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!

66535 passes Wolvercote on 15 August 2008 with the lightly loaded 4O27 07:12 Ditton to Southampton freightliner. The lack of a load on the front section of the train reveals the little used up good relief line, which runs from Wolvercote Junction to Oxford. Not too many years ago it was regularly used by MGR coat trains to Didcot Power Station and empty car trains to Morris Cowley. Neither of these services now operate on this route, and as can be seen here what little freight traffic that remains tends to use the main line.

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.

66545 passes Shrivenham with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol Avon Binliner empties on 7 November 2008. I went to this location to get a picture of the 3S33 Didcot to Kings Norton Rail Head Treatment train, only to see it pass through as I was getting out of the car! As the sun was shining, and as there was a fair amount of autumn colour showing in the background, I decided to wait for this train, rather than going straight back home! Although I have now got numerous pictures of this service since it acquired Class 66 haulage, I always think the virtually perfectly matched colour of the containers works well with the green Freightliner locomotive.

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.

66558 passes the site of Uffington loops with the 4O51 10:02 Wentloog to Millbrook freightliner on 27 August 2008. Somehow I doubt that the freightliner driver really needs the L plate! I rather like this location, as the loco is framed nicely by the signal gantry, which as can be seen from its width, once spanned four tracks. Note also the redundant up loop signal on the right.

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.

66562 approaches the site of Launton station (closed 30 December 1967) with the 4V60 10:55 Calvert to Bristol Avon Binliner empties on 15 August 2008. The use of a long lens to avoid the various items of lineside clutter around the level crossing has accentuated the unevenness of the track. This and the corresponding early morning loaded train are the only trains to use this section of line, although there is a very slim possibility that passenger services may one day return in the form of an Oxford to Cambridge service. The local press frequently has articles speculating on the line's reopening, however the proposers of these grand ideas really have very little grasp about the practicalities of such an ambitious project.

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?

66576 Hamburg Sud Advantage passes Yarnton with the 4O14 05:28 Garston to Southampton freightliner on 1 September 2008. This is a very awkward location for photographing southbound trains due to the shadows from the trees on the right. However, at this time of year the White Poplar trees behind the loco make a good background with the silver undersides of the leaves standing out against the sky.

66576 Hamburg Sud Advantage passes Uffington with the diverted 4O54 05:33 Leeds to Southampton freightliner on 27 September 2008. This diversion was due to the Reading to Basingstoke line being closed for engineering works. Note the strange lighting effect, as the sun just starts to break through the early morning fog. The background is still murky but a shaft of sunlight neatly picks out the train. Photo taken from a public footpath crossing.

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.

Heyford station is a very awkward location for photography with a new footbridge that dominates the site and requires the use of a moderate wideangle lens to include the entire structure when standing on the nearby road bridge. On 29 October 2008, 66597 rushes with the 4O54 06:13 Leeds to Southampton freightliner. I would normally crop out the shadow of the bridge (and myself!) in the foreground, but have left it in to emphasise the very small gap in which you can take pictures at this location. The Oxford Canal can just be seen on the right of the picture.

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.