMW's Cowley plant. Kennington Junction, the junction for the Cowley branch is a little distance the other side of the bridge.

66213 passes the site of Over Junction, near Gloucester with the diverted 6M60 23:41 Tavistock Junction to Bescot china clay train on 29 March 2008. This is unusually running via Gloucester due to the closure of its usual route via Hereford due to engineering works. The line to Gloucester Docks diverged to the left behind the bushes on the left. Just visible on the right is Thomas Telford's magnificent bridge over the River Severn. Now no longer used by road traffic, this flat arched bridge has a very worrying slight dip in the middle which occurred when the temporary framework used in the construction was removed in 1829. Telford left the bridge for a couple of years before opening it to see if the dip increased, which thankfully it didn't!

On 21 April 2007, 66223 arrives at Hinksey Yard, near Oxford with the 4L44 17:09 Cowley to Purfleet car train, conveying Minis from the BMW plant. This train uses the yard to run round, there being no direct connection for southbound trains from the Cowley branch.  Note the rakes of ballast wagons in the foreground. Hinksey is now a dedicated ballast loading point, much to the annoyance of local residents who are suddenly surprised that it can be noisy living near a railway!

66230 pulls slowly away from Goole with the 6H93 17:04 Goole to Peterborough Yard sand empties on 8 May 2007. The train had earlier emerged from the line on the extreme left which connects with the new £97m Guardian float glass factory.

66230 approaches Holywood with 6E68 New Cumnock to Carlisle Yard coal train on 8 June 2007. The former Glasgow & South Western Railway line is busy with coal traffic from the Ayr district, and still has semaphore signals and many items of traditional railway infrastructure.

In a very brief burst of sunshine, 66239 shunts flyash wagons at Colnbrook on 12 March 2005. The flyash arrives from west Burton power station and on this day the shunting operations at Colnbrook had to be suspended for a while as a Class 37 hauled railtour came down the line on the left, and stopped with the train fouling the point that 66239 is seen approaching here.

On 24 May 2007, 66239 approaches the site of Moreton Sidings, to the east of Didcot with the 6Z48 12:31 Appleford to Ardingly special working conveying recycled ballast destined for the Bluebell Railway. Note the use of vintage VTG 4 wheel PGA hoppers. If the train had been just a little earlier the picture would have been ruined by two other trains obstructing the foreground. You can just see the HST on the down fast and Voyager on the down relief line receding into the distance.

The highest numbered EWS Class 66, 66250 passes Defford with the 4V09 13:36 Washwood Heath to Portbury Dock coal empties on 10 April 2007 in a brief patch of sun. Luckily the train was traveling faster than the advancing cloud, which is already affecting the background. I chose this location from the minor road in the village rather than the more popular main road bridge, to show off the fresh green foliage as well as depicting a less well used location.

Malcolm Logistics branded DRS 66404 passes Allandale with the 4A11 10:38 Grangemouth to Aberdeen Guild Street containers on 16 June 2006. This is on the predominantly freight only line between Greenhill Junction and Cumbernauld, although within sight of the busy Falkirk to Glasgow line with is procession of passenger services. Note the typical Scottish weather, with the clouds hanging low over the Campsie Fells in the background.

Not many revenue earning freight trains run on a Sunday, the 4N83 Aberdeen to Grangemouth Intermodal is an exception. It is pictured here passing Inverkeilor in the drizzle on 4 May 2008 with 66418 in charge. Luckily it could be seen approaching from over a mile away, so there was no point in getting out of the car until the last minute!

The first visit of a DRS Class 66 to the Cotswold Line occurred on 10 April 2007, when 66419 traveled light engine from Crewe Gresty Lane to Long Marston to collect a rake of twelve KAA flat wagons. The 6Z66 12:35 Long Marston to Chaddesden is seen here approaching Lower Moor. It actually left Long Marston considerably earlier than its booked time, but had to wait at Honeybourne for its correct path along the single line.

Running over three hours late, 66506 passes Steventon with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol Avon binliner empties on 8 May 2008. This massive late running results in a much better picture, as normally during the summer months the sun would not be on the front of the loco at this location. It appears that Didcot Power Station in the background is shut down, or at least the coal fired plant, as there is not a trace of smoke visible from the main chimney.

Carefully framed beneath the overhanging branches of a roadside tree, 66507 is pictured near Uffington with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol binliner empties on 12 February 2008. The line between Didcot and Swindon runs through rather uninteresting countryside, so I am always on the lookout for different vantage points to photograph familiar trains, and am particularly pleased with this view, as the branches for once are in the ideal photographic position.

66507 rounds the curve at Hatton North Junction with the 6M01 14:08 Hinksey to Stud Farm ballast empties on 19 February 2008. This was a day of extreme weather contrasts, with some areas being completely fog bound all day, and other areas starting misty, then clearing, only to have the fog reappear. This was the case only a few miles south of here, but luckily at Hatton the sun stayed out right to the end of the day.

66512 approaches Heck Lane, Hensall with the 6R10 09:44 Immingham to Drax Power Station coal train on 13 March 2008, just as the sun was fading out into high cloud. The level crossing next to Hensall station can just be seen behind the train. The station is little used, as the passenger service on this section of line is so sparse, and no doubt the line would have been closed where it not for the vast tonnage of coal being moved in trains such as this to Drax.

66517 at Circourt Bridge, Denchworth with the diverted 4O54 06:13 Leeds to Southampton freightliner on 2 November 2006. This was the beginning of an interesting twenty minutes, in which the assembled photographers had three freights from the east after a long period of nothing but  HSTs.

66517 passes Cholsey on 6 December 2006 with the 4O54 06:13 Leeds to Southampton freightliner. Note the amount of rail sections left lying in the four foot and next to the down main line. Surely in today's health and safety conscious age, and with trains traveling on this line at 125 mph this is something of an oversight.

66518 approaches the site of Ashbury Crossing, near Shrivenham with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol binliner empties on 18 October 2007. Although a reliable runner, nowadays you know exactly what traction you're going to get on this train, unlike the pre Freightliner era. Mid October and still very little sign of any autumn colour in the trees behind the train.

The weather forecasters got it wrong again on 6 November 2007. A sunny day was predicted, and indeed it did start sunny, but it soon clouded up and by the time I got to the lineside near the site of Wantage Road station it was mainly cloudy with occasional sunny breaks. I was surprised to see 66518 on the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol binliner empties, as this particular train should have passed while I was still en-route to the location. However, I was lucky that it was running late as it passed in a few seconds worth of sun, which nicely spotlights the train against the dark clouds in the background. Note that the rear of the train is in shadow, and as the train was passing me the light in the foreground dropped as well. Definitely a very lucky shot!

66520 is pictured near Waltham St Lawrence on 27 July 2007 with the 6M91 11:00 Theale to Earles empty cement tanks. The photo is taken from Chalkpit Bridge on the Waltham St Lawrence to Knowl Hill bridleway. There are several photo locations in the area, including the footpath bridge seen in the middle distance and a further one towards Shottesbrooke, but tall trees on the south side of the line means they all tend to be very shady on the main lines.

Diverted via the Berks & Hants line due to the closure of Basingstoke station for major track alterations, 66525 passes Manningford Bruce with the 4O35 09:40 Crewe Basford Hall to Southampton freightliner on 12 April 2007. Although completely sunny when I set out from home, a lot of cloud had built up by the time I reached the lineside. In fact the train is in a lucky patch of weak sun, both the background and the immediate foreground are in shadow.

Catching the last rays of the setting sun on 8 June 2007, 66526 passes Cample with the 6E72 New Cumnock to Cottam Power Station coal train. Note that the sun has already disappeared from the mountains in the background.

No sooner had I added the picture of 37276 to this website, with a caption explaining how there had been no freight on the southern end of the Cotswold Line for many years, when this happens! 66527 and 66507 worked the 6Z49 10:51 Neasden to Long Marston on 1 March 2007 conveying a rake of PGA hopper wagons formerly used on the Wool to Neasden sand trains for storage at Long Marston. Normally such trains would be routed the long way round via Swindon and Worcester. The use of top'n'tail locos was necessary because the run-round loop at Honeybourne is out of use due to the state of the track. Remarkably I was the only person to witness this most unusual working passing through the Brunel designed station at Charlbury in a lucky patch of sun.

66527 Don Raider approaches Ashbury Crossing at Shrivenham with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol binliner empties on 2 April 2007. The location was chosen because its one of the few spots between Didcot and Swindon where the sun would be on the nose after the clocks had changed at the end of March, even then it is only just glancing across the front. Incidentally, the crossing was replaced by a footbridge many years ago, yet the name remains!

66535 heads through the Vale of White Horse near Uffington with the diverted 4O27 01:35 Ditton to Southampton freightliner on 1 December 2007. This train had been held in the loop at Challow to allow 3 HSTs and the Hertfordshire Railtours 'Worcester Christmas Fayre' railtour to overtake it.

On 15 April 2008 services were severely disrupted on the Birmingham to Oxford route by a broken rail at Knightcote (between Banbury and Leamington). All up trains were hand signaled through the red signal seen in the background, and had to travel over the temporarily clamped rail at 5 mph. While 66535 speeds past the blackthorn blossom at Bishops Itchington with the unaffected 4M50 07:25 Southampton to Crewe freightliner, a Chiltern Railways Turbo unit waits to precede south. At one point there were three trains in view on the up line, with one preceding at walking pace along the embankment just around the corner, one stopped at the signal seen here, and yet another at the preceding signal on the other side of the bridge!

What I thought was going to be a ruined picture, turns out to be perfect passing shot. On 2 May 2007, while waiting to photograph 66538 approaching Kidlington with the 4O27 06:50 Ditton to Southampton freightliner, I heard the ominous whine of a voyager behind me as the freightliner came into view. Thinking the unidentified Class 221 on the 11:46 Bournemouth to Glasgow Virgin service would completely block out the 66 I just kept the shutter pressed and let the camera fire several frames per second in the hope of getting the picture. The bridge visible in this view is a farm occupation bridge near Thrupp, while just visible in the distance is the isolated church at Hampton Gay.

66538 heads down the Cherwell Valley near Rousham with the 4O14 01:35 Ditton to Southampton freightliner on 16 February 2008. The frost was just starting the melt from the field of long grass in the foreground, but it was still bitterly cold! This field separates the railway from the Oxford Canal, which comes closer and then parallels the line from the trees on the right all the way to Heyford station.

66545 passes Maud's Bridge with a rake of empty HHA wagons bound for Immingham on 14 March 2007. The location is between Thorne and Crowle, where the line parallels the Stainforth & Keadby Canal for a number of miles.

Viewed through a 200mm lens, which emphasises the change in gradient just to the rear of the train, 66547 approaches Linwith Lane at Carlton with another load of coal for Drax Power Station on 15 March 2007. This double track line serves only Drax, and sees an intensive freight service supplying the UK's largest coal fired power station.

66549 approaches the site of Waddesdon Manor station on the Aylesbury to Calvert line with the 6M80 13:12 Dagenham to Calvert binliner on 1 August 2007, bringing yet more of the South East's rubbish to dump in a big hole in the ground! This section of line is freight only, its only traffic being these waste trains. Calvert receives three trains daily via this route, the other two coming from Cricklewood and Northolt. 

The rabbits in the field in the foreground take no notice of 66555 as it approaches Ashbury Crossing at Shrivenham with the 6Z60 10:51 Neasden to Newton Abbot Hackney Yard sand empties on 1 November 2007. This loco appears to be something of a regular on this train, which runs as required and is the return working of the train that originates at Burngullow. Unfortunately there was no sun when it passed me, even though it was a generally bright day. The light was a bit better when it passed Denchworth a little earlier.

66560 approaches Oddington on the Calvert to Oxford line with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol binliner empties on 1 August 2007. Although this section of track has recently been upgraded, just the other side of the crossing the track reverts to 95lb per yard bullhead track. Apart from the infrequent Oxford to Bicester passenger service, the binliner is the only train to use this route.

66567 heads through the rain at Yarnton (near Oxford) with the 4E44 09:29 Southampton to Leeds freightliner on 7 January 2008. The bridge in the background was constructed a few years ago on the footpath between Yarnton village and the A44. Although not a brilliant vantage point, it is possible to take pictures of northbound trains on summer evenings from the far right corner.

66568 rolls slowly around the corner at Bishops Itchington with the 4O14 04:35 Garston to Southampton freightliner on 15 April 2008. There was a broken rail a mile south of this spot, near Knightcote, and a queue of trains was building up due to having to be hand signaled through the affected section at 5 mph. 66568 had been stationary for some while at the signal in the distance (just visible to the left of the blackthorn bushes), and was only traveling at about 20 mph as it passed me, preparing to stop at the next red signal. Years ago single line working would have been introduced around the affected stretch, but nowadays the repairs are carried out between trains.

In glorious evening light, 66569 passes Kings Sutton with the 4S59 15:00 Southampton to Coatbridge freightliner on 24 July 2006. Despite the good lighting, this was a not a very successful evening for photography, as a signalling problem further down the line at Radley not only resulted in most trains running later, but resulted in the cancellation of the Class 37 hauled 6M28 Didcot to Bescot engineers train, which is what I had gone there for!

66569 passes Rousham (between Banbury and Oxford) with the 4O27 04:32 Garston to Southampton freightliner on 16 February 2008. This picture does give the impression that I have just felled two ash trees that were in the way, however, I was glad to see that somebody had already done this. Presumably another photographer, but this is not a very well known location, and it does require a walk of at least a mile from the nearest road, which does tend to put most people off!

66574 passes Grassthorpe (between Retford and Newark)  with the 4L85 08:57 Leeds to Felixstowe freightliner on 25 January 2008. Luckily this perfect lighting lasted for quite a long time. The dark clouds covered most of the sky, but for once the big blue patch was just where the sun was - why doesn't that happen more often?

Torrential rain (126.2mm was recorded at Brize Norton in 24 hours!) on 20 July 2007 resulted in numerous lines being closed due to flooding, and one week later the line through Oxford was still closed, resulting in various freight services being diverted via alternative routes. On 27 July, 66593 is pictured ambling down the relief line at Waltham St Lawrence (between Reading and Maidenhead) with the 4M55 08:58 Southampton to Lawley Street freightliner. This is not the usual location at Waltham St Lawrence, but from the footbridge in the fields towards Shottesbrooke. The bridge in the background is Chalkpit Bridge, on the bridleway between Waltham St Lawrence and Knowl Hill.

66594 approaches Knighton with the late running 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol binliner empties on 1 May 2007. The verdant green new foliage on the embankment contrasts starkly with the barren looking 'Set-aside' field in the foreground.

Although it is something of a challenge, I am always looking for slightly different photographic viewpoints on the Didcot to Swindon line. Here's one I hadn't tried before, between the two footpath crossings at South Marston. The hawthorn bush on the right provides a frame for 66610 as it heads west with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol binliner empties on 11 December 2007.

At just after 15:00 on 28 November 2006, the last rays of the setting sun illuminate 66612 Forth Raider as it approaches Heck Ings with an empty coal train from Drax Power Station. Hensall Junction is just behind the rear of the train, with the little used line to Goole carrying straight on into the distance. The Drax line curves in from the left, and consequently the train is pulling away from the speed restricted curve.

GBRF 66701 Whitemoor is pictured between Blackford and Gleneagles, on the Highland Main Line with the 6S60 22:50 Harwich Parkeston Quay to Aberdeen Guild Street Carless mud oil tanks on 16 June 2006. Considering this is one of the classic locations in mid Scotland, within easy reach of the A9 (seen here in the background), I was surprised that I was the only person here on this day, as shortly after this train the Class 50s headed north on their record breaking tour to Wick and Thurso.

On a bitterly cold 15 December 2007, 66703 Doncaster PSB 1981-2002 passes Fritwell with the Pathfinder Tours 1Z11 06:28 Gloucester to Dollands Moor 'Moor and More' railtour. This is the northern end of the Chiltern Line, between Ayhno Junction and Bicester and does not normally see loco hauled trains of any kind, only a steady stream of Class 165 & 166 Chiltern Railways units. Such is the intensity of the service, that the track has been redoubled in the last few years to increase capacity.

66704 Colchester Power Signalbox rounds the curve at Crofton with the 6E31 09:20 Taunton Fairwater Yard to Peterborough scrap sleepers on 21 November 2006. The promising bright start didn't last long, and by the time this train arrived thick cloud had rolled in from the west. For once it was possible to fit the complete train in the picture, as the stone trains that are the main freight traffic on this line are much longer than this, and often less than a third of the train is visible in this view! Coincidentally it was exactly four months ago that I was last at this location, when there was a considerably different appearance to the vegetation.

66707 Sir Sam Fay passes Manningford Bruce with the 4E31 06:34 Taunton Fairwater Yard to Peterborough scrap concrete sleepers on 9 August 2007. It had just overtaken 59101 on the 7A09 07:12 Merehead to Acton Yard Yeoman 'jumbo' stone train, which was being held in Woodborough loop.

GBRF 66708 passes Watford (the small Northamptonshire village, not the Hertfordshire town!) with the 4L22 14:10 Hams Hall to Felixstowe Intermodal service on 21 September 2006. This location on the Northampton loop line is from the embankment leading to the site of a former footbridge in the fields between Watford and Long Buckby.

66708 rounds the curve at Lymington Junction with the 1Z82 09:28 Victoria to Weymouth GBRF staff special on 22 August 2007. 73209 & 73204 can just be seen on the rear of the train. I had hoped that the 73s would be leading, but hadn't time to wait around for the late afternoon return working, so had to make do with a 'shed' picture. At least the sun was out, which was a bit of luck, as the clouds only cleared away a few minutes before the train (which was running exactly to time) appeared.

The 4M21 03:26 Felixstowe to Hams Hall Intermodal regularly brings a GBRf Class 66 to the Oxford area on Saturday mornings. On a freezing cold 2 February 2008, with frozen floods visible in the field behind the loco, 66713 Forest City heads north at Yarnton. Considering the angle of the light, it was probably fortuitous that the sun started to disappear as the train approached, softening the previously very contrasty lighting, and yet still giving the impression that the sun was out. Less than a minute later however, it had gone completely and the scene looked very dull.

66718 Gwyneth Dunwoody passes Waltham St Lawrence with the 5Z90 09:03 Laira to Ilford ECS with Mk3 coaches 42318, 42299, 42298, 42099, 41140, 41139, 44037 & 40715 sandwiched between First Great Western Mk2 barrier coaches 9481 & 6721. The first coach is in Midland Main livery, while the rest of the rake is in First Great Western livery.

66720 Metronet Pathfinder, with its garish 'Metronet. Renewing the Tube' livery passes Goring on the Great Western Mainline with the 4M21 03:26 Felixstowe to Hams Hall Intermodal on 12 April 2008. Note the sign on the left warning drivers of the possibility of leaves on the line. I would have thought the presence of trees next to the line would have been a fairly obvious clue, but I suppose nowadays we have to have a warning sign for everything!

66724 Drax Power Station passes South Moreton with the 0Z72 09:40 Kidderminster to Furzebrook stock move conveying D444 (50044) Exeter, 37906, 37275 & 20096 from the Severn Valley Railway to the Swanage Railway's Diesel Gala. I don't normally bother with these light engine moves, but the odd variety of liveries (very odd in the case of the two tone green 50!) and odd combination of traction meant that it was worth taking a picture for a change. 20096 & 37275 had been brought down to the SVR from Barrow Hill two days previously.

66727 approaches Castor on the Nene Valley Railway with the 2M49 13:48 Peterborough to Wansford service on 1 March 2008, during the line's Diesel Gala. I was very lucky with the sun for this picture, as a large cloud was ominously close to the sun as the train approached. Also it was fortunate that nobody was wandering up the public footpath on the right at the crucial moment. 66727 attracted a good deal of attention during the gala, which does seem slightly odd when there is so much heritage traction around!

66951 passes Acton Turville the 6B11 12:30 Thorney Mill to Pengam empty JGA hoppers on 27 March 2007. Branded Freightliner Heavy Haul, and also showing the company's website address, these new wagons emphasis how the Freightliner company has slowly branched out from its core business of moving containers.

Surely Freightliner is not making a bid for road transport operations as well! 66951 carries a car registration number plate (SB55 CSX) on its front end as it passes Oddington with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol binliner empties on 27 February 2008. As can be seen the cloud was building up rapidly, and a large cloud was approaching the sun as the train came into view in the distance. Luckily it just missed the sun, but note how close it came to being a ruined shot, with the bushes in the background in shadow.